Summary:

Comparative education promotes international understanding by highlighting diverse philosophies, cultures and educational systems. It combats national superiority by encouraging cooperation and shared development among countries. Scholars like Kubow, Fossum and Planl emphasize its role in helping students and teachers adapt to globalization and multicultural societies. Comparative education operates on multiple levels—global, supranational, national, subnational and institutional—each offering unique insights for educational reform and classroom practice. It supports international policies, addresses regional needs and prepares educators for inclusive, culturally responsive teaching.

Comparative Vs International Education: An Analysis:

The relevance and impact of comparative education on international education are in relation to the following aspects:

1- Education for International Understanding:

According to Mugo and Wolhuter, the main objective of the study of comparative education is international understanding, for the promotion of which unilateral and multilateral cooperation programs are designed. Education is seen as a means to increase international understanding. In this regard, it is very important to know about other nations of the world, their philosophies of life, education, the forces that influence their lives, geographical, religious aspects, customs, traditions and culture. To explain and develop the concept of internationality, it is necessary to know how different cultures influence educational systems and how education reshapes culture. The purpose of the exchange of students, teachers and social workers is to develop and promote international systems of education.

2- National Pride:

It is necessary to combat the feeling of superiority found among people of nations, especially economically and militarily strong developed countries.

The people of developed countries need to be made aware that the existence of other countries is essential for their development and fulfilment of basic needs, therefore they should work for each other's benefit.

Kubow and Fossum have identified comparative thought and international perspective as important for living in a diverse global society. This comparison prevents students from making judgments about foreign education systems based on their own limited thinking. Comparative education helps students and teachers to research what kind of educational policy, planning, and teaching methods are appropriate for a given society. Comparative education can be examined at the following different levels:

i- Global Level:

The process of globalization has highlighted the importance of comparative education. Comparative education identifies and explains new trends and movements in the field of education. The forces of globalization have created greater uniformity in education and made it more standardized. Comparative education experts have examined global education systems and assessed how they are able to meet the global trends and challenges of the 21st century. They include global education policies such as the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All, whose effects can be seen equally in different countries.

ii- Supranational Level:

Much of the literature on education focuses on the nature of educational provision in different regions of the world. Regional units are established on the basis of one or more common characteristics of the region. These characteristics distinguish one region from another. These characteristics include the level of educational development, educational goals, forms of educational management, the location of educational institutions, political reorganization, demographic history, cultural location and rates of economic development. A full understanding of national education systems and individual institutions requires attention to regional forces.

iii- Level of Nation State:

Most work on comparative education has been done at the national level, where comparative education describes national education systems. Comparative education research provides guidance for educational reforms in the country by using educational experiences abroad. National-level studies in the field of comparative education are valuable for other areas of educational research.

iv- Sub National Level:

The global trend towards the decline of absolute states and the emergence of multicultural societies gave rise to the subnational level. For example, in Germany in the second half of the twentieth century, the challenge of meeting the educational needs of immigrant children led to the development of comparative education as an organized field in German universities.

v- Institutional Level:

Focusing on the culture of a particular educational institution results in a more complete understanding of that institution or school. Similarly, at the classroom level, this approach helps to understand what is happening in the classroom. Planl, while researching ten student teachers from England who were teaching in France, concluded that comparative education should be re-instituted as a teaching method in teacher education courses. According to Planl, in an era when multicultural classrooms, comprehensive schools and inclusive education are on the rise, comparative education is useful for teachers because it helps teachers learn about children from different social, economic and cultural backgrounds and enables effective teaching. In this era of individualism and human rights, comparative education at the individual level is also gaining importance.