Comparative education examines educational theories and practices across countries, emphasizing the links between education and society as well as the influence of cultural, political, and economic factors on national education systems. It explores various perspectives such as curriculum content, geographical contexts, and ideological differences while acknowledging the role of religion and geography in shaping education. Ultimately, comparative education seeks to inform policies that improve educational institutions and practices globally.

1. Meaning of comparative education
Comparative education is the comparative study of educational theories and practices
in various countries. Comparative education attempts to use cross-national data to test
propositions about the relationship between education and society and between
teaching practices and learning outcomes. Comparative education considers the
implications of comparative studies for the formation and implementation of policies
in education, social, national and international development. Comparative education
invites contributions from associated disciplines in the fields of government,
management, sociology, and technology and communications which affect educational
research and policy decisions.
Comparative education aims at:
1. Explaining educational systems, processes, or outcomes;
2. Helping the development of educational institutions and practices;
3. Emphasizing the relationships between education and society;
4. Forming generalized statements about education relevant in more than one
country.
The Scope of Comparative Education
There are five perspectives that capture the scope of comparative education. These are;
1. The subject matter and content; this covers the essential components of
educational systems such as structure, aims, content or curriculum,
administration, financing, teacher education.
2. Geographical units of study; these comprises intra-national, international,
regional, continental and global or world systems studies and analysis.
3. Ideological scope; this compares countries' educational systems on the basis of
different political, social and economic ideologies. For example, democratic,
communism, socialist, capitalist, free market and mixed economies.
4. Thematic scope; this scope focuses on educational themes, topical issues or
problems and compares them within one or more geographical units. For

2. example free primary and secondary education, universal primary education,
education for all and universal higher education.
5. The historical or spatial scope; this deals with the study of the historical
development of the discipline from the earliest (pre-historic) phase known as
the period of Travelers' Tales to the modern phase known as the period of social
science perspectives.
Foundations of National Education Systems.
National education systems normally consist of institutions that are funded by
government, sitting alongside nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and institutions.
Government institutions are normally the dominant force for education in a country,
but they do not necessarily operate in isolation from the NGOs. The national systems
are often affected by political and economic conditions in a country and reflect the
social circumstances of that country. The extent to which the central government affects
individual schools, colleges, and universities varies. There are in many countries areas
of delegation of responsibility from central government to local authorities. This pattern
of delegation is very common since it recognizes that all education is local and depends
on local communities. In some countries aspects of the education system are delegated
to other agencies. For example, in certain countries church authorities or language
groups have an important role to play in providing education for and on behalf of the
state. The extent to which private education has an important part to play varies
considerably. The impact of private education often outweighs its numerical
significance. NGOs also play an important part in the development of policies in many
countries. These are often influential in developing policies and in establishing
important relationships across national boundaries.
Socio culture factors affecting the national system of education.
Schools at large often and closely reflect the social patterns prevailing in a particular
country. Education system is usually seen as a social factor which must reflect the
philosophy of the people that it serves. The prime aim of education is to ensure cultural
continuity through fostering the growth and development of national characteristics that
often act as stabilizing forces. A culture of a society is the total way of life of the society.
Every society consist of human beings and in whatever state they find themselves they
always have some kind of educational system. This form of education of the society

3. always strives to effect and protect its traditions and aspirations. A close study and
analysis of each education system always reveal the cultural concept and pattern of the
community. Also the social patterns of the people in any particular community or
country are reflected in its system of education. The culture of the people often changes
at a slow pace. In each culture, there are certain values which are not affected by time
and place, for Example, faith in God, love for truth and non-violence and the ideal of
universal motherhood and justice are the permanent values of many cultures of the
world. However, radical reforms in a society may be slowed down or blocked at the
level of implementation because of the cultural lag. Another view of cultural & social
change is in the reshaping of the educational machinery to make for equality of
educational opportunity for all. This has led to widening of school curriculum and
increased emphasis on the importance of right kind of technical education for new
technological age.
Philosophical factors affecting the national system of education.
The issue of what should be taught to students at all levels of education—the issue of
curriculum content—obviously is a fundamental one, and it is an extraordinarily
difficult one with which to grapple.
In developing a curriculum (whether in a specific subject area, or more broadly as the
whole range of offerings in an educational institution or in a system), a number of
difficult decisions needs to be made. Issues such as the proper ordering or sequencing
of topics in the chosen subject, the time to be allocated to each topic, the lab work or
excursions or projects that are appropriate for particular topics, can all be regarded as
technical issues best resolved either by educationists who have a depth of experience
with the target age group or by experts in the psychology of learning and the like. But
there are deeper issues, ones concerning the validity of the justifications that have
been given for including particular subjects or topics in the offerings of formal
educational institutions.
Freire (1921-1999) who worked to transform teaching and learning from the limited
concept of transmitting information to engaging in the project of completing one’s
identity and meaning in a world that needs to be made more equitable and humane.
According to Freire, pre-service preparation should involve future teachers in
dialogues in which they critically assess the social, economic, and political conditions
that have an impact on schools. In their classroom practice, teachers should help

4. students to work for social justice by creating a true consciousness that expresses the
conditions that marginalize them and their communities.
Religious factors affecting the national system of education.
Religion is one such factor which has influenced education more than any other single
factor. (Sodhi, 1983: 25)The religion one chooses to follow can determine whether
one’s children go to school or not. For instance, in Zimbabwe some members of the
Apostolic Faith sect refuse to allow their children to go to school at all. Religious
loyalties dictate aims, content and even methods of instruction in education. Indeed,
religion and beliefs have also been known to influence and shape aspects in education
system. Just like in India the majority in Urdu board students enrolled Muslims in
place of Hindu or christens. In India only religion decided what type of education
students get.
Geographical factors affecting the national system of education.
Chaube and Chaube: “The various countries of the world have different
geographical positions. Therefore, their modes of living, culture, civilization, social
institutions and education systems are also different. Geography affects every sphere
of life and in many ways shapes the lives of a people”. The geography of any
particular place is often natural, which means that it is undefined by man. Education
system is influenced by the geography of the particular region. The geography of a
particular area dictates the type of building and equipment, means and methods of
transporting children to school, school going age of pupils among others. Three major
geographical aspects… climatic conditions, population distribution and
Land configuration. In regard to Climatic Conditions they influence the system of
education in terms of content of education depend on the continental climate, for
example, training of teachers in the university is likely to emphasize more on
university base training. In regard to Population Distribution, which is often as a
result of geographical influence also affects the educational system. Worldwide,
population is either concentrated in the urban centers, or scattered in the country side
having two systems of education, that is, one for the urban areas and the other for
rural areas. In regard to Land Configuration, this also influences the education system
in terms of architectural structure of farm houses, school buildings, village location
and also the whole way of life and thinking of people. By and large land configuration
determines settlement and location of schools.

5. Economic factors affecting the national system of education.
The type of education largely depends on the economic strength of any country, it
determines the content & method of an education system. Formal education is often
possible where production exceeds consumption. From an economic perspective,
expenditure on education refers to the amount or
%age of national revenue spent on education by both individuals and the govt. If the
economic condition is poor, education becomes backward in many aspects while if
the economy of a country is strong, then educational aims & the curriculum are given
a special direction for making the country prosperous.
Examples of Britain, France, Japan and the USA… enough grant allocation and
enough funds to support. The case of developing countries, very scarce funds, which
affect even payment of teachers’ salaries, essential resource materials... This greatly
affects the nature of the systems of education in terms of the content and methods in
learning institutions and in essence the whole system of education.