COMPARATIVE EDUCATION IN THE ERA OF GLOBALISATION: EVOLUTION, MISSIONS AND ROLES

The field of comparative education is arguably more closely related to globa-lisation than most other fields of academic enquiry. Comparative education is naturally concerned with cross-national analyses, and the field encourages its par-ticipants to be outward-looking. At the same time, the field responds to globalisa-tion. Cross-national forces of change are reflected in dominant paradigms, metho-dological approaches, and foci of study. In order to provide a context for subsequent discussion, this paper begins by considering some of the meanings of globalisation. The paper then turns to the nature of the field of comparative education, noting dimensions of evolution over the decades and centuries. Moving to relatively recent times, the paper focuses on the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES), which was cre-ated in 1970 and currently has 30 constituent societies. As its name suggests, the WCCES is a global body – with all the positive features and tensions that that implies. The paper notes the some characteristics of the global field of comparati-ve education, while also commenting on distinctive features in some countries and regions. The paper highlights some specific domains in which globalisation has changed the agenda in which comparativists can and should work. I. GLOBALISATION: CONCEPTS AND DEBATE Held et al. (1999), presenting one of the most thorough analyses of the nature and impact of globalisation, began their book with the observation that: «Globalization is Comparative education in the era of globalisation: evolution,... Mark Bra