RESEARCH IN COMPARATIVE EDUCATION A TREND REPORT : R.K. YADAV
Comparative education as a subject for systematic study, unlike comparative law, comparative religion, comparative linguistics, etc., had a very late start, although civilized man's interest in how others educate the young is as old as, say, interest in how others manage their civic affairs. It was only after 'national' systems of education developed in the 19th century that journeys were undertaken by educationists specifically for study, and comparison with a view to borrowing features from other educational systems they considered more successful than their own.
In the universities, comparative education as a subject for study began in the early decades of the 20th century when, after the First World War, internationalism emerged as a new phenomenon. The nation was accepted as the unit for comparison. The educational system came to be recognized as as important as the political and economic set-ups if one wanted to understand the configuration of the constituents and social dynamics of a nation. The establishment of the United Nations Organization and, subsequently, of its agencies, e.g. UNESCO, gave a great fillip to specialists and researchers in comparative education by providing well documented material on education on an unprecedented scale.
The Directory of International Statistics, United Nations Documents Index (UNDOC), UNESCO's European Centre for Higher Education and its publications made valuable international data and literature available for comparativists. Regional bodies like the Council of Europe, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), comparative education societies in several countries, the World Bank and others stimulated research activity in comparative education. Yet, there are inherent difficulties researchers in developing countries have to face. In departments of education this subject has not been accorded parity of esteem and recognition with others. Only a few universities can claim to have a specialist in the subject. Unsponsored and unfunded research, because of the high cost of travel to and stay in other lands, is out of the question for most researchers. Proficiency in languages not belonging to a common family poses another problem, much more serious in Asia than, say, in Western Europe.
Therefore, research studies of Ph.D. scholars, barring a few, continue to be imitative and of an ad hoc nature, as pointed out by writers of trend reports for this section in the earlier volumes of the Survey. The result is that no trend is perceptible, if 'trend' means, as defined in the dictionaries, 'a specified general direction', 'general and continued tendency'. Comparativists have failed, at least in developing countries, to provide to planners and policy makers, on a sufficiently large scale, inferences and conclusions, based on authentic data, about educational innovations and experiments in other countries. Research has been, by and large, vogueish and sycophantic in the sense that, more often than not, their conclusions are that policies and practices which have yielded rich dividends in the affluent western societies would be fruitful in other lands also.
The present report is based on a survey, in a general way, of studies covered in the earlier volumes of Survey of Educational Research (Buch, 1974, 1979, 1986) and, specifically, of researches reported between 1983 and 1987. Thus there were, in all, 102 reports to be examined, 37 included in the previous volumes, and 65 in this one.
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Of the 102 studies reported up to date 35 were in the decade 1971-80 and the rest in the period 1981-88. In fact, from 1976 to 1985 research activity in this field was at its peak. Of the 102 studies completed since 1971 till today, as many as 76, i.e. two-thirds, had been completed between 1976 and 1985. During this period a large number of foreign scholars, especially from Thailand and Bangladesh, were working in Indian universities for the Ph.D. Most of them, and nearly all from Thailand, conducted research which can be categorized as "Area Studies".
Table 5.1
DECADE-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF STUDIES
IN COMPARATIVE EDUCATION
Decade No. of Studies
1941-50 0
1951-60 0
1961-70 0
1971-80 35
1981-Present day 67
Total 102
Table 5.2
UNIVERSITY-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF STUDIES IN
COMPARATIVE EDUCATION SINCE 1971
University No. of Studies
MSU, Baroda 16
SPU, Vallabh Vidyanagar 15
Delhi 9
Punjab 16
AMU, Aligarh 7
Bombay 9
Total 72
Research on this subject carried out outside the universities has been on a negligible scale; and, among the universities, just six of them have carried out the bulk of Indian research in comparative education. This is because most of the foreign scholars were attracted by availability of research facilities there. In no other universities have more than five Ph.D. scholars been awarded degrees in this field. Of the 112 studies included in this section, only seven were carried out in a department of psychology and six in a department of sociology. The rest were conducted in departments of education, with two or three exceptions.
As will be explained below, there is no specific theme or approach which has been the focus of research in a particular university. However, in the Centre of Advanced Study in Education (CASE) of the M.S. University, Baroda,'organizational climate' and 'morale' were the themes chosen by, or assigned to, foreign scholars, probably because in these areas a number of local Ph.D. scholars were also working. In Delhi and Punjab universities during very recent years, research studies having a strong sociological tone have been undertaken by foreign scholars.
Of the studies concerning Thailand and Bangladesh, only five and three respectively are, what may properly be called comparative studies, i.e. comparisons between two or more countries. The rest are all case studies. This trend persists among a very large number of other foreign researchers too. In fact, out of 102 studies on which this trend report is based, a large number are case studies or inter- country studies and only three inter-country studies.
'Area studies', when cumulative, yield valuable data for future research on a much larger, say international scale. National or regional 'comparative studies' may not be too rigidly restricted to cross-national enquiries, which are of little value if merely parallel descriptions are given and similarities and contrasts are not ex- plained in socioeconomic or historico-philosophic terms. Some studies comparing the Indian with foreign educational systems tend to be on the former patters.
Table 5.3
THEME-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF STUDIES
Theme/Type No.
I Administration Organization 8
II Teaching Subjects 8
III Teacher Education, Teachers 19
IV Non-formal Education, Technology of
Education 7
V Achievement, Motivation, Personality 11
VI Economics of Education 4
VII Sociological 23
VIII Historical 17
IX Philosophical 15
Total 102
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R.K.YADAV
No classificatory principle was found really suitable for Table 5.3. The use of 'Theme' or 'Type' is on pragmatic grounds only. The twenty studies reviewed in the comparative section of the Third Survey had been classified into six 'Themes/Topics'. Not only has the number increased more than five times, there is also greater diversification of topics consequent upon inclusion of, say, topics of a sociological or philosophical nature having comparative perspectives also.
ADMINISTRATION, ORGANIZATION Panchal (1973) was indeed too ambitious in taking up a comparative study of administration of elementary education in India, the UK, USA, and USSR. As if that in itself would not have been a formidable task, examination of factors that influenced problems, practices, at- tainments, expenditure and failures was added to the objectives of the study. Patel (1974) again made a comparison of the role of government in administration and organization of secondary education in India, the USA and UK. Panchal and Patel adopted a similar methodology, viz. 'reading' relevant literature and 'Interviewing people who had direct experience' of the systems. Administration and organization of teacher education in Thailand and Gujarat was compared by Phodhipracha (1976), presumably for convenience in data collection in this Indian state.
With a view to suggesting changes in the existing setup in Thailand and to make the rectors 'decisions' more acceptable and 'implementable', Prasit (1982) examined their role as viewed by teachers and the principals themselves in Thailand. School administration was the subject of Sriviha's (1986) enquiry also. From the data collected by means of a questionnaire constructed by the researcher the conclusion was that, while the teachers felt that principals lacked enthusiasm, resourcefulness and a constructive approach, the principals complained about non-availability of time and the heavy load of multifarious routine, administrative activities.
Saenghirun's (1983) interests was in the administrative set-up for continuing education and for the application of low-cost media in non-formal education. The enquiry was descriptive, in nature. Distribution of the work of 'Centres' and 'Divisions' only is reported. Taking Illinois and Delhi Universities as representatives of American and Indian universities, Mehendiratha (1982) compared university administration in the two countries. The finding from the data collected through observation, experience, review of literature and interviews was that American universities had greater autonomy and decentralization than Indian universities.
Pracha (1981) and Sriratna (1983) completed their research work shedding light on the administrative problems faced by Departments of Agriculture and schools respectively in Thailand. It appeared that the mechanism for coordination and cooperation between the school administrators and the community representatives was not functioning well.
TEACHING SUBJECTS AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS Amoradhat (1975) made a critical study of the problem, provision and use of audio-visual aids in secondary schools of Thailand. With a view to improving the teaching biology in secondary schools of Thailand, Muttaqi (1981) made an attempt to present a new curriculum. His compatriots chose other school subjects and carried out similar investigations. Aziz's (1984) as well as Ehsan's (1985) interest was respectively in science and environmental education. Data about teachIng practices, laboratory and library facilities, workload for teachers, class size, etc., were collected by visiting schools, observation, use of checklists and questionnaires. The findings were not different from what they have been in India in weak schools situated in rural areas especially, as shown in surveys made by the NCERT. Khan (1985) repeated the same kind of research for geography, but also included examination in detail of the syllabus for the subject. Descriptive statistics and quantitative techniques were used for data analysis. The findings and recommendations were of the usual type. Miyan's (1986) research into commercial education followed the same pattern, but the main interest was in the employers' opinion about the product. They said the diploma holders performed better than non-diploma holders.
Bajracharya (1986) carried out a study of the existing science curriculum and wanted to evolve a functional model for its improvement. It had a three-phase design-(i) study, (ii) formulation in the light of certain objectives, and (iii) evaluation of the formulated model. Tools, self-prepared, were a class observation sheet and documentary analysis material.
Aram (1986), after a survey and comparison of math-
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RESEARCH IN COMPARATIVE EDUCATION-A TREND REPORT
ematics education in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY) and India from the point of view of trends, issues and problems, made some practical suggestions to be considered by educationists in the PDRY. The curriculum should have specific objectives clearly stated, in conformity with the prevailing socioeconomic situation and future needs of the country, as was by and large the case in India.
TEACHERS AND TEACHER EDUCATION No comparative study was made, up to the 1960s in teacher education. Chilana (1973) and Shah (1974) compared in-service teacher education in India with that in the Philippines and USA respectively. Chokshi (1976) and Phodhipracha (1976), in the same university, carried out similar studies, the former for Gujarat and the Philippines, the latter for Gujarat and Thailand. Dube's (1981) was an intra-nation study, comparing programmes and progress of teacher education in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Pramool (1979) carried out an investigation into the role of teachers in Thailand and Gujarat. But why Gujarat?-it is not representative of India, yet the research gives that impression. From the study the generalization about the whole of India appears to be facile.
Yodswuwan (1980) examined factors affecting programmes of in- service teachers in Thailand. Shafiqul Islam (1980) adopted the experimental method in order to compare the two approaches to teacher education, viz., micro-teaching and the traditional approach. Malani (1975) investigated the problems of Asian teachers and their attitude towards innovations in classroom teaching. Raj (1981) compared the attitudes and values of expatriate and native teachers in Ethiopia.
Ghosh's (1977) study was theoretical. In the conclusion based on a comparison of teacher education in India and the USA and UK, there are platitudes like 'there were differences as well as similarities in the systems', 'the Indian system needed to be made more dynamic and required innovations and change from time to time'. Samart's (1983) objective was to find out how effective the test for entrance to the Diploma in Education course in a teachers' college in Thailand was. Persons from whom the data were collected were 'all' of the opinion that 'all the competencies' needed should be developed; although the teachers themselves 'had no clear-cut concept' of the new syllabus.
Pradhananga (1986) in Nepal made a similar evaluative study of the elementary teacher training course. It involved data collection on the product and process of the training and teachers' opinion about, and attitude towards, the syllabus. What this study revealed does not augur well for teacher training in the country, because the respondents felt the diploma did not contribute to their professional growth. Another study of teachers' attitude towards the teaching profession was Wera Chaisrisook's (1982). The objective was to find out to what extent teachers' favourable attitude towards their profession contributed to their professional growth and their efficiency, as rated by students, colleagues and principals. An attitude scale and questionnaire were prepared, and the data collected when submitted to analysis of variance and other statistical techniques, revealed (i) the effect of a favourable attitude was posi- tive, (ii) the holders of a degree and diploma holders did not differ in their attitudes. Sirirassamee's (1980) conclusion from research was that when individual guidance was given to problem cases according to humanistic ideology, teachers' attitude towards teaching changed.
Saita Prasarthphak (1984) and Nayar's (1984) theses were on the role conflict of women educationalists, a common phenomenon in all societies in general, and in traditional societies in particular. The former made a study of female teachers and administrators in Thailand, and the latter of Asian (Sri Lanka, Nepal, India) female teachers. Saita Prasarthphak's enquiry yielded information on degrees of role conflict experienced by women teachers and women administrators at various levels. The finding from Nayar's research was that teachers from egalitarian social background of higher occupational mobility and of higher occupational commitment experienced, by and large, less role conflict.
Two studies, one by Phonchhun Nuthep (1985) and another by Chaichana Potivara (1981) had concern with another kind of conflict which affected teachers' morale. Both were carried out in Thailand and reached similar conclusions, viz. where principals/presidents left more initiative with teachers and the organizational climate was open rather than closed, teachers' morale was higher, Vichao (1983) and Sarkar (1985) also had interest in teachers' morale and organizational climate. The former constructed three tools in the Thai language for, (i) organizational climate, (ii) teacher morale, (iii) leadership behaviour and collected data in primary schools. When submitted to appropriate statistical techniques the analysis showed, (i) about two- thirds of the schools had average teacher morale, (ii) more than 80
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R.K.YADAV
per cent of the low morale category were municipal schools. In Sarkar's (1985) study the focus was on the effect of organizational climate of secondary schools on the role perception of teachers. The findings did not differ appreciably from the inference drawn from other run of the mill researches. Saovaluk (1983) was interested in the social maturity of pupil-teachers in relation to certain variables. It was found that in Thailand they had high social maturity if they had high socioeconomic status, and dominance and leadership personality traits.
Ariya (1986) conducted research into the extension service programme of teachers' colleges in North Thailand. Besides the academics, the community leaders 'fully supported' the programme, which was far from effective. Such studies would be more edifying if they had a comparative perspective.