Reaction Paper on

The Meanings of the Term Comparative in Comparative Education

I.INTRODUCTION
The term comparative has been generally defined as comparison of the ways as
being alike or different. It most fields this is used and given the same interpretation in
terms of analysing many comparative fields like life science, social science or
education. In terms of comparative education, it refers to inspecting two or more
educational entities or events in order to discover how and why they are alike and
different. It has been related to different comparative fields like life science and social
science. There are similarities and differences that were being pointed out.

II. SYNOPSIS/ SUMMARY OF THE TEXT/ LITERATURE

The essay titled, The Meanings of the Term Comparative in Comparative
Education by Val D. Rust focused on giving a more specific meaning of some
comparative fields like life science, social science and comparative education. It started
by tracing how comparative studies originated which began from the development of life
science. Life sciences established the main form that comparative studies would take by
emphasizing hierarchical classification that is to classify is to arrange items or data into
groups. In social science, the comparative studies have a basic assumption that a
hierarchy of social forms exists and the task of the comparativist is to classify the
various societies and place them in their appropriate hierarchical station. A substantial
amount of research in comparative education has been based on a similar assumption
that there is a developmental hierarchy of social and educational structures.
Moreover, the author pointed out other comparative studies had influenced the
development of comparative education. In terms of ahistorical typology, comparative
educators have relied on typologies drawn from other fields, but have done little to
extend and enhance the form of educational typologies. In history, history of education
is usually outlined in order to provide a sense of context and the social setting in which
a particular educational problem is situated.
The conclusion of the essay, the author expresses his idea that science is not the
only source of knowledge for the development of comparative education. He said that
religion and philosophy needs to be regarded as parallel with science, and it would be
inappropriate to put them in hierarchy because each has its unique contribution.

III. INSIGHTS/ REFLECTIONS

After reading this article, I was able to shed light on how Comparative Education
is related to other comparative fields. I regard it as a diverse field which other disciplines
which have contributed to its development. According to Hans (1992) Comparative
Education is an interdisciplinary subject since it relies on other subjects to be able to
accomplish its objectives. As an interdisciplinary subject, its scope covers the historical
development of education right from the Roman as well as the Greek civilization
subjects from where Comparative Education draws its contents include the following:(a)
History of Education (b) Philosophy of Education (c) Sociology of Education (d)
Anthropology (e) Economics (f) Geography (g) Psychology (h) Statistics (i) Literature (j)
Political geography (k) Political science and (l) The International relations.
I agree that Comparative Education is interdisciplinary. It is not independent of
other subjects. It is a discipline that relates to other subjects for the accomplishment of
its aims and objectives. That is why this field is dynamic and wide in scope.
I have read from the article different definitions of comparative education, but this
should not be merely defined as to comparison of philosophies or ideas. To Kandel
(1957), Comparative Education is the comparison of various philosophies of education
based not only on theories but the actual practices which prevail from this above
definition, Kandel is of the opinion that comparative education goes beyond the
comparison of education philosophies but also includes the comparison of the real
education practices. Perhaps, from the definition, comparative education can be
regarded as being pragmatic.
It is interesting to know that science is not the only source of knowledge for the
development of comparative education. Though the author recognizes the importance
of science, yet he also pointed out that there are other sources. I also agree with the
authors idea that science contributed a lot in this field, but there are various sources of
knowledge since comparative education is dynamic as a field. According to Paulston
(1994), comparative education has diverse perspectives. He introduced a particular way
of looking theory and research, one which was inclusive rather than exclusive of various
knowledge communities. Representation of knowledge continues to grow in
comparative education.
Since comparative education is a very diverse field, the sources of knowledge
are also multiple. There are also many factors that have contributed in its development.
Friedrich Schneider (1947) stated in his publication the factors that can influence the
educational theory and practice of any country: (a) National character, (b) Geographical
space, (c) Culture, (d) Science, (e) Philosophy, (f) Economic life and politics, (g)
Religion, (h) History, (i) Foreign influences and (j) The development of pedagogies.

In connection, it is inappropriate to recognize only one factor and disregard

others. None of these factors is superior in terms of its influence to the development of
comparative education. That is why these factors need to be considered in studying the
educational system of countries.
Moreover, I want to specifically mention religion as a great source of knowledge
in education. Many educational systems in the world have been influenced with religion
as missionaries served as teachers in the earlier times. According to Gayuttar (200), the
importance of religion in the development of a country's educational system or policies
cannot be overemphasized. For instance, the earliest schools in Nigeria were founded,
administered and financed by the Christian missions. Later, Moslems established
schools for their children and the children of the converts. Such schools include: Baptist
Schools, Islamic Schools, Hammadiya School, C.A.C. Schools, Methodist Schools,
Catholic Schools among others.
In the Philippines, the colonization of the Spaniards bringing Christianity for
spiritual transformation of the natives was the root of religious education. And currently,
there are many private schools managed by different religious congregation, though this
is optional to public schools. They have emphasized teaching of spiritual formation in
the curriculum. Thus, religious factor shouldnt be disregarded as a source of knowledge
in comparative education for it helps in building national identity.
IV. CONCLUSION
Comparative education is a diverse field which it is closely related to other
disciplines. It may be reasonably concluded that the interdisciplinary nature of the
subject has contributed to the wideness of the discipline. Moreover, the idea of relying
on science as a main source of knowledge of comparative education and disregarding
other sources will result to the narrowness of its scope. This is in contrary to the
diversity of its nature. Thus, there are other factors that needed to be considered to
fathom the nature of this field. Others might see this field as fragmented because of the
diversity, but I see this as a strength since it only means it is unique and dynamic.

V. REFERENCES
Babatunde, D. ( Methodologies in comparative education: In search of an appropriate
model for developing countries. Retrieved from August 15, 2014
http://www.unilorin.edu.ng/journals/education/ije/june1984/METHODOLOGIES
%20IN%20COMPARATIVE%20EDUCATION%20%20IN%20SEARCH%20OF
%20AN%20APPROPRIATE%20MODEL%20FOR%20DEVELOPING
%20COUNTRIES.pdf

Blake, D. (1982). The purposes and nature of comparative education: the contribution
of
I.L. Kandel. Retrieved from August 13, 2014 from
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/3098496?
uid=3738824&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21104563882813
Cowen, R., et.al.( 2000) International handbook of comparative education. Retrieved
from August 15, 2014 from
http://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=xCJFq4D4r8C&pg=PA1191&lpg=PA1191&dq=nonscientific+ways+of+knowing
+in+comparative+education&source=bl&ots=kKmcoZOl4u&sig=z3QAamqNGt3M
m2M5_C692j9mKts&hl=en&sa=X&ei=qKvoU

University of Hongkong. Comparative education. Retrieved August 15, 2014 from

https://docs.google.com/document/d/13oN3U2xPxL1ytPmpzCq68vCJdDyNx7W
Gx8G_y6aDaLE/edit
Student:
SHILA MARIE PELEGRINO
Professor:
DR. NENITA LAPINGCAO
Subject:
COMPARATIVE EDUCATION