In qualitative methods, there are various approaches that can be used to answer particular social questions, for example ethnography and case study. Two studies conducted by different researchers in China and Australia using these approaches were described and analysed in order to find out their similarities and differences in terms of…

The purpose of this article is to examine the position and role of the research method in one discipline, comparative education. For this purpose, first of all, the content of articles published by the Japan Comparative Education Society's journal over the past 35 years is analyzed. Based on this analysis, the implications, significance as well as…

The title of this article refers to a field study carried out in 2006-2007 in nine countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The article summarizes the basic concepts, aims, methodology and findings of the study. In conclusion, the author points out a number of important policy changes that are called for in this domain. While the study itself…

A respected method of studying comparative education is that of analyzing national character and assessing its impact on methods and systems of education. Like anthropologists, comparative educators must immerse themselves in a society in order to study its educational system. This analogy raises the issue of methodology, and many studies have…

The author suggests a conference sponsored jointly by the Comparative Education Society and the British Educational Research Association to discuss the potential and problems of case study based on fieldwork because he believes this form of study is the best approach to understanding the educational process and educational institutions. (KC)

Since the mid-1970s, participatory research (PR) has provided an alternative approach to those development systems that rely on outside experts and implement predetermined solutions. PR empowers disadvantaged people by recognizing them as co-researchers working together to gather information and implement solutions to their problems. This paper…

This book contains 11 essays that offer in-depth accounts of qualitative research in developing countries. Each chapter focuses upon a specific method and considers related theoretical and practical issues with reference to recent experiences in selected developing countries. Key issues addressed include: (1) the identification of appropriate…

A project is described in which slow learning high school students in British Columbia investigated community housing problems. The objective of the project was to show how investigation of contemporary community problems can help slow learning students develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes conducive to responsible citizenship. Methodology…

A discussion of comparative higher education looks at the types of comparative studies that can be attempted, and whether they must test pre-constructed hypotheses. Some of these hypotheses are outlined. The contributions of a current international comparative study (United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden) are examined. (MSE)

Argues that comparative studies in higher education are helpful in conceptual restructuring and in understanding how higher education is shaped by common international trends, reforms based on comparisons, increasing trans-national cooperation, and some supra-national integration of systems. Recommends a semi-structured research design allowing…

The emergence of interest in the quantitative, structural, and administrative aspects of higher education as a field of study is chronicled, and comparisons are made in the ways the institutional research field developed in the United States and Western Europe. (MSE)

The history of comparative higher education for purposes of policy analysis is chronicled from its origins in comparative political science and public administration. Methodology is discussed, and some recent studies are examined. It is concluded that comparative higher education has not gone far beyond the descriptive stage, and must take…

While most comparative higher education research focuses on the transition from elite to mass education, two other aspects deserve study: substantive academic growth, with roots in the research imperative and the dynamics of disciplines; and innovative university organization, a concern among practitioners as universities seek greater capacity for…

Suggests that the study of contemporary history can provide a vehicle for testing the validity of theories developed in higher education policy studies. Greater attention to the cultural and historic contexts of higher education, particularly in cross-national studies, is urged. (MSE)