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1. One Book Review
in
Comparative Education
[Title of the Book: Global Issues and Comparative Education By: Wendy Bignold and Liz
Gayton
Submitted to: Dr. Muhammad Munir Kiyani
By:
Fazal Hakim
142-FSS/PhDEdu/F17
Department of Education
International Islamic University
Islamabad

2. 1
Essential Information
Title of the Book:
Global Issues and Comparative Education
Edited By:
Wendy Bignold and Liz Gayton
(Wendy Bignold is Vice Dean of Education at Liverpool Hope University and Co-
Director of the Institute for Research in Education and Society at St Xavier’s College,
Mumbai, India. Liz Gayton recently completed her term of office as Dean of Education
at Liverpool Hope University.)
Copy Right Information:
First published in 2009 by Learning Matters Ltd, © 2009 the editors and authors
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Book type:
Contributed Book, Edited Volume or Edited Collection (OUP, n.d.)
Book’s Features:
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978 1 84445 208 8
The rights of the authors and editors to be identified as the Authors of this Work
have been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.

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Cover design by Topics – The Creative Partnership
Text design by Code 5 Designs
Project Management by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon
Typeset by Kelly Gray
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
Learning Matters Ltd
33 Southernhay East
Exeter EX1 1NX
Tel: 01392 215560
info@learningmatters.co.uk
www.learningmatters.co.uk
Subject Matter:
Thematically, the book has the following themes in its subject matter:
 Concept, importance and value of Comparative Education
 Role of a student of education
 Education systems in England and comparison with other countries including
Italy, Romania, Poland, India and America
 Educational issues of twenty-first century
 compulsory school-starting age or funding of higher education
 Comparing countries by phases of education

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Chapter 1
What is comparative education?
The first chapter is authored by Jean Clarkson in this book. This chapter
explores the value of comparative education in terms of its history. It highlights the
several major issues related to the comparison of different cultures as well as countries.
In addition, quantitative and qualitative research methods have also been brought under
light that may become bases for comparing different systems of education.
Major objectives of this chapter are; comparative education, comparisons of
educational systems, philosophies and practices, challenges and cautions, sources of
data and the two major approaches of comparison.
The author reflected successfully upon the value of comparative education by
highlighting social, cultural, political and economic processes of other countries.
Comparative education helps comparing our own system with other systems of
education in the world. Also, it helps us in making informed and meaningful judgments.
The author has tried to clarify the role of culture which must be taken into
consideration while comparing a country’s educational system with another. The main
point is to collect authentic data both qualitative and quantitative in consideration of
cultural context. Development of objective view instead of considering one system as
better than the other is necessary to arrive at safer decisions and judgments.
The author criticized the interference of explaining ideas from personal
experiences as in comparative study, one must develop serious objective investigation
because it helps in understanding our prejudices (King, 1979; McLean, 1995).
The author has brought the historical background to be considered during
comparative study. In history, mostly the traces of comparative education can be found
in the form of travelers’ tales. An example of the development of educational system in

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UK has been presented where a shift from tripartite structure to the comprehensive
system in the UK in the latter part of the twentieth century has taken place (Alexander,
2001).
The author suggested reasons behind the increasing importance of comparative
education. As an example, listening to the experiences of our colleagues, both at home
and abroad, teaching may be static and our professional practices stagnant and short-
sighted (Mazurek and Winzer, 2006). In comparative education, research aims to offer
short cuts to avoid grave mistakes. Understanding issues beyond our own experiences
and perspectives enables us to make informed choices appropriate for the future.
Stavenhagen (2008, page 162) draws attention to the task of education today in the
globalized world. He says “In today’s interconnected world, living together peacefully
has become a moral, social and political imperative on which depends to a great extent
the survival of humankind.”
The process of ensuring accuracy of comparison has been described;
“Intensified global economic and educational competition has helped to heighten the
prominence of comparative and international education – and involved a wider range
of stakeholders in both the research process and the interpretation of the
findings.”(Crossley and Watson, 2003, page 56)”
Different sources of data for comparing different countries can be obtained from
various sources and can be used as foundations for further research. While conducting
research on local level, critical analysis is the main key to carry out the process.
Different model like “The Ideological Cross” and “The Didactic Triangle” can used to
compare two different countries.

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The author highlighted some challenges in comparative education; Accuracy and
reliability, comparability, and generality-specificity trap. In order to maintain accuracy
and reliability, critical analysis is essential. The comparability means to examine
schools in cultural context which helps avoid rash comparisons. Generalizations should
be avoided instead authentic data should be trusted.
At the end, the author described the future of comparative education. The
decision makers may take parts from another systems like teaching, learning, tests etc.,
in own system (Alexander, 2001). The future of comparative education is bright
because of the interest among the stakeholders of globalization and the increasing
amount of information which is widely accessed across the world.
In conclusion, the main purpose of the author was to reflect upon the concept of
comparative education with emphasis on historical background, data collection sources,
research methods and some important consideration like culture and challenges. The
author’s point of view is based upon the idea of global peace which he hopes in
comparative education. The intended audience for this work are the policy makers,
decision makers, globalization’s stake holders, the students and researchers.
Looking at the information provided in this chapters, some of my ideas have
changed like the concept of considering the terms in same meaning in different cultures.
In my opinion, the material in the chapter has achieved its objectives to a greater extent.
The author’s way of describing the facts and figures is vivid e.g. depiction of two
models: Ideological Cross and the Didactic Triangle, for comparing educational
systems of two countries. The author exposed the ideas related to comparative
education in cultural and historical contexts by providing convincing arguments to
support them. Overall, the style adopted is eclectic and alive, rather than traditional and
systematic in description of the work.

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Chapter 2
Back to the future of early childhood:
same but different
The second chapter is contributed by Patricia Giardiello and Joanne McNulty
in this book. The chapter develops themes in critical perspective of history, culture and
philosophy. Early years in the life of an individual plays a vital role in development on
all levels. In the early years of education, the teachers’ and parents’ partnership is of
high importance. The chapter highlights comparative study of three countries England,
Italy (Reggio Emilia) and New Zealand (Te Whariki).
The children must be provided with the best start in life. The current chapter
concentrates on this idea of Early Childhood Education and Care having a crucial part
in one’s life. The chapter starts the importance of early childhood education in the
perspective of history and highlighted some of the key philosophies given by famous
educators like Froebel, Montessori and Steiner. In this regard, the authors compared the
early childhood education of three countries; England, Italy and New Zealand. The
common ideas or patterns in the system of England is identified which is compared
with that of Reggio Emilia (Italy) and Te Whariki (New Zealand). All these systems
have caught attention worldwide. The chapter ends with the idea of respect for the
children and the early childhood education. The children deserve to be listened to and
paid attention to them.
The brief summary of the current chapter depict the early childhood educational
systems of England, Italy and New Zealand. All of them have child-centered curriculum
planned mutually by professionals with partnership of parents. The major themes of
this chapter were; giving good start in life to children, positive early learning

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experiences, citizenship, right of children and parents to quality early childhood
education and care, and the development of self-esteem and self-image. Many countries
around the world are now inclined to improve early years of education.

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Chapter 3
Primary Practices and Curriculum Comparisons
The third chapter is developed by Jackie Barbera and Deirdre Hewitt in this
book. The main purpose of this chapter is to develop an understanding of policy and
practice of primary education and the problems it faces, in England, besides, its
comparison with other countries with special reference to Romania and Republic of
Ireland, along with the role of government in shaping the existing primary education.
The people living in England have accepted that schools are meant to prepare
the children for better future life. The primary duty of schools is to provide formal
education. As the child touches age about four years, he or she is sent to school. In
England, it is termed as primary or elementary school. This system of primary education
in England, develops the children’s experiences at home, at playgroup and nurseries.
Here, the children master the basic literacy, numeracy and social skills. Later on, these
skills are further strengthened through other advanced stages of education.
The importance of primary education in the development of children is accepted
worldwide. Variations can be observed even in UK which has some differences than
that of England. The primary education system of England, is considered one of the
best education systems in the world. The main contents of the current chapter contains
brief overview of historical background, structure, curriculum, and assessment practice
of the English primary education system.
The chapter brought a contract of the England primary education system to that
of Romania. There are variations in between these two systems of education. In this
regard, the political system of Romania should be taken into consideration for the sake
of better understanding of the current situation. In 1989, Nicolae Ceausescu’s

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communist rule collapsed resulting in impact upon all spheres of life in Romania
including education. Later on the joining of European Union, has also affected the
development of education.
Another contrast has been made with Ireland. Though Ireland is virtually a
neighboring country of England, it, still, has differences in education system with
England. The main difference lies in the compulsory schooling age. In England, it is
four years while in Ireland, it starts at six years of age and continue up to sixteen years
of education. These comparisons bring interesting reflections upon the system of
primary education in England in the context of international community.
The current chapter highlighted three main themes of school starting age,
curriculum, and assessment of the students. All these theme were presented for three
countries; England, Romania, and Ireland. The nature and purpose of primary education
is to develop children intellectually, socially, and emotionally. The governments are
committed to develop the primary education system. There are variations among
primary education systems of different countries. Curriculum and teaching methods are
decided on the bases of the views the countries have regarding primary education.
Curriculum and students’ assessment go side by side. There are differences among the
assessment systems across the counties as somewhere, the system is rigid while in
others allow teachers greater freedom in assessing the students.

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Chapter 4
High Schools and High Stakes Assessments
The fourth chapter of this book is written by Anthony Edwards. This chapter
highlights some essential trends and issues in secondary education of contemporary
times. England and Finland are the two countries focused here with factors influencing
the development of secondary education. The chapter points out using statistical
sources of information including TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and
Science Study), PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) and PIRLS
(Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) – to compare the performance of
different education systems.
Operationally, secondary education is the education offered to students ages 11-
16 particularly in English and Finish contexts. The two systems have been compared
based upon TIMSS and PISA results. Finland has a reputation of outstanding
educational performance and scored highest in PISA survey. The current chapter also
takes into consideration PIRL (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study)
though it focuses on ten years old. On global level, different agencies like International
Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IAE), European Union
(EU) and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), take the
statistics from these sources (TIMSS, PISA etc) in order to compare countries’
educational status. These comparisons are differently used in order to justify or
condemn an educational system or policy or practice. According to (IES, 2008), these
international comparisons helps understanding educational policies, highlighting
issues, access, equity and quality.

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The results of such surveys can worry the governments, educators and make
journalist write columns about the statistics being produced. Besides, the funds
allocation is influenced. The perception of the wider community about teachers also
comes to the front. The current chapter explores the survey systems of TIMSS, PISA,
PIRLS and examine the results produced along with the identification of methodology.
In brief, the current chapter has discussed the education system of Finland and
England in terms of the results produced by the international surveys of TIMSS, PISA
and PIRLS. These three are the agencies which provide results of interest to
governments, journalists and educators. Important thing to note is the values system
and culture of a country that must be considered when making comparisons.

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Chapter 5
Money and massification: international issues in higher education
(Wendy Bignold and Liz Gayton)
The fifth chapter is contributed by Wendy Bignold and Liz Gayton in this book.
This chapter highlights the purpose of higher education in order to develop a personal
viewpoint. The importance of political context to higher education has been discussed.
The twenty-first century issues faced by the British universities have also been brought
under light with its relationship with other countries. The chapter also provides a critical
analysis on some different methods that the higher education has used in order to tackle
the issues being confronted in Great Britain and elsewhere around the globe.
A debate has always been promoted by the universities about their performance
in the search of new knowledge. This can be seen across the globe in various countries.
Through the world, higher education is facing many issues. This chapter highlights the
four major issues where it starts from the Great Britain. These areas have been pointed
out first in Dearing Report (1997) which has played a significant role in the higher
education of the country. It has suggested some recommendation to the government as
well regarding the higher education in the learning society. The four areas suggested
are: issues relating to funding, expansion and widening participation, the
professionalization of academic staff, and the continued assurance of world-class
standards.
The importance of these four areas have been recognized by the universities
across the world. Comparisons have been made to countries especially to India, China
and United States. The chapter first probe into the concept of higher education in terms
of its purpose and the students’ experience. Later on, it discussed the four major issues

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confronted by higher education. The chapter also considers both universities and
colleges as academic institutions providing higher education as considered globally.
Particularly for the purpose of comparisons of higher education in Great Britain,
with other countries, India, China and USA have been selected because of particular
reasons. India has been selected for comparing with Great Britain because expansion
and basifications of higher education in India has already been in greater speed. In India,
more and more individuals have access to higher education. China has been chosen for
the sake of comparison because of the massification of higher education in the country.
The note-wroth thing here is its policy which is moving form rigidity to a more
westernized form of administering the affairs of higher education. USA has been chosen
for comparing purposes because of its having reputation of quality education and
services besides of its being world’s dominant power. Despite all this, USA is still
facing problems of its own in its higher education system.
In brief, the current chapter discussed four major issues faced by colleges and
universities around the world. Funding, expansion, professionalization, and quality
assurance, are the top issues confronting higher education. Though this chapter
describes these four issue with respect to the countries of Great Britain (England, Wales
and Scotland), they still are major issue for many other countries as well. These issues
have been brought under light with respect to India, China and USA but the trends
discussed are global in nature. Some governments are very stern in administering the
higher education in terms of funding policies. The higher education market is becoming
more and more competitive and because of it the institutions around the world are
developing clear, strong and saleable identities.
This situation has created a kind of dilemma for the universities. The
universities have to keep balance between what the governments demand and with what

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to offer something like creative and unique in order to attract students. All these issues
are related to each other. The higher education today, is more about doing more with
the help of lesser available things, better for taxpayers’ and students’ money. The
universities also try to provide education to as many students as possible for equality
of access to higher education.

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Chapter 6
Teacher education in a changing context
(David Cumberland, Wendy Bignold and Bart McGettrick)
The sixth chapter is contributed David Cumberland, Wendy Bignold and Bart
McGettrick. The chapter covers up the historical and sociological developments in
education on needs of current teacher education particularly in England and any other
place in general. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of teacher
education for the sake of effective education. The target is to recognize the rationale for
the interest in teacher education on the part of the government. Similarly, the chapter
points out questions and key issues related to teacher education needed in the very
beginning of twenty-first century. Some of such key questions and issues include “role
of teacher in twenty-first century” and the prospective teachers’ preparation.
This chapter discusses teacher education for the compulsory school sector in
Britain and Poland. It considers a number of different perspectives and significant
changes over time to enable you to understand the current context in each of the two
countries. It then explores key issues such as the curriculum for student teachers and
the role of the teacher which students are trained to take on. Teacher education in Poland
is interesting because it largely still relies on the disciplines of education set in a rapidly
changing ‘post-Communist’ society. The pace of change of society is related to
curriculum reform and there is a need to balance social change with curriculum
planning.
The importance of skilled and effective teachers in the quality of schooling is
increasingly recognized both nationally and internationally. Therefore, it follows that
the quality of teacher education is of great significance to a country in the education of
its future generations. The Australian government, for example, acknowledged this and

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undertook a review of national and international trends in teacher education: With
increased evidence that the quality of our teachers is the most important educational
resource in our schools, greater attention is being given to factors that shape that quality.
These undoubtedly include the capacity of teacher education providers to attract able
students and to prepare them well to meet the demands of teaching.
Teacher education refers to both initial teacher education and training, courses
for students who are preparing to become teachers, and continuing professional
development (CPD), for existing teachers who wish to enhance their skills and
knowledge. This chapter is largely concerned with initial teacher education.
Education in the UK has a varied and complex history. Changes in the education
system have inevitably led to changes in teacher education and training because teacher
education, of course, plays a pivotal role in schooling (Cole, 2006, page 207). There
has been a shift from seeing teachers as delivery agents of a defined body of knowledge,
to seeing them as facilitators and leaders in learning who are equipped to help pupils
develop transferable personal learning and thinking skills underpinned by subject
knowledge. This has inevitably led to the needs for a wider awareness of the role of
teachers and the context within which they are working.
This chapter has discussed initial teacher education and its changing context in
the UK and Poland, with both countries having to rethink how teachers are trained.
There is greater specialisation as we understand more and more about learning
and about child development. This increase in knowledge and understanding is crucial
in a university environment. For many this is a huge strength, although there is also a
need to have this increase in understanding applied in schools and other educational
settings.

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At the same time there is recognition of the need to look at integrated
approaches to working with other professions and working in an inter-disciplinary way.
In professional practices the emergence of ‘Children’s Services’ and other kinds of
developments has made it necessary for the teacher to interact at a professional level
with many other professional groups. This has an impact on the kind of professional
education that is necessary for those who bring an educational perspective to integrated
practice.
This acknowledges that it is not possible to consider the child as a developing
person without considering the wider social and family circumstances in which the
child is growing. Education is not simply about ‘delivering the curriculum’ (a
meaningless phrase!) but about facilitating the relationships for the child to promote the
total flourishing of all gifts, abilities and talents. This lies at the heart of teacher
education.

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Chapter 7
Education and social care: friends or foes?
(Sue Kay-Flowers)
The seventh chapter titled “Education and social care: friends or foes?” is
written bySue Kay-Flowers. The chapter covers up the idea of education as basic right
of every child. In this connection the importance of United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC) with respect to the rights of children in terms of education
has been highlighted and the concept of social care within the UNCRC has also been
brought under light. The chapter discuses ‘ethnocentrisms’ and ‘cultural relativism’
along with the discussions on social construction of childhood in different countries
around the world. The examples of England and Romania were also given in order to
recognize social policies related to children and young people. The author has also tried
to compare the relationship between societal understandings of childhood and the
development of social policy.
This chapter considers global issues in relation to social welfare, the impact of
political and economic systems on the development of social care and moves by some
countries towards integration of social care and education. It is not seeking to compare
different systems as such but rather to develop insight through looking at countries with
significantly different recent histories, England and Romania.
It is increasingly recognized that education does not take place in a vacuum with
teachers working in isolation from other professionals concerned with the well-being
of children and young people. The movement to provide joined-up services is growing
in momentum worldwide. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
(UNCRC) offers a useful framework for considering education and social care issues
in an international context, setting out as it does an internationally agreed set of rights

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for children. However, in looking at international comparisons there is a need to guard
against ethnocentrism and cultural relativist standpoints, concepts that have been
explored within this chapter.
The sociology of childhood has shown how understandings of ‘childhood’ are
located in time and place and therefore how childhood is ‘socially constructed’ within
different societies. The concept of social construction of childhood will be examined
and its influence on the development of social policies relating to children and young
people discussed in order to explore the relationship between education and social care
in some systems and their integration in some countries. The contrasting experiences
of an affluent, industrialised West European country, England, and a country in
transition following a period of communist rule, Romania, will be explored.
This chapter has identified some of the significant influences affecting the
development of social care policy in relation to children and young people using the
examples of England and Romania. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of
the Child identifies a set of rights for those under the age of 18 which governments are
expected to adhere to. When examining social policy and education in other countries
we should guard against an ethnocentric approach and seek a cultural relativist view
instead. ‘Childhood’ is a permanent category in society but the experience of childhood
changes over time and space, being socially constructed. Policy makers’ decision-
making and priorities are influenced by their understandings of childhood. Therefore,
policy making is located within the wider historic, political, social and economic
context of the particular country being studied. In some countries, including England
and Romania, there is a move towards the integration of services for children, including
social care and education. The effective integration of children’s services requires much
commitment from government, policy makers, practitioners and society.

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Chapter 8
Education for citizenship: different dimensions
(Phil Bamber)
The eighth chapter titled “Education for citizenship: different dimensions” is
contributed to this book by Phil Bamber. The chapter starts by defining the concept of
citizenship, global citizenship and citizenship education. It recognizes some of the
historical, philosophical, political, social and economic influences on approaches to
citizenship and citizenship education. The chapter outlines case studies from England,
the USA and India, identifying their different approaches to citizenship education,
including formal schooling, volunteering and global citizenship. It develops an
understanding of the range of sites of citizenship education and associated pedagogies.
It critically analyzes different frameworks for citizenship education by drawing on the
case studies and understanding of different concepts of citizenship.
This chapter discusses citizenship and the theory underpinning citizenship
education. The importance of education for active citizenship has been highlighted and
argued that a focus solely on citizenship of the nation state is no longer sufficient. It
presents evolving approaches to this area, drawing on examples of practice from around
the world. The specific examples are from England, America and India as they provide
three different strategies for citizenship education. The chapter concludes by
considering approaches to education for global citizenship: providing further insight
into different responses to unprecedented global changes.
There are two dimensions to any definition of citizenship. Firstly, that
citizenship is a status which is accompanied by a set of responsibilities and, secondly,
that it is an entitlement to certain rights. Understanding the relationship between rights

22. 21
and responsibilities is therefore central to understanding citizenship in different
contexts but for some this is insufficient. Osler and Starky (2005) argue that citizenship
is also experienced as a feeling of belonging and therefore, argue citizenship has three
essential and complementary aspects: a status, a feeling and a practice. The importance
of citizenship to the development of nation states is self evident and cannot be
underestimated.
The need for citizenship education is apparent if we accept citizenship
incorporates these different dimensions. Although an individual has the status of citizen
as a birthright, they must learn about the rights and responsibilities this status entails.
A feeling of belonging is not automatic and must be nurtured. This implies that
citizenship education is pivotal to the concept of citizenship itself. Of course, any
programme of citizenship education is open to manipulation by the nation state to foster
attitudes that help meet wider goals. This chapter will outline varying forms of
citizenship education in different contexts and consider the rationale underpinning these
initiatives.
This chapter has discussed citizenship education and identified some problems
in constructing a curriculum or approach to education for global citizenship. In recent
years, there has been a growing interest in citizenship education. In some countries,
such as England, traditions of ‘Global Education’ and ‘Citizenship Education’ have
evolved alongside each other. This division between global education and citizenship
education may perpetuate a less relevant understanding of citizenship and a deficient
view of global education. With increased globalization, it is no longer sufficient to
consider citizenship with regard to your nation state only. Some academics and
practitioners consider active participation as a key element in citizenship education.

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Forms of education, illustrated by the case studies and approaches discussed in this
chapter, should be brought together under the banner of global citizenship education.