Comparative Education Research: Approaches and Methods

464 Pages·2014·4.515 MB·English

by  Mark Bray, Bob Adamson, Mark Mason (eds.)

32
Second Edition
Comparative
Education Research
Ap p r o a c h e s a n d M e t h o d s
CERC Studies in Comparative Education
31. Bob Adamson, Jon Nixon and Feng Su (eds.) (2012): The Reorientation of Higher Education:
Challenging the East-West Dichotomy. ISBN 978-988-17852-7-5. 314pp. HK$250/US$38.
30. Ruth Hayhoe, Jun Li, Jing Lin & Qiang Zha (2011): Portraits of 21st Century Chinese Universities:
In the Move to Mass Higher Education. ISBN 978-988-17852-3-7. 483pp. HK$300/US$45.
29. Maria Manzon (2011): Comparative Education: The Construction of a Field. ISBN 978-
988-17852-6-8. 295pp. HK$200/US$32.
28. Kerry J. Kennedy, Wing On Lee & David L. Grossman (eds.) (2010): Citizenship Peda-
gogies in Asia and the Pacific. ISBN 978-988-17852-2-0. 407pp. HK$250/US$38.
27. David Chapman, William K. Cummings & Gerard A. Postiglione (eds.) (2010): Crossing
Borders in East Asian Higher Education. ISBN 978-962-8093-98-4. 388pp. HK$250/US$38.
26. Ora Kwo (ed.) (2010): Teachers as Learners: Critical Discourse on Challenges and
Opportunities. ISBN 978-962-8093-55-7. 349pp. HK$250/US$38.
25. Carol K.K. Chan & Nirmala Rao (eds.) (2009): Revisiting the Chinese Learner: Changing
Contexts, Changing Education. ISBN 978-962-8093-16-8. 360pp. HK$250/US$38.
24. Donald B. Holsinger & W. James Jacob (eds.) (2008): Inequality in Education: Comparative
and International Perspectives. ISBN 978-962-8093-14-4. 584pp. HK$300/US$45.
23. Nancy Law, Willem J Pelgrum & Tjeerd Plomp (eds.) (2008): Pedagogy and ICT Use in
Schools around the World: Findings from the IEA SITES 2006 Study. ISBN 978-962-8093-65-
6. 296pp. HK$250/US$38.
22. David L. Grossman, Wing On Lee & Kerry J. Kennedy (eds.) (2008): Citizenship Cur-
riculum in Asia and the Pacific. ISBN 978-962-8093-69-4. 268pp. HK$200/US$32.
21. Vandra Masemann, Mark Bray & Maria Manzon (eds.) (2007): Common Interests,
Uncommon Goals: Histories of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies
and its Members. ISBN 978-962-8093-10-6. 384pp. HK$250/US$38.
20. Peter D. Hershock, Mark Mason & John N. Hawkins (eds.) (2007): Changing Education:
Lead-ership, Innovation and Development in a Globalizing Asia Pacific. ISBN 978-962-
8093-54-0. 348pp. HK$200/US$32.
19. Mark Bray, Bob Adamson & Mark Mason (eds.) (2014): Comparative Education
Research: Approaches and Methods. Second edition. ISBN 978-988-17852-8-2. 453pp.
HK$250/US$38.
18. Aaron Benavot & Cecilia Braslavsky (eds.) (2006): School Knowledge in Comparative
and Historical Perspective: Changing Curricula in Primary and Secondary Education.
ISBN 978-962-8093-52-6. 315pp. HK$200/US$32.
17. Ruth Hayhoe (2006): Portraits of Influential Chinese Educators. ISBN 978-962-8093-40-3.
398pp. HK$250/US$38.
16. Peter Ninnes & Meeri Hellstén (eds.) (2005): Internationalizing Higher Education: Critical
Explorations of Pedagogy and Policy. ISBN 978-962-8093-37-3. 231pp. HK$200/US$32.
15. Alan Rogers (2004): Non-Formal Education: Flexible Schooling or Participatory Education?
ISBN 978-962-8093-30-4. 316pp. HK$200/US$32.

Earlier titles in the series are listed on the back page of the book.
CERC Studies in Comparative Education 32

Second Edition
Comparative
Education Research
Ap p r o a c h e s a n d M e t h o d s

Edited by Mark Bray, Bob Adamson, Mark Mason

123
Comparative Education Research Centre
The University of Hong Kong
SERIES EDITOR
Mark Bray, Director, Comparative Education Research Centre
The University of Hong Kong, China
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Yang Rui, Comparative Education Research Centre
The University of Hong Kong, China
INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Robert Arnove, Indiana University, USA
Nina Borevskaya, Institute of the Far East, Moscow, Russia
Michael Crossley, University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Jiang Kai, Peking University, Beijing, China
Cristian Pérez Centeno, Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero, Argentina
Gita Steiner-Khamsi, Teachers College, Columbia University, USA
PRODUCTION EDITOR
Emily Mang, Comparative Education Research Centre
The University of Hong Kong, China
Comparative Education Research Centre
Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong
P okfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
© Comparative Education Research Centre 2014
First edition published 2007
ISBN 978-988-17852-8-2 Paperback
ISBN 978-3-319-05593-0 ISBN 978-3-319-05594-7 (eBook)
D OI 10.1007/978-3-319-05594-7
Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014941595

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COVER: Detail, "Autumn School", from an impressionist landscape by Vietnamese artist, Dao Hai
Phong, reproduced with the kind permission of the painting's owners, Richard and Louisa Barton.
Dao Hai Phong was born in Hanoi in 1965 and graduated from the Hanoi College of Fine Art in
1987. Village scenes and depictions of Hanoi streets executed in very bright colours such as blue,
yellow, green or red are characteristic of his paintings. Phong’s work has been exhibited in Hanoi,
Hong Kong, Italy, Laos, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.
Printed and bound by The Central Printing Press Ltd. in Hong Kong, China
Printed on acid-free paper

Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
CContents

List of Tables vii

List of Figures ix

Abbreviations xi

Preface xv

Introduction 1
Mark BRAY, Bob ADAMSON & Mark MASON

I: DIRECTIONS 17

1. Actors and Purposes in Comparative Education 19
Mark BRAY

2. Scholarly Enquiry and the Field of Comparative Education 47
Mark BRAY

3. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches to 71
Comparative Education
Gregory P. FAIRBROTHER

II: UNITS OF COMPARISON 95

4. Comparing Places 97
Maria MANZON

5. Comparing Systems 139
Mark BRAY & Kai JIANG

6. Comparing Times 167
Anthony SWEETING
v
vi Contents
7. Comparing Race, Class and Gender 195
Liz JACKSON

8. Comparing Cultures 221
Mark MASON

9. Comparing Values 259
Wing On LEE & Maria MANZON

10. Comparing Policies 285
Rui YANG

11. Comparing Curricula 309
Bob ADAMSON & Paul MORRIS

12. Comparing Pedagogical Innovations 333
Nancy LAW

13. Comparing Ways of Learning 365
David A. WATKINS & Jan VAN AALST

14. Comparing Educational Achievements 387
Frederick K.S.LEUNG & Kyungmee PARK

III: CONCLUSIONS 415

15. Different Models, Different Emphases, Different Insights 417
Mark BRAY, Bob ADAMSON & Mark MASON

Contributors 437

Index 443
List of Tables

Table 1.1 Statistics on Lower Secondary Education, Selected
Asian Countries .....……….………………...……….. 28
Table 1.2 Rankings on PISA Results in Reading,
Mathematics and Science ……………….……..…… 36
Table 2.1 Disciplinary Groupings and the Nature of
Knowledge ….….....………………..…....…..…..…... 49
Table 4.1 Comparative Case Study Analyses ……………….. 98
Table 4.2 Youth Literacy Rates, by World Regions …………. 107
Table 4.3 Comparison of Nations and US States on Percentage
Deviation from Expected 1990 Grade 8 Mathematics
Scores and Expenditures on Education per Capita … 114
Table 4.4 Demographic and Socio-cultural Characteristics of
the Swiss Cantons …………………………………… 116
Table 5.1 Proportions of Pupils in a Six-Year Primary School
System in Selected Provinces and Municipalities,
Mainland China, 2010 ………………………...……... 145
Table 5.2 Providers of Primary and Secondary Schooling in
Hong Kong, 2012/13 …………………...……………. 147
Table 5.3 Secondary Schools in Hong Kong, by Medium of
Instruction, 1993/94 ……………...…………………… 149
Table 5.4 Schools in Macao, by Ownership and Medium of
Instruction ………...…………………………………... 153
Table 11.1 Curriculum Ideologies and Components ………… 313
Table 11.2 Curriculum Manifestations and Typical Research
Methods ……………………………………………… 321
Table 13.1 Average Correlations between Learning
Approach Scales and Academic Achievement,
Self-Esteem and Locus of Control …………………. 373

Table 14.1 A Hierarchy of Science Literacy Skills ……………. 392
vii
viii List of Tables
Table 14.2 Number of Mathematics Items of Each Type and
Score Points, by Reporting Category, Grade 8 …… 393
Table 14.3 Sub-scores for First Four Pupils in a Class ……….. 399
Table 14.4 Results for a Relative Comparison of a School
with Similar Schools and all Schools in Hong
Kong ………………………………………………….. 400
Table 14.5 Achievement of Hong Kong Students in TIMSS
1999 Compared with International Averages ……. 401
Table 14.6 Pupil Reading, Mathematics, Science Scores in
PISA 2006 by the Characteristics of Region
(Korea) ……………………………………………….. 402
Table 14.7 Percentages of Grade 5 Vietnamese Pupils
Reaching Different Skill Levels in Reading and
Mathematics ………………………………………… 405
Table 14.8 Percentages and Sampling Errors of Pupils
Reaching Functionality Levels in Reading and
Mathematics, Vietnam ……………………………… 406
Table 14.9 Percentages and Sampling Errors of Pupils at
Each Benchmark by Region, Vietnam …………….. 407
Table 14.10 Selected Results from PISA 2009 …………………... 408
Table 14.11 TIMSS Advanced 2008 Distribution of
Achievement in Advanced Mathematics …………. 409
Table 14.12 TIMSS 2007 Intra-class Correlations for Grade 8
Mathematics for a Number of Countries …………. 411
List of Figures

Figure 0.1 A Framework for Comparative Education
Analyses .…………………..………..……………….. 9
Figure 1.1 Children of Primary School Age who were Out of
School, by World Region ……………..………..……. 29
Figure 1.2 Teachers’ Salaries in Lower Secondary Education,
in equivalent US$ Converted using Purchasing
Power Parities ……………..………..……………….. 34
Figure 2.1 Olivera’s System-Based Classification of
Education-Related Disciplines …..………………… 54
Figure 2.2 A Macro-Mapping of Paradigms and Theories in
Comparative and International Education ……….. 57
Figure 4.1 Bereday’s Model for Undertaking Comparative
Studies……………………..…………………..…….... 99
Figure 4.2 Points of Convergence in Different Settings …....... 101
Figure 4.3 Mapping the Dynamics of Globalisation through
Regional Organisations…...………………..……….. 106
Figure 4.4 Comparison of Lesson Structures ..……..….…..….. 123
Figure 5.1 Systems of Education in Macao as Portrayed in a
1989 Official Document …..….…..….…..….…..….… 151
Figure 5.2 Systems of Education in Macao as Portrayed in a
1993 Official Document …..….…..….…..….…..……. 152
Figure 8.1 Primary and Secondary Insiders and Outsiders in
Ethnographic Research …..….…..….…..….…..…….. 243
Figure 9.1 Varied Methodological Emphases in Comparative
Studies of Values …..….…..….…..….…..….…..…... 275
Figure 9.2 Sampling Design in Case Study Format Research.. 277
Figure 9.3 Four Inferential Strategies in Case-oriented
Comparative Research …..….…..………...… ..….…. 277
Figure 11.1 A Framework for Comparing Curricula ………….. 316
ix