Methods and Methodologies in Comparative Education

In this chapter we concentrate on methods of data collection; however, some consideration will be given to data analysis. When one decides on the methods of data collection, one is asking the following questions: What kind of information is being sought, from what sources, and under what circumstances? When one decides on the how to analyze the data, one is deciding how to make sense out of the data that has been collected. Methodology and theory are fundamental to the cognitive structure of any field of study (Creswell and Creswell 2018). Their nature and roles have generated a great deal of debate, both within the field of comparative education specifically and within academic community more generally. The purpose of this chapter is to examine how research strategies have evolved among comparative educators, who publish in research journals. The contextual backdrop for the discussion will be globalization, which has fundamentally ‘challenged the scope and nature of the field’ of comparative education (Crossley and Watson 2003). Whereas comparative education has defined itself as a field that focuses on national systems of education, globalization has multiplied the elements of a global culture while at the same time stimulating tremendous diversity at the local, community level (Zajda and Rust 2016a; Zajda 2020a). We do not attempt to assess here how globalization has defined comparative education methods, but to provide insight as to how comparative education research reflects or does not reflect harmony with globalization.