Perspectives and Comparisons in Educational Research: Selecting and Probing Units for Analysis

All types of research – and indeed many categories of everyday conversation – rely on comparison. At the same time, a specific field of studies called Comparative Education provides tools and perspectives that can benefit all other fields.

This lecture will draw on the presenter’s (Prof Mark Bray) co-edited book entitled Comparative Education Research: Approaches and Methods. It will highlight some core themes, employing examples to show ways in which they can illuminate research design and implementation. The lecture will focus not only on comparing places but also on comparing systems, times, curricula and other units. It will have broad appeal, stimulating reflection and sharpening identification of units for analysis across multiple domains.

Prof Mark Bray: biography

Our presenter, Prof Mark Bray, holds the UNESCO Chair in Comparative Education at the University of Hong Kong. In parallel, he is Distinguished Chair Professor at East China Normal University, Shanghai.

He is especially known for his methodological contributions to the field of comparative education, and for his global research on the so-called shadow education system of private supplementary tutoring.

Prof. Bray is a past-President of the US-based Comparative & International Education Society (CIES), and of the World Council of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES). He is also a former Director of UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning, in Paris.