This paper provides a 'home international' comparative analysis of education policy on social and emotional wellbeing, drawing on the case of the UK and its four distinct education systems of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have developed more holistic policy in this area, which stands in stark…

Including all children in large-scale educational studies is a pressing concern. Omitting certain types of children from studies can lead to skewed findings that promote inaccuracies about learning levels or educational quality. Increasingly, assessments are a method for investigating the quality of education systems, but national assessments are…

In this paper, we explore the role of online social networks in the cultivation of pathways to higher education for refugees, particularly for women. We compare supports garnered in local and offline settings to those accrued through online social networks and examine the differences between women and men. The paper draws on complementary original…

This self-reflexive essay teases out the predicaments that I have encountered through my past publishing experience, while situating them in a critical review of the existing English-language studies of Japanese education. Drawing on postcolonial theoretical insights and recent critical sociology of academic knowledge production, I use my personal…

The Chinese government is pouring resources into building vocational education at all levels of the Chinese educational system. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in three vocational secondary schools in 2007-2012, this article compares rural and urban schools to highlight the persistent urban-rural divide in implementing vocational…

Education is not easily converted into human capital and well-being in low-income countries, because these countries do not have a high degree of economic and labour market differentiation that makes it possible to convert acquired knowledge and skills. Consequently, to have completed primary or even secondary education does not necessarily lead…

This essay focuses on the use of ideal types within different theoretical frameworks for the comparative analysis of culture and values. It emphasizes the importance of cultural agency, and the potential for enhanced understanding and the anticipation of future developments through exploring deep-level cultural patterns. The essay is written as a…

Debate on teaching in low-income countries has tended to assume an over-simplified conceptualization of pedagogy as either teacher-centred or learner-centred. If theory is to address itself to the complex challenge of improving the quality of teaching within under-resourced education systems then it will have to move beyond this polarized view of…

The key element in comparative history is the problem of cultural and social differentiation and difference on the one hand, assimilation and similarity on the other. Comparative historical science relativizes local, national and regional conceptions of history and interpretations of self and other by systematically linking historical experiences,…

Examines reasons preventing effective policymaking and genuine reform in a number of countries. Measures policy change in education against stages in coming to terms with a new issue: new knowledge, awareness, understanding, creation of new principles, implementation of new policy, change, and monitoring. (JHZ)

Ninety percent of the 1977 entrants to general Teacher Education courses in Ireland (north and south) responded to a demographic questionnaire. Results are detailed and the two regions contrasted with respect to respondents' age, sex, entry qualifications, religion, social class, family background, school experience, and rural/urban origin.…

Comparative research on teachers' perspectives and classroom behavior must focus both on external systematic and institutional influences and on individual differences in teacher personality and background. One such systematic study of French and English elementary school teachers identified "meta-national" similarities and international, local,…

This paper examines the evidence that Black children of West Indian origin in British schools are underachieving relative to their White counterparts and discusses factors which may underlie these research findings. It also considers educational problems of children of Jamaican origin and education of Jamaican children in Jamaica itself.…

Compares secondary education in France and England and argues that the content and meaning of both education and educational attainments are significantly different in the two countries. Summarizes educational history, status of the teaching profession, resistance to vocationalism, and educational strategies in both countries. (JHZ)

Surveys access and opportunity issues for women in higher education and presents data and research examples that reveal concerns that span national boundaries. Topics include distribution of women students and faculty in various countries, the careers of women faculty and researchers, and women academics as leaders and policymakers. (JHZ)