Essay 9 – Future

A.J. Tallo
Essay 9 – Future

Comparative research in education continues to grow and evolve with time. New methods are being used as well as philosophies in educational policy. There needs to be terms defined to describe the field adequately. The Human Capital theory is influencing wealthy and developing nations to reform aid policy and new educational inputs that create economic opportunity. In countries like China, they are improving their educational standards as their economy booms. War in many parts of the world like the Middle East causes for educational reform and comparative studies to take a back seat in their budgets. The UK Department of State for Education is currently working out the final versions and mechanisms of its internationalization strategy. The field is starting to make comparisons as if they were comparing just different students at different schools rather than emphasize the fact that they are of different cultures and countries. This is the new idea of synthetic comparisons instead of generic. While the field is overall improving, there are challenges researchers and school systems face. One of these challenges is continue to explore what we have seen as one of the central purposes of inquiry in comparative education. There is also a need to promote positive developments in the ethics of working in this particular field. The work of international agencies should be monitored in accessing the impact of certain comparative strategies. New methods should and will be developed for comparative inquiry, which build on the strengths of a range of other disciplines. Lastly, there is a challenge of cooperating with specialists outside of the educational field who can contribute valuable and innovative insight. These challenges and plans are a blueprint for a successful future of the comparative education field.