Comparative education scholarship on legitimation and educational knowledge has shifted from natural scientific definitions of knowledge to more socially critical conceptions, and encompasses both the specific processes whereby educational knowledge becomes legitimate and the dialectical relationship between legitimation of knowledge in…

Globalization and post-modernity are linked to changes in the nature of late capitalism and crises in the modern state. Neither offers much in practice to the much needed renewal of democracy, including in education. Indeed, both arguably contribute to a trend towards individualism, and a retreat from democratic engagement and visions of the…

Examines modern functionalist theory including theoretical bases and historical development. Considers, in the light of functionalist tenets, exemplary educational research in the field of modernization theory. Includes a critique of some overt and covert assumptions of functionalist educational research and suggests some avenues for more…

Critiques conceptions of class, culture, and the changing role of the state in comparative education research (including macro and micro traditions and Marxian analysis). Draws on Habermas and other contemporary German social theorists to suggest the need for methodologies based on less coercive, reciprocal intercultural relations. (149…

Argues that the rising tide of "efficiency" in contemporary education often masks reductions in educational quality and equity and efforts to reduce public investments in education. Analyzes historical and comparative examples in U.S., U.K., and Australian reform movements; the methodology of comparative education; and ongoing reforms in…