Reconceptualising Comparative and International Education

Neocolonialism in education: Cooperative Learning in an Asian context

“…Indeed, Crossley (2006) observes that while scholars in comparative and international education have perhaps yielded the greatest insights into educational differences across cultures, they have also been most critical of attempts to provide simplistic implications for practice. Comparativists have long emphasised the need for policymakers and researchers working across the social scences to be cognisant of culture and context in understanding educational developments (Broadfoot 1993;Crossley 1999;Crossley & Jarvis 2001) and to recognise the folly of assuming that educational policy and practice can easily be transferred across cultures (Phillips & Ochs 2003). However, such messages are now increasingly important given the ubiquity of international testing programmes, the pressures upon national governments to appear to be successful educationally, and the ease by which information about educational policy and practices around the globe can be accessed (Crossley & Watson 2003) While the authors of this paper are not claiming that the direction of pedagogic transfer is always from West to East, we do contend that the importation of -new‖ pedagogies has tended to flow in this direction largely because of historical and contemporary power differentials.…”

Comparative Education in the Era of Globalisation: Evolution, Missions and Roles

“…Thus, while it is increasingly possible to talk of about a global field of comparative education, it is necessary to recognise continued variations. Crossley (1999Crossley ( , 2000 and Watson (2001) have presented insightful analyses of the field of comparative education at the turn of the century, and have stressed the need for reconceptualisation. The forces of globalisation, they suggest, provide both an imperative and an opportunity.…”

Comparative Education and Research Capacity Building: Reflections on International Transfer and the Significance of Context

“…Leading centres in the field are now distinctly research oriented, making significant contributions to innovative forms of empirically grounded and theoretically informed analyses of contemporary educational and international development issues and problems. As detailed elsewhere, a fundamental 'reconceptualisation' (Crossley, 1999) has taken place. This continues to be inspired by engagement with new research paradigms, the new geo--politics of the 21 st Century, new technologies and new challenges.…”