The authors argue for a critical spatial perspective in comparative and international education. We briefly summarize how time and space have been conceptualized within our field. We then review mainstream social science literature that reflects a metanarrative, which we critique for contributing to false dichotomies between space and place and…

Expanding numbers of researchers are focusing on the scale and impact of private supplementary tutoring. Such tutoring is widely called shadow education, since much of its curriculum mimics that of regular schooling. Although shadow education has expanded significantly worldwide and is now recognized to have far-reaching significance, research…

Randomized trials have experienced a marked surge in endorsement and popularity in education research in the past decade. This surge reignited paradigm debates and spurred qualitative critics to accuse these experimental designs of eclipsing qualitative research. This article reviews a current iteration of this debate and examines two randomized…

Cram schooling is believed by students and their parents to have positive effects on learning achievement in Taiwan. Using two waves of panel data gathered by the Taiwan Education Panel Study (TEPS) in 2001 and 2003 and the method of propensity score matching (PSM), the present research found that the average treatment effect for participants of…

An increasingly common approach to comparative education research, particularly with respect to mathematics education, has been the exploitation of video technology, not least because the use of video cameras offers several advantages over traditional methods such as direct observation. It is important to acknowledge, however, that video…

This article builds on previous comparative education research by analyzing the current discourse surrounding this emerging education model--human rights education. The first section provides a brief history of human rights education in formal education. The second section reviews research on international reforms, emphasizing analyses of…

This article presents the presidential address made by Martin Carnoy on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES). The theme of the meeting was "Rethinking the Comparative." In this address, he spoke of ways to engage in comparative educational research, from individual country case…

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…

In order to improve teaching, it is important to understand why teaching looks the way that it now does and how its general form can be explained. One way to address this question is at the classroom level. This approach has been found in the ethnographic work of anthropologists and has been skillfully applied in the recent work of such…

Distinguishes between "research methods" and "research methodology" in social science research, particularly in the field of comparative education. Discusses the influence of the researcher's theoretical orientation on his or her choice of methods for data collection and data analysis, and the importance of scholars outlining this…

Globalization provides a new empirical challenge and a new theoretical frame for comparative education. The global economy is dependent on knowledge resources and information technology and increasingly intertwined in international institutions promulgating particular ideologies and strategies for educational change. Comparative education must…

Examines the limited communication between educational theorists and researchers, on the one hand, and policy makers and practitioners, on the other. Discounts the "two cultures" thesis for explaining the communication gap, arguing that the groups are heterogeneous and overlap. Discusses six approaches to closing the communication gap, and…

Examines three international comparative research projects in higher education, commissioned by the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (Netherlands). Develops a model of the influence of research on various stages of the educational policy process, focusing on three uses of research: enlightenment, political decision making, and problem…

Examines links between educational research and the policy and planning process in Laos. Reviews social and economic conditions influencing Lao education. Describes the use and nonuse of research in educational policy and planning, focusing on decision making and outcomes in a Lao government/Asian Development Bank educational assessment. Suggests…

Describes the dialogue between an American researcher and others as she planned and carried out a study of women's literacy programs in rural Mali. Discusses the researcher's status in relation to the organization administering the programs, cultural differences in terms of researcher versus practitioner and Westerner versus African, and reasons…