Development studies and comparative education have unusually wide terrains. Content analysis of selected journals reveals much that separates them, but areas of overlap are increasing. Unlike development studies, comparative education research remains mainly qualitative and is not mainly focussed upon low income countries. However, inter-disciplinary and the use of mixed methods approaches have become more common in both fields over the past two decades. Policy concerns which extend beyond the purely educational domain are increasingly prominent in the comparative literature--bringing closer engagement with issues more commonly debated under the rubric of development studies. (Contains 5 notes.)