Comparative education research is complicated by the difficulty of identifying comparable units across contexts. This paper considers the advantages and limitations of a functional equivalence approach to comparative education. The functional equivalence approach allows us to meaningfully compare the operations that serve each function in the full…

"Context matters" has been an adage and a mantra in the field of comparative and international education since its earliest days. However, knowing which things matter, how and to whom, and also how they affect each other places challenging demands on comparative researchers. In this article, we outline different ways that comparativists…

Textbooks are one of the main resources for teaching and learning mathematics. This study examines the presentation of angle topics in 4th-grade mathematics textbooks in Indonesia and Singapore. The analysis focused on the general characteristics of the textbook and the nature of the mathematical tasks presented. The results showed that Indonesian…

This article compares the conceptualisations of creativity between the early childhood policy frameworks from Iran and Australia to demonstrate how cultural differences influence understandings and representations of creativity. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2019.…

Climate change threatens human well-being and planetary health but is hardly addressed in education. Comparative education research has advised governments about education reforms since the nineteenth century, so what must change to sustain a liveable earth? I use the concept of 'educational space' to understand how comparative knowledge building…

This research aimed to determine the impact of the effectiveness in the application of an independent method of teaching students on their progress in achieving a certain level of Japanese. The study used key methods that implied the experimental involvement of 60 3rd- and 4th-year American and Chinese students with the N3 and N2 levels of…

This article is based on results from research that addressed the ways young Black Metal musicians construct their musical learning and socialization. In this article we will focus on one of the strands in that study; a trace of a classic ideal from "Bildung" theory. Using Bildung theory, we explore similarities between the ideals and…

This chapter contributes to ongoing debates about approaches to modeling student learning. By providing a basis for individual diagnoses, such models can foster teaching that is responsive to students' learning needs. In addition, these models can inform the development of standards and curricula and advance theory and research about student…

This study examined Estonian and Finnish teachers' conceptions of their own learning and of possible ways to learn. Altogether, 70 teachers participated in the study. Theoretical and methodological solutions were directed according to the phenomenographic approach. For most teachers, learning appeared to be at the surface level and focused on the…

Comparative education scholars are often sceptical of teaching effectiveness research that compares 'teaching quality' using systematic classroom observation systems across nations. This article investigates how three international observation systems designed for comparative use, and studies that apply them, attend to three concerns intrinsic to…

In this paper we present statistical analyses of three textbooks used by Swedish teachers to support year one children's learning of mathematics. One, Eldorado, is authored by Swedish teachers, another, Favorit, is a Swedish adaptation of a popular Finnish series and the third, Singma, is a Swedish adaptation of a Singapore series. Data were coded…

International comparative studies on mathematics teaching and learning often provide unitary and harmonious images of classroom practices. This paper aims to complement those studies by describing the complex aspects of those practices. Adopting activity theory as a framework, this paper considers classroom teaching and learning of mathematics as…

As governments try to navigate education system reform amid an increasingly uncertain future, it has become urgent to articulate how they can better maximize the co-benefits of efforts to build climate resilience, advance environmental sustainability and achieve quality education for all. This paper proposes a seven-dimension framework to leverage…

To learn mathematics, historically students had no choice but to memorize fundamental facts and apply memorized algorithms. Since 1995 in the US, all states have adopted standards to govern K-12 mathematics instruction, and in most, standards have de-emphasized memorization and emphasized reasoning based on concepts. This change assumed the brain…

Culture shapes pupils' mathematical learning, their performances and life trajectories of participation (César, 2013a, 2013b). It also contributes to the senses they attribute to mathematical learning (Bakhtin, 1929/1981). Using collaborative work and interempowerment mechanisms facilitates knowledge appropriation (César, 2009). This is…