Summary:

The article explores the modern trends and challenges in comparative education as outlined by educationalist Brian Holmes. It emphasizes the importance of systematically collecting and classifying data to understand global educational developments.

A key trend is the classification of educational data, where international efforts have led to the creation of models dividing school systems into various levels for better comparison. The article highlights how educational aims are compared across nations using government policies and philosophical writings, particularly since the mid-20th century.

The administrative systems of education, whether centralized or decentralized, are discussed for their role in implementing policies and shaping educational outcomes. Additionally, financing education is recognized as a global challenge due to varying economic models and the need for equitable distribution of resources.

The piece also examines the content of education, emphasizing the difficulties in reforming curricula due to national ideologies and resistance to external theories. When it comes to teaching methods, the article notes that global practices are surprisingly similar, although some innovations exist in experimental settings.

Lastly, the article sheds light on evaluation and examination systems, pointing out the diversity in assessment methods and the difficulty of establishing standardized global tests. International efforts, especially in mathematics assessments, have contributed significantly to the field of comparative education.

Overall, the article provides a comprehensive overview of how comparative education continues to evolve, addressing critical issues and global efforts to improve educational systems through comparison and research.

Modern Trends and Challenges in Comparative Education: A Global Perspective:

Comparative Education: Trends and Issues:

According to Holmes, trends in comparative education can be analyzed by systematically collecting data and classifying it. In addition, the question arises as to what role comparative education plays in understanding changes in the educational environment. In modern times, the machinery of data collection has improved greatly. The understanding of planned development in education depends on the validity of the method of societal and scientific research. Holmes has identified the following trends and problems in comparative education.

1- The Classification of Data:

If data on education from around the world are to be collected and classified, the use of classification principles and models is inevitable. In the nineteenth century, Europe was interested in the number of children attending school. In the first half of the last century, the number of elementary schools increased significantly, in the second half, more attention was paid to the expansion of secondary schools.

There have been attempts to develop models for comparing the enrolment of children at different levels of education. Franz Hukler began this work in 1963. Sol Robinson and Brian Holmes held a conference at the UNESCO Institute of Education in Hamburg to discuss how data on comparative education could be usefully classified. The conference agreed that the school system should be divided into different levels and grades, after that the first, second and third levels were accepted. Each level was divided into different stages or phases to identify the different types of schools and to compare the numbers of children at each level.

2- Aims:

Educational objectives can be compared with government goals and outcomes. The practice of educationalists in the nineteenth century of recording legislative details in their reports continues to this day. Another source of information about educational objectives is the writings of philosophers, with whom comparisons can be made. Since 1945, comparative educationists have been deeply interested in debates on topics such as the quality of secondary education, educational opportunities for all, comprehensive schools, and mass higher education.

3- Administrative Systems:

Educational objectives are implemented by translating them into policies, and comparative education experts recognize the important role of administrative systems in achieving these objectives. These systems are of two types. Centralized systems are called autocratic and decentralized systems are called democratic. Systems analysis models provide support for policy preparation and implementation in different nations. For example, in some countries, educational objectives are set at the national level, while teacher salaries are set at the regional and local levels, while in some countries the situation is the opposite. In the 1960s, the increasing costs on students on a large scale in universities encouraged university administrations to conduct comparative research.

4- Finance:

Another aspect of comparative education experts' attention is finance. The burden on national budgets to cover school expenses is heavy because per capita education costs are included in the budget. Thus, at a global level, as a country's GNP and GDP can be compared, and so can the budget allocated for education. In most countries, educational budget is allocated from general tax revenues, while in some countries, specific funds are set aside to meet educational expenses. Private tuition fee and external funding should also be included in the education budget. In addition, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure equal and fair distribution of education funds in different parts of the country.

5- The Content of Education:

The global interest in curriculum is a modern phenomenon. The spread of knowledge has created major problems in the selection of content. It has become particularly difficult to change the ideas and practices of the curriculum. The clearest picture is seen in countries where the curriculum is set by national or regional legislation or regulations. The problems of introducing curriculum reforms can best be analyzed through research in comparative education. Historically, every theory has found support at the national level, so the acceptance of foreign theories is difficult because teachers are not willing to accept new outlooks.

6- Methods of Teaching:

It is difficult to define and classify teaching methods. Where the aim of education is to transmit knowledge from one generation to another, teaching methods are likely to be teacher-less, relying mostly on textbooks and documentary sources. If the educational objectives are student-centered, teachers should encourage students to learn by doing or through experiences in semi-structured situations. If the objectives are society-centered, students should be encouraged to be socialized. In fact, comparative observation confirms that teaching methods around the world are very similar and have not changed much except in a few experimental schools.

7- Evaluation and Examinations:

The most common types of assessment are written tests, in which students are required to answer questions. They also include oral examinations, practical examinations, coursework assessments and objective tests. There is considerable variation in the choice of assessment methods at the national level. This makes it difficult to design tests that are globally consistent. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievements has developed important comparative tests for assessment over the past twenty-five years. After initial work at the UNESCO Institute for Education in Hamburg, an NGO was established to measure and compare achievement in mathematics. Because it is considered a global language, this study used mostly psychometric techniques and thus introduced a new dimension to comparative education research.