Historians of comparative education have ordinarily viewed the development of that field as having progressed in stages, from impressionistic traveller tales to systematic investigations, with each stage eclipsing the previous one in rigour and acceptability. In this essay, I show that this common "Darwinian" view is simplistic and distorts the…

This article presents a brief critical commentary on Martin Carnoy's presidential address from Robert F. Arnove, Nelly P. Stromquist, Christine Fox, Henry M. Levin, Vandra Lea Masemann, and Erwin H. Epstein. Among other things, Arnove finds particularly useful Carnoy's recommendations on ways to engage in comparative education research, from…

Comparative education, as an eclectic field, contains flexible boundaries whose contours are often difficult to discern. Are the boundaries of comparative education wide enough (or, perhaps better said, narrow enough) to make it a "science"? Should it be largely a policy-driven field, or should it focus mainly on theory? How "hard" or "soft"…

Surely the health and vitality of any academic field relies on the periodic review of its intellectual history, evolving theoretical frameworks, and thematic shifts. Attempts to define a field typically involve lively debates over boundary maintenance. Indeed, the question of whether comparative education is a "discipline" has been debated at…

Outlines accomplishments of the Comparative Education Review during the 11 years ending 1998: achieving stature in the field's literature and balance in disciplines represented, expanding circulation beyond the United States, promoting new scholars' participation, improving special focus sections, encouraging reader dialog in the journal process,…

Examines women's authorship of featured articles in the Comparative Education Review, 1957-97. Women authors gradually increased in number and proportion over time, particularly after 1978, and reached a high of 45.7% of total authors in 1995. However, authorship trends do not correlate well with membership trends in the Comparative and…

This report describes the development and objectives of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies; takes a composite look at those who attended its fourth World Congress General Assembly (1980); and examines critical issues facing the organization. (SJL)

The leading model used to explain comparative education development has been inadequate, and we need to account more competently for ideologies that have influenced the field's development. If, indeed, ideology is an inescapable part of whatever epistemology we subscribe to, we must recognize its existence in our own scholarship. (BRR)

Distinguishes between comparative education (an interdisciplinary field of study that applies social scientific theories and methods to international issues of education) and international education (organized efforts to bring together students, teachers, and scholars from different countries, and descriptive reports arising from such efforts).…

Discusses the current issue of "political correctness" in the academic community and the responsibility of scholarly journals to avoid ideological domination from either the right or the left. Describes the 1934 Nazi takeover of the International Review of Education, the only international journal of comparative education at that time. (SV)