EDF 410: Comparative Education

By KOSGEI P.K, Lecturer,

0724 852 398
0733 549 295
Dept of Educational Foundations,
Moi University

(Teachers open the doors, but you must enter by yourself)

1.0 Course description, aims and objectives
The course in Comparative Education prepares learners to assume
leadership roles in a wide range of social and educational settings,
thus its interdisciplinary approach. It emphasises the acquisition of a
broad understanding of educational institutions, systems, their
programmes and curricula while at the same time stressing the
understanding of historical and contemporary issues, the cultural,
socio-economic, technological and political aspects of educational
development and change. These are to be applied within national,
regional and international contexts and in governmental and private
organizations, non-governmental organizations, and international
education/development agencies.
Since Comparative Education is such a broad field, learners will be
exposed to broad knowledge ranging from developments of the field,
theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches, curriculum
traditions, dimensions of the field (international education,
internationalization of education, development education, education

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abroad & multicultural education). The course includes a comparative
analysis of the education systems of selected countries and is
contextualised within the wider global context and contemporary
educational trends, with more reflections on education in developing
countries.
The aim of this course is therefore to provide an introduction to the
field of Comparative Education based on the following objectives:
• To create awareness on the global educational trends and on how
different countries manage their education systems.
• To understand and appreciate the challenges facing education in
different contexts.
• To enable us compare our education system with other world
systems for differences and similarities which can be useful in
policy formulation and reforms.
• To appreciate how different factors such as history, culture, politics
and globalization affect education.

TOPICS
1. Definition and purpose of comparative
education.
2. Historical development of comparative
education.
3. Methodology of comparative education.
4. Political socialization and education, U.S.A or
U.S.S.R.

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 5. Two latin American Educational systems eg.
Cuba Peru.
6. Education systems of China and Japan.
7. South Africa- three systems of education or one.
8. English and French educational systems. A
comparative survey of their impact on Africa.
9.The Educational systems of Angola and
Mozambique.

2.0 Definition and purpose of comparative education

Comparative education is a contests discipline whose purpose
is to discover and explain the factors responsible for the
developments and differences in education systems in
different contexts.
• It is an interdisciplinary field of study that applies
historical, philosophical and social science theories and
methods for the comparative analysis of educational issues
(Epstein, 1995).

• It is an intersection of the social sciences, education and

cross-national study which attempts to use cross-national
data to test propositions about the relationship between
education and society and between teaching practices and
learning outcomes (Altbach, 1998).

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It applies descriptions; analyses and insights learnt in one or
more nations to the problems of developing educational
systems and institutions in other countries.It can take two or
more regions as the basis of comparison and provide
explanations for identified similarities or differences. It is a
field also concerned with the practical implications of
borrowing of innovations among education systems. The word
comparative involves comparison of one thing or system with
another.
Many important educational questions can best be examined
from an international-comparative perspective. Comparative
education provides teachers with an international and
comparative understanding of education including the global
description and classification of systems of education,
underlying national educational philosophies, classic and
emerging trends in education and interactions between
different aspects or systems of education and how they relate
to society. It fosters international understanding, peace and
cooperation among nations of the world.
The processes of internationalization and globalization are
having lots of implications to the education sector requiring
that national systems, teachers and even learners have a good
grasp of them. Teacher training and pedagogics today can

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therefore not be transmitted without the international context
in which the youth of today live. No country is an island and
as such no educational system anywhere in the world is worth
anything unless it is comparable to some other systems in the
world.
Comparative education is essential in providing insights into
the conditions under which changes occur or are prevented
within the education system. It is thus crucial in reforming or
improving the education system as it provides useful reference
points. It also enables us to question nationationalistic
attitudes on the superiority of individual education systems by
giving foreign examples that can trigger alternative action and
innovative strategy.
It contributes to the satisfaction of intellectual curiosity i.e. the
desire to know more about the education systems of other
nations as it meets the learners’ or teachers’ need for
information, inspiration and intellectual communication. It
therefore contributes to the teacher’s professional critical
awareness and prepares him for responsible decision making.
Comparative education is thus part of the wider attempt to
explain phenomena within educational systems and
institutions and linking it with its social environment.
Comparative studies always require identification of links,

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correlations and differences. Some scholars relate
comparative education to other disciplines such as
development education and international education. These
categories overlap and are not mutually exclusive.
Comparative education as a field of study has prided itself on
its commitment to the reduction of ethnocentricism by
promoting international understanding through education. It
today concentrates more on explanation and prediction rather
than mere description. It is therefore revealing that
comparative education enables us to learn from the mistakes
and achievements that other nations have made in the process
of solving similar educational problems.

3.0 Historical Developments in Comparative Education

Comparative education is not a recent phenomenon but is as
old as education itself. Traditional societies borrowed several
educational aspects from one another. Comparative Education
as a discipline has its roots in the works of Marc-Antione
Jullien de Paris in 1817. He proposed the purpose and method
of comparing different education systems. His aim was to lay
ground for systematic trans-national studies of education.
Jullien required that governments provide quantitative data on
their education systems. His vision has been taken up by

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several international bodies, resulting on massive collection of
data on education which have been useful in shaping and
influencing policy across many systems.
At this time, there was little interest in Comparative
Education. Some attempts were made decades later by
Mathew Arnold who gave a series of reports on the education
systems of some countries in Europe. He wanted England to
look at what France and other countries were doing and gather
adequate data to support reforms.
By the beginning of the 20th Century, there was renewed
interest in this field. In addition to the works of Michael
Sadler in 1907, there were more developments in the field.
Sadler was against the use of simple descriptions of education
cross-nationally as a way of making education reforms. He
advocated for the use of tangible and successful aspects. Both
Sadler and Jullien believed that comparativists needed to take
into account factors beyond the school or system in order to
understand education. Their approaches were however
different. Julliens approach was basically nomothetic i.e.
isolating a few social factors and underlying trends and
patterns which could then be applied to education. Saddlers’
method was ideographic i.e. analysing the social, cultural and

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contextual circumstances that differentiated schooling in one
society from the other.
The development of comparative education has been marked
by five different stages, each characterized by a different
motive.These stages intersect in time.

i) Travellers Tales: This was the earliest stage which was

prompted by simple curiosity and was mainly based on tales
brought home by travelers to foreign parts. They gave
descriptions of educational systems and practices abroad
which were then used to review the education systems of their
homelands. Since they were not professionals in education,
their attention to education was fragmented, generally
unsystematic and subjective. Major contributors at this stage
included Herodotous( the Greek historian), Xenophon (on
Persian education), Cicero, (Greek education) and Erasmus.
Though their works were very subjective and had no empirical
basis, they made significant contributions to the education of
these countries.
ii) Educational borrowing: During this period,the
desire to learn useful lessons from foreign practices
was the major motivation. It begun at the beginning of
the 19th C after the the industrial revolution, the

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French revolution and coincided with colonialization. It
also coincided with the rise of national systems of
education in Europe. Different countries sent
educationists abroad to gather useful educational
experiences for the development of their own systems.
They were predominantly educational practitioners,
experts, politicians and activists. They were mainly
concerned with educational theory, methodology,
finance, and organization. Marc Antoine Jullien De
Paris (France) and Mathew Arnold (England) and Henry
Benard,(USA)were the most prominent contributors at
this stage. Julien lived during the time of the
Napoleonic times and saw education as a positive way
to improve the French society. This stage also lacked
objectivity and was mainly utilitarian and descriptive.
iii) The Rise of International Educational Cooperation:
This was the period just towards the end of the 19th C.
Exchange of information about foreign countries and
particularly about foreign education was considered desirable
simply to break down the barriers of ignorance that divided
nation from nation. It was characterised by extensive
exchanges of scholars, students, publications, increase in
international contacts and networks to promote international

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understanding and sharing of knowledge. The main concern
was how different contexts shaped education systems.
Scholars were concerned with being able to predict the likely
sucess of educational borowings in implementing reforms.
Michael Sadler and Isac Kandel were major contributors at
this time. .
iv) The Rise of the Social Sciences: This period begun at
the onset of the 20thC and laid the foundation for the search
for explanations for the wide variety social phenomena. The
social sciences such as economics, philosophy, psychology,
and sociology took a centre stage. The main concern was to
provide scientific explanations for relationships between
education and society, as the two influenced each other. The
interaction between education and society was to be analysed
by looking at how historical, economic, social and
contemporary factors shaped education. Interest was not only
in the nature of the relationships, but the possibility of using
the conclusions for educational reform for better societies.
Studies were also made on how education determines national
character. This period marked the beginning of empirical
studies of comprative education.

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v) Comparative Education as a Discipline: This stage has
been marked with the fruitful growth of comparative
education as a scientific discipline in education. It was fuelled
by the aftermaths of WW2. The devastations of WW2 was
followed by unprecedented international cooperation which
enhanced more international intteractions through education.
Education was one of the main ways of promoting
international interractions and peace after the war. The end of
the war resulted into the establishment of new and influential
international agencies such as the United Nations (UN), the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
which have been crucial in the growth of the discipline.
Through UNESCO,UNICEF and UNDP comparative
education has flourished.
Comparative education now became characterised with social
science explanations and use of empirical methods to clarify
the relationships between education and society. The methods
of explanation have become more scientific and robust.This
has strengthened the explanatory power and relevance of
Comparative Education as a social science field. Many
governments are concerned with improving their education
systmems. Institutions also want to inculcate best practices.
Professional associations and research centres on comparative

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education are also continuing to flourish. They collect, analyse
and document educational data/information for use in
comparisons. The Comparative and International Education
Society (CIES) and Association of International Educators
(NAFSA) foster cross cultural understanding, scholarship and
academic achievement through international study of
educational ideasm, practices and systems. Many top
universities have also established departments of comparative
education.
The contemporary effects of golabization, internationalization
of education and the growth of the “knowledge society” or the
network society is continuing to make comparative education
more relevant than ever before. The field has grown steadily
from its precarious beginnings to its current state of academic
institutionalization and respectability.

3.1 Problems and challenges

Over the period of its existence, Comparative Education has
faced several legitimacy questions:
Definition: Comparative education lacks a precise and
agreeable definition. Several propositions have been
made as definitions to comparative education making it a
contested field with no one unitary definition.

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Legitimacy: Scholars in other fields of education have
been of the view that Comparative Education is not a
legitimate field of study due to several reasons. Instead,
they see it as a cooperative activity of the other social
sciences.
Lack of a strong foundation as a discipline: Comparative
education as a field of study has a weak foundation as a
discipline as it does not have any major classic literature,
massive accumulation of research work or founding
fathers of stature as in other social sciences.
Comparative education is largely seen as a method, an
approach or a way of carrying out investigations in
different systems and not a discipline. Elder
comparativists such as Hilker (1962) took the view that
comparison as a method justified the existence of
Comparative Education
Theory: It lacks its own theoretical underpinning and
mainly explains its subject by use of theories from other
social sciences.
Methodology: Methodology defines how new knowledge
maybe acquired, or be rejected as not having the status of
knowledge. Methodologies of data collection, analysis
and arriving at conclusions in Comparative Education

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 have been largely debated by critics as wanting. There
are also recent debates concerning the dimensions of
comparison (Herbison & Meyers, 1964).
Content and Boundary: The academic boundaries and
contents of this field are also not clear. More publications
in this field are now moving more towards developing
countries making it closer to development education.
The different social contexts lead to different areas of
focus in different countries (See Halls, 1990).

4.0 Dimensions/ Typologies of comparative education

Comparative education has been seen within a number of
interrelated sub disciplines.
4.1 International Education
Comparative education is closely allied to and may overlap
with international education. International education is a
comprehensive approach to education that prepares learners to
be active and engaged participants in an interconnected world.
Understanding of a broad array of phenomena is enhanced and
deepened through examination of the cultures, languages,
contexts, governments, religions and history of the world.
International education includes knowledge of other parts of
the world, familiarity with international/global issues and

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respect of other peoples and cultures. Globalization, the
growth of the knowledge society and international exchanges
and collaborations in education and research promote
international education.
4.2 Internationalization of Education
Internationalisation is the process of integrating the
international dimension into the teaching and learning
activities of an institution or an educational system. It includes
activities such as incoming students and staff, out going
students and staff, collaborative projects, joint researches,
internationalisation of the curriculum, language and area
studies and internationalisation at home. It has both
advantages and disadvantages which have to be responded to.
It results into cross-pollination of knowledge, improves
quality, develop capacity and resources while at the same time
develop scholars who are citizens of the world.
4.3 Transnational /Cross-Border Education
The word transnational education and cross-border education
are used interchangeably. It mainly apply to instances where a
country or institutions provides educational programmes
within another country. It means the provision of education
beyond the nation-state borders This is therefore a case where
an institution could have a branch in another country offering

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programmes and qualifications of the mother institution. It is
mostly common in higher education where several universities
open satellite campuses in other countries to offer academic
programmes, joint or dual programs and virtual institutions..
4.4 Development Education
This dimension looks mainly at the role of education in
societal development, social transformation, change processes,
democratisation, promotion of human rights and sustainable
development especially in developing countries. Key in this
respect is the Education for All (EFA) movement and the
overall role of education in attaining the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) for sustainable development. It
also looks into the role of development partners and
international agencies, both positive and negative in education
in developing societies.
4.5 Multicultural Education
Multicultural education is a field of study whose major aim is
to create equal educational opportunities for students from
diverse racial, ethnic, social class and cultural groups. Its main
goal is to enable all students acquire the knowledge, attitudes
and skills needed to function effectively in a pluralistic
democratic society and to interact, negotiate and communicate
with peoples from diverse groups in order to create a civic and

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moral community. It promotes intercultural understanding and
dialogue. It draws its content, concepts, paradigms and
theories from specialised interdisciplinary fields especially in
the social sciences.
5.0 Theoretical Approaches in Comparative Education
Comparative education draws its theoretical approaches from
an array of other disciplines, research traditions and
educational practices. These are mainly used to juxtapose and
interrelate knowledge and practices. Theoretical approaches in
comparative education have been changing with changes in
the representation of knowledge. The following are some of
the theoretical approaches in comparative education;
i) Functionalist Theory
The Functionalist theory is derived from the wider Consensus
theory that postulates that societies are composed of
interdependent parts which have to work together for
harmony. It is also referred to as Structural Functionalism and
calls for maintenance of social order, harmony and consensus
in society. The functionalist approach argues that all these
interdependent parts have a role to play to keep the whole
society in equilibrium. Education is seen as an important
component of society which has a role to play to keep society
stable. It has to socialise individuals to conform to societal

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values and be useful to their societies. Teachers are therefore
significant social agents in maintaining social order.
Comparative educationists look at how education systems
socialise individuals and make them useful for the continuity
of their societies. The theory does not address the issue of
conflict in society. It contends that conflict and challenge to
status quo is harmful to society.
ii) Culturalist Approach
Culture is seen as a standardised pattern of activity and beliefs
that are learnt and manifested by the people in a collective life.
Culture and educational features are linked and act
reciprocally upon each other. Dominant political or religious
ideologies in society would have an impact on education.
Comparative educationists use such approaches to explain
how culture and ideologies determine education policies in
different societies.
iii) Contextual Approach
The contextual approach proclaims that comparative education
can be used to make informed decisions which would be
useful for policy making. The task of comparative
educationists is to analyse and recommend reforms but with
the total consideration of the social environment. Comparative
analysis must be undertaken with specific social, economic

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and political contexts taken into consideration. This view
argues that what happens outside the school system is
important in influencing that very system. It sees the national
system of education as a living thing. Emphasis has to be put
on the educational context before borrowings or transplants
are made.
iv) The Marxist Approach
This approach is drawn mainly from the wider Conflict theory.
It proposes that society is always at conflict due to the
demands of the different interest groups. It looks mainly at the
social stratification of society mainly in terms of ownership of
capital and the means of production. This theory proposes that
most societies are divided into a dominant group and a
subordinate one. The dominant one i.e. bourgeoisie exploit the
poor ones i.e. proletariat and this leads to conflict as the
masses aspire to dislodge the dominant ones. This theory is
used in Comparative Education to explain how education
helps in transforming societies. It is also important in
analysing how class factors determine citizens’ access to
education. Realists and liberals disagree with the Marxists
theory as being outdated especially after the collapse of the
Soviet Union and the end of the cold war. The Marxist theory
has been developed into the World Systems theory which

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applies Marxism to contemporary international relations
between the developed and developing countries manly using
the principles of the centre and the periphery.
v) Human Capital Theory
Education in this approach is seen as an integral resource and
fabric for the society. Societies are therefore are expected to
invest in the education of their populations because this is the
most valuable resource they could have. The human capital
theory dominated education discourse of most newly
independent countries as there was need to invest more in the
education of these new societies. In order to develop, they had
to invest significantly in their education systems. Educated
populations are considered to be more productive to societies
than illiterate ones. Comparative education looks also at how
education has been used to add value to societies.
vi) Modernization Theory
This looks at how education has been used to modernise
societies. Most societies invest in education with the hope that
it will enable them modernise and develop. The main
difficulty with modernization theory was its focus on changes
within societies or nations and comparisons between them
with Western societies as their main reference points - to the
neglect of the interconnectedness among them, and, indeed,

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their interdependence, and the role played by non-Western
countries in the development of the West. Comparative
education used this approach to look at the contribution of
education to societal development.
vii) Dependency Theories
It is linked up with the Marxist theory and argues that
developed countries, in their pursuit for power, penetrate into
developing countries through different ways to integrate them
into the capitalist system with an aim of fostering dependence.
This approach claims that the educational relationships
between the developed and less privileged societies could lead
to dependency i.e. some societies believing that they cannot
make meaningful change without the external support. The
theory sees the current world situation as a result of
domination by the developed nations over the poor ones. It
explains the world in terms of the centre and the periphery.
The centre always wants to control the periphery. It is also
based on the notion that resources flow from the developing
countries to the developed ones due to inequalities of the free
market. In education, external support has led to developing
countries adopting most educational practices from the
supporting countries. This denies them freedom and autonomy
to decide what their education should do for them. When a

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society is economically dominant its members assume that it
also reflects a deeper superiority, rather than an accident of
timing or geography. Modernization without dependency is
one of the best approaches to development.

6.0 Research Methods/Approaches in Comparative Education

Comparative research is the act of comparing/juxtaposing two
or more things with a view of establishing similarities and
differences. There is no single methodology for comparative
research. It usually depends on the aspect being studied and
the purpose of the comparison. Comparative research concerns
itself with middle-range theories and methods that do not
pupport to generalise on social systems but a subset of it.
Several approaches have been proposed to the study of
comparative education. They include:
• The Historical Approach
This approach was developed by Kandel and Butler and
focused on the causes educational theory and practice. It
argued that past experiences could be used to formulate
hypotheses for the present as this exposed achievements and
mistakes of the past that could be used for present day
planning. Every society or system was seen as a product of
history which needed to be understood, especially how each

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society developed its education. This method was popularised
by Isaac Kandel and Michael Sadler with the argument that
educational policies and practices had a cause and effect. Each
national system of education was to be studied separately in a
historical context with an analysis of factors responsible for
similarities and differences.
• The Descriptive/Statistical Method
Pioneers of comparative education such as Marc Antoinne
Jullien and Mathew Arnold extensively used this method. It
emphasises the collection, interpretation, verification and
comparison of data in education using statistical/ analytical
charts to facilitate borrowing of useful lessons from foreign
countries.They believed that only scientific methods could be
comparable. This method is still being used but faces a
limitation on the unreliability and imprecision of statistical
data.
• The Philosophical Approach
This is very closely related to the national character approach
as was proposed by Hall and John Dewey for the American
education system. Philosophy helps us understand the world
and how we can improve it. This approach helps influence the
theory and practice of education. It sees society as living in a
process of transmission just like a biological body. It sees life

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as a self-reviewing process. This approach enables us to arrive
at the best educational practices for each society i.e what
knowleddge is of more worth.Comparative educationists
philosophically interpret certain characteristics of the society
and then develop the right education system.
• Methodological Approach
It originates from the works of John Stuart Mills who offered a
system of research strategies for making experimental
generalizations through agreement. The basic argument is that
if two or more instances of an issue being studied has only one
of several causal circumstances then the circumstance in
which all the instances agree is the causal phenomenon. An
education system could then be compared to a constant e.g.
government strategy. The analysis and comparison of
differences is essential.
• Triangulation
Triangulation implies the application of a variety of
methodologies. This is to ensure that all dimensions of the
phenomena is taken care of. Contemporary leading scholars in
Comparative Education such as Philip Altbach recommend
this method. This was mainly based on their argument that
there may be no single methodology that would provide
explanation to all comparative education phenomena.

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The methodological debate in Comparative Education
continues and has not been completely settled.

7.0 Factors influencing Education Systems

Education is an important sector for all societies. It has a role
in socialization, developing qualified manpower, seeking
solutions to societal problems and enabling learners to fit well
and be useful to their societies. Education therefore has a
significant place in the agenda of nations, societies and even
individuals. Due to its significance education has a crucial role
to play in the lives of both individuals and their societies. This
significance not withstanding, education systems are
influenced by a number of factors which are at times
challenges. Behind every system, there is a combination of
factors responsible. These factors at times reduce attainment
of success in education. Some of the challenges currently
facing education are;
i) Economic factors/ funding
Education is an expensive investment which however has to
be paid for. Due to their difficult economic situations, most
developing countries find it difficult to meet the full cost of
education. Even though most developing countries spend a lot

25
on education, most of this mainly end up paying for staff
emoluments and not educational resources. Most developing
countries now depend on external support and students fees to
sustain the sector. The inability to self-fund the education
sector leads to dependency which at times brings in the
curriculum of the donor countries into the education systems
of the developing countries.
Effective and successful formal education requires investment
in adequate facilities and resources. These include physical
facilities, adequate and qualified human resources. In most
developing countries, education faces a big resource
challenges. The system has to do much with so little. Most
education institutions ranging from basic education providers
to higher education institutions lack basic facilities for
effective formal education. There are inadequate library
recourses, classrooms, laboratories, teachers, teaching
materials, lack of basic school materials, inadequate
infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms etc.
ii) Geographical/ environmental factors.
Geographical factors or the environment plays a significant
role in influencing education. Environmental factor influence
the curriculum and educational practices of societies
concerned. For most developing countries, geography has

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always had attendant disasters such as wars earthquakes,
floods, famine etc impact differently on education depending
on their magnitudes. When such occurrences take place,
education largely comes to a stop. Several years of war has
hampered education in several African countries such as
Angola, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Sudan. There have
also been instances where other emergency situations such as
earthquakes and droughts have hindered education. These call
for disaster preparedness by countries so as to avoid the full
consequences of disasters.
iii) Language of instruction
Language is a major question in education. Language may not
be everything in education, but education is nothing without a
language. After independence most developing countries
adopted the languages of their colonial masters for usage in
the school system. In Africa for example, English, French and
Portuguese are the most widely used languages of instruction.
Research has shown that one of the biggest challenges facing
African education is the language question. From a tender age,
children are denied the opportunity to learn in their local
languages at the expense of the foreign languages. In the first
place, they spend a lot of time learning the new language and
it is also difficult for them to understand or form new concepts

27
in these new languages. In addition, language and culture are
inseparable and this trend only denies the child his or her
culture and identity. However, due to the complexities of the
language situations in most developing countries, new
language policies now propose a mix of both local and a
foreign language at the initial levels of schooling. It has been
ascertained that many students fail to succeed in education due
to the complexities arising from the foreign languages. The
issue of language of instruction has been debated and still
attract lots of discourse.
iv) Social and Cultural Factors
Education is usually seen as a social factor in the sense that
any system of education must reflect the norms and ethos of
the people it should serve. Education therefore ensures cultural
preservation, continuity and renewal. There can be no society
of humans, however, primitive, that does not have a culture.
Each society when closely analysed, reveals how cultures
influence education or vice versa. Cultures change very slowly
and as such have profound influences on education. While
some cultures influence education positively, some are
detrimental to education. There are several attempts to change
negative cultural values in most societies.

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v) Quality
Education has to be relevant and useful to society. Quality is
therefore a central issue in education. Knowledge of value
should develop the individual, make him useful to the society
and enable him grapple with the social challenges of his
context. There are many factors that affect the quality of
education. Some countries teach out dated curriculum, do not
adequately resource their systems and use untrained teachers,
borrowed curriculum and poor management styles. These
hamper the quality of education.
vi) Access, Success and Equity
Education at all levels is a human right and as such all human
beings irrespective of their gender, creed/faith, nationality,
religion, or race have a right to education. Thus all people
should have equal access opportunities to education. In
developing countries the participation rates at all levels of
education are alarmingly low. Africa for example has the
highest level of illiteracy and access in the world. Even with
the campaign for Education for All by international agencies,
access to primary education is still far below the targets. This
has even worsened in the higher levels of education.
In most developing countries, the participation of females and
other disadvantaged groups in formal education is dismally

29
low. This is for all levels of education. Should this state of
affairs continue to prevail, then it would have to lead to a more
inequitable society. Most communities prefer taking the boy
child to school at the expense of the females. The Education
for All Conference held in Thailand in 1990 recognised this
and recommended several steps that developing countries had
to increase the participation of females and disadvantaged
groups in education. It had been ascertained that there were
serious gender inequities in education with very low female
participation reported in many developing countries. It was
proposed that by 2000, there was to be gender parity in the
education systems of all countries in the world. Currently most
countries offering free primary education have attained this
but it might be difficult to sustain due to several reasons.
Other aspects such as early pregnancies, arranged marriages,
female circumcision etc might still make it hard for gender
parity to be attained in education.
viii) External/ Foreign Influences
Influences from foreign cultures or countries influence
education a great deal. The colonial legacy of Africa
significantly influenced African education. Such external
influences can at times be good in enhancing quality and
bringing in new ways of doing things. At times, however, they

30
can be detrimental / harmful. Through external affiliation,
developing countries have lost a lot of qualified staff due to
brain drain. These qualified local expertise leave for other
regions for better working conditions or remunerations. This
leaves the developing countries with inadequate qualified staff
for the education sector but with more concentration of
knowledge in some parts of the world and a reduction in
others which eventually leads to underdevelopment in other
parts. External influences have also at times led to imitation of
bad education policies and even systems.
ix) Political Factors/Role of government
Governments play an important role in education. They are the
main agencies in governance, funding, policy making and
implementation of most aspects of education. Countries
experiencing political instability or the complete absence of
the government undergo several challenges. Where
governments exist, they at times interfere with the education
sector and impede the growth and freedom required for
constructive education to take place. Governments should play
more regulatory work than control of the systems of
education. They should also not politicise their involvement in
education. Such instances have always led to deterioration of

31
education. Ideologies of governments e.g. communism,
capitalism also influence the education sector.
x) Religious factors
Religion has been a significant factor in education especially
in developing countries. The onset of formal education in most
developing countries was largely through religious outfits such
as the Christian missionaries and Islamic groups. Religion
affects education in the sense that some religious doctrines are
against some proclamations or undertakings in education.
They thus inhibit the free inquiry of knowledge. Others have
supported education in different ways.
X) Demand
Education is considered as a valuable and fruitful gain. Over
the years, demand for education at all levels has been
increasing. Coupled with dwindling resources and financial
support from governments, the education sector in many
countries cannot manage to cope with student numbers. This
has led to many instances of overcrowding and over utilization
of educational facilities available in the institution. To cope
with this, governments need to expand the capacity of the
sector to enable it manage the rising demand and effectively
provide useful education to the growing numbers of young
people. With many countries agreeing to implement the

32
requirements of Education for All, adequate measures should
be made to make the sector responsive.

33
8.0 Country case scenarios in a comparative perspective
(i) The USA
The USA has a population of about 300 million people. It has
about 95% enrolment in primary school, about 90% enrolment
in secondary school and 83% in tertiary education.
Government spending on education stands at 15.3%. After the
collapse of the former USSR, the USA has remained the major
super power in the contemporary world. Education has played
a significant to the rise of the USA to be the world’s major
economic and technological power. This advancement gives
the USA a dominant position on most global issues.
American Education was largely an offshoot of European
Education especially influenced by the views of Herbert
Spencer. Early American education theorists wanted a holistic
and encompassing education system to prepare the youth for
complete living. The curriculum was therefore to be
pragmatic so as to train the individual for specific social roles
and utility. Education was seen as the agency for rapid social
change, progress and reform. John Dewey also influenced
American Education greatly. To develop a society that was
innovative, members had to be trained to develop personal
initiative, adaptability and innovative skills. Individuals were
trained to control their environments rather than adapt to them.

34
The schools system was therefore to promote spontaneous
knowledge and mould good habits i.e. promote
democratisation. They believed that all things change from
simplest to complex, through continued struggle and their
society could achieve this via education. They believed that
the only way to gain useful knowledge was through a
scientific approach. The question "What Knowledge is of
Most Worth?" needed to be answered before any curriculum
was chosen or any instruction commenced.
Individual freedom and self-discovery in education was very
important. Learning was to be a sensory experience where
students interacted with their environments gradualy and in an
inductiveprocess. Children were to be be encouraged to
explore and discover knowledge naturally and pleasantly. Rote
memorization and recitation was strongly opposed. Special
emphasis was placed on the sciences.USA leads in opening up
the education system to most of its people and would like to
be the first in the world in Mathematics and Science
achievement.
The management and administration of the education system
is very decentralized with each of the 50 states controlling
their own education systems. The structure of the system
depends on the states. The federal states are responsible for the

35
curriculum and funding of education in each region. Primary
school takes between five to six years while secondary school
takes between three to four years.
The USA has a robust higher education system composed of
about 3,501 universities, leading in research and innovation.
The main goal was to teach subjects that would contribute to
successful living. Through education, America had to be on
the cutting edge of the world economy.
Today it is the largest centers for knowledge generation and
utilization and leads in scholarship in almost all disciplines.
American education has today influenced many other systems
in the world. Currently due to competition from other
countries, mainly Japan and China, America is realigning its
education system more towards the needs of the new
knowledge economy.

(ii) Russia

Russia has a population of 143 million people. Difficult

economic times and pressure for reforms led to the collapse of
the former USSR in the eraly 1990s and led to the creation of
Russia and the other breakaway states.

36
Compared to the American system, the Russians had a
collective approach and was mainly aimed at training the
collective minds of the young Russians for communism.
Education was not for democratization but for marxist
ideologies. The right to education is stated in the constitution
of the Russia Federation and as such education is open to all
citizens. It's ensured by compulsory primary and secondary
schooling. In the mid 20th century Russia was a major world
power in economy, science and military.This was pegged on
its adavanced discoveries and investments in science. Their
prowess could only be competed by the U.S.A.

Education in Russia is compulsory. Primary and secondary

education take 11 years in total. Those who wish to go for
higher education must complete and extra two years in
secondary school. Core subjects include Russian language,
history and math.

Due to the desire by the USA to establish itself as the new

world power, ideological differences with USSR emerged at a
time when the USSR was facing hard economic times. These
differences were quite passionate and led to the cold war
which almost brought the world to a 3WW. Each country
wanted to lead in Science and Technology. In the end,

37
American supremacy reigned with the former Soviet Union
crumbling in the early 1990s.This marked the end of the
socialist inclinations in Russia. With the collapse of the
communist USSR, USA dominated in education and scientific
developments. Russia, however, still remains a strong power
in Europe and is currently reforming and strengthening its
education system to attain its lost glory and tending to move
towards capitalistic thinkings.

(iii) France

The modern era of French education begins at the end of the

nineteenth century. Jules Ferry, a lawyer holding the office of
Minister of Public Instruction in the 1880s, is widely credited
for creating the modern Republican school by requiring all
children under the age of 15 to attend. He also made public
instruction free of charge and secular. Before him, there was
criticism and discontent with the school system.

Since the reigns of Napoleon (beginning 1779), the French

system has been mainly public and remained highly
centralized with strong control by the state and uniformity in
its provision. These characteristics are still evident in the
French system. Napoleon established a state school system,
controlled and financed by the state and administered by the

38
communes. France is divided into 35 académies, the most
commonly used administrative unit with headquarters usually
located in the largest city in the concerned territory and is
headed by a recteur. The main responsibility of the académie
is to manage personnel and state budgets pertaining to the
education. It serves as a link between regional specificities and
the centralized governing body in Paris. It ensures the
implementation of the official educational programs produced
by the Ministry. Education is the responsibility of the state. At
the primary and secondary levels, there is a national
curriculum.
Schooling in France is mandatory. Primary education lasts for
five years. Students usually have a single teacher who
instructs in many different disciplines, such as French,
mathematics, natural sciences, history and geography.
Religious instruction is not supplied by public schools. In a
March 2004 ruling, the French government banned all
"conspicuous religious symbols" from schools and other
public institutions with the intent of preventing proselytzation
and to foster a sense of tolerance among ethnic groups.
Secondary school education is divided into lower and upper
secondary sectors, of four and three years respectively.

39
Radical reforms after 1968 student revolts, led to many
changes to the education system. Rationalism was highly
regarded in the education system i.e every course had a
professional/ vocational purpose. While most countries in
Europe adopted the French system, the system has recently
been so much influenced by the American system. The French
have strong higher education and research tradition. Another
characteristic is the low tuition costs as there are subsidies
from the state. There is a scholarship program for students
from low income families.

(iv) England

The English education system has influenced many other

systems in the world. England has been a very successful
country since the industrial revolution. By then it was the
leading development centre. Education in England was mainly
based on the collectivist tradition of Europe where institutions
were considered as state organs. Most schools came under
state control in the Victorian era. Based on the Education Acts
of 1902 and 1944 the day to day administration and funding of
state schools is the responsibility of the local authorities,
making it a devoved system.

40
Education is compulsory for all children from age five.
Children are educated in state funded schools financed
through the tax system and so parents do not pay directly for
the cost of education. Pupils study all subjects in the
curriculum except foreing language. Public secondary school
education is also free and has two public examinations. The
higher education systems include universities, polytechnics
and colleges. A large portion of the English education system
is funded by the state. England follows a policy in which all
teachers are to assume the role of the parents once a child is in
the school territory.

After the WW2 newly emerging countries such as USA and

Japan challenged the supremacy of England in education,
especially in scientific innovations. England was largely
surpassed in Science and Technology but still remains a very
high achiever in education. Not only have the politics of
education changed in important ways, but the substance of the
debate about education has also shifted in recent years. The
rationale for education reform is increasingly based on
economic needs, especially in regard to international
competitiveness. The Thatcher governments passed a series of
laws that changed education in England dramatically. The
reforms largely involved efforts to create more of a market-

41
like organization in education. Almost all commentators agree
that the reforms in England have been driven by an explicit
ideology based on the superiority of market mechanisms over
state provision of services, and a strong distrust of the views
of professional educators. Britain emphasized on reform
within an alternative pluralist culture. However, Britain is still
a major power in the world and has a very strong and
impeccable university tradition.

(v) The Peoples Republic of China

China is one of the fastest emerging world economies and
has the largest population in the world i.e 1.3 billion.
Education has a long tradition in the Chinese society derived
from the teachings of Confucius and philosophers of the
middle and late eras. They taught that social harmony could be
achieved only if humans were free from deprivation and given
proper education. They believed that all people possessed the
same potential through education. Education was free for all,
was seen as a way of social mobility and as a powerful
mechanism for implementing the ethical and social norms.
Traditional Chinese education consisted primarily of rote
learning and memorization of the classics. Education was to
create bureaucratic generalists familiar with an accepted
ethical outlook and body of knowledge, not with the growth of

42
knowledge or with academic specialization. Those who
worked with their heads were to rule, while those who worked
with their hands were to serve. During all this time, China was
a leading civilization than most western countries. They had to
follow Japan in adopting western values without sacrificing
Chinese identity

In the 1960s, Mao Tse Tung led China into a Cultural

Revolution i.e the march toward communism. This led to
communist teaching and constriction of free inquiry into
knowledge. Intellectiuals had to perpertuate communist
ideologies.Mao Zedong brought higher education to those who
otherwise could not afford and made China to import the
soviet model of education as the Soviet i.e polytechicalism
was the prototype of success. Many comprehensive
universities and Polytechnics were then built and emphasis
was on vocational education and industrial skills at the
expense of other siubject areas. Communism was thus brought
in and emphasised during Maos time. During this period,
education in China suffered as a result of revolutionary
struggles and watered down curricula.

After Mao, the process of regularization in the schools was

resumed, whereby academic standards were reintroduced at all

43
academic levels, thereby placing an emphasis on quality as
opposed to quantity in the delivery of education. China is
currently reforming its system, has increased funding to the
sector,, concentrates more on vocational education and given
more autonomy to the sector.

The curriculum has broadened somewhat to more closely that

in American colleges and universities. There is a clear
committment to a universal education, as well as to one that
will produce both scholar/scientists and skilled laborers. China
is today a leading knowledge centre, irreversibly part of the
international community, and developments in China's
educational system will have an increasingly profound
influence on the other systems of the world, just as so many of
them have influenced the present Chinese system of education.

(vi) Japan:

Japan has a population of 128 million. It has attained 100%

enrollment in primary school while 55% of the tertiary age are
in tertiary institutions. 9.8% of government spending goes to
education. Education is an important issue in Japanese society
and has played a central role in enabling the country to meet
the challenges presented by the need to quickly absorb
Western ideas, science, and technology. Japan is a relatively

44
small country devoid of resources but has attained super
economic competitive advantage surpassing many other
countries. The Japanese traditions and belief in oneness in
body and mind has played a role in this. Knowledge has been
the key to the Japanese success.

The Japanese educational system lays emphasis on

cooperative behaviour, group discipline, and conformity to
standards. It stresses respect for society and group goals above
individual interests and has produced skilled industrial
workforce that has made Japan a global economic power. The
Japanese system is very competitive and has high educational
attainment rates characterized by high enrollment and
retention rates throughout the system. Schooling emphasizes
diligence, self-criticism, and well-organized study habits with
strong ingrained beliefs that hard work and perseverance will
yield success in life. Much of official school life is devoted to
teaching correct attitudes and moral values and to developing
character, with the aim of creating a citizenry that is both
literate and attuned to the basic values of culture and society.

Formal education in Japan began with the adoption of Chinese

culture in the 6th century. When Japan was opened up during
the Meiji Restoration, the adoption of western learning was

45
seen as a way to make Japan a strong, modern nation. Japan
borrowed a lot from China, Europe and USA. In the earlier
years, the system was mainly to prepare the nation for war.
The aftermath of WW2 propelled Japanese education to even
higher levels with emphasis on Science & Technology.

The Japanese hold several important beliefs about education,

especially compulsory schooling, that all children have the
ability to learn, that effort, perseverance, and self-discipline,
not academic ability, determine academic success; and that
these study and behavioral habits can be taught. Thus, students
are not grouped or taught on the basis of their ability, nor is
instruction geared to individual differences. The national
curriculum exposes students to a balanced education and is
known for its equal educational treatment of students and for
its relatively equal distribution of financial resources among
schools.

There is close to 100% completion rate of basic education and

about 90 percent of the students graduate from high school,
academic achievement tends to be high, and schools contribute
substantially to national economic strength. Reasons for
Japanese successes include: clear purposes rooted deeply in
the culture, well-defined and challenging curricula, well-

46
ordered learning environments, high expectations for student
achievement, strong motivation and effective study habits of
students, extensive family involvement in the mission of
schools, and high status of teachers.

Challenges and criticisms include inattention to variations in

students' abilities and needs, rigidity and uniformity of the
system, and insufficient concern for development of creative
and independent thinking. Japan is today a leading world hub
in technology. The education system and the hard work
associated with the Japanese promotes this. It is quickly rising
as the major challenge to the USA domination. Japan is a
realistic miracle case and it has used education to outperform
most countries of the world.

From the case of Japan, Comparative educationists may learn

of how a centralized and competitive system works.

7. Cuba

Cuba is one on the Latin American countries, with a

population of about 11 million. It has attained about 98%
enrollment in primary school, 88% in secondary schools and
61% in tertiary education. The government spends 16.6% of
its budget on education. Education in Cuba is nominally free

47
at all levels and is highly centralized with strong state control.
During the United States occupation of Cuba 1898-1959,
Cuban education was organized along American lines. During
this period Protestant schools were built "to convert Catholics
to evangelical Christianity to bring them in line with American
ideas. Despite the institution of compulsory education, Cuban
education after independence was characterized by gross
inequalities regarding access to resources and educational
opportunities. These were marked in the contrast between
education in the cities and in rural areas. In 1961 the
government nationalized all private educational institutions
and introduced a state-directed education system. Private
institutions were nationalized without reimbursement. There
are no tuition fees paid by school or university students and
private education at all levels is not permitted. Education
expenditures continue to receive high priority. The
government embarked on a nationwide campaign to tackle
illiteracy among its citizens by increasing access.

Castro believed strongly in education. Before the revolution

23.6 per cent of the Cuban population was illiterate. In rural
areas over half the population could not read or write and 61
per cent of the children did not go to school. Castro asked
young students in the cities to travel to the countryside and

48
teach the people to read and write. Cuba adopted the slogan:
"If you don't know, learn. If you know, teach." Eventually free
education was made available to all citizens and illiteracy in
Cuba became a thing of the past. Castro had strong views on
morality. He considered that alcohol, drugs, gambling,
homosexuality and prostitution were major evils, sources of
temptation and corruption and he passed laws closing them
down. Members of the Mafia, who had been heavily involved
in running these places, were forced to leave the country. The
system also emphasized on vocational training and specialist
schools.

Cuba has had the highest rates of education and literacy in

Latin America, only second to Argentina. Nevertheless, the
economic upheaval after 1991, known as the Special Period,
strained Cuba's long-standing efforts to ensure access to
quality educational services.The system has been critcized for
political indoctrination and for monitoring the political
opinions of the students which may have lifelong
consequences.

The system was mainly to instill communist ideas. From his

elementary school, students are taught that God does not exist,
and that religion is "the opium of the masses." If any student

49
speaks about God, his parents will be called to the school,
warned that they are "confusing" the child. The Code for
Children, Youth and Family provides for a three-year prison
sentence for any parent who teaches a child ideas contrary to
communism. The says: No Cuban parent has the right to
"deform" the ideology of his children, and the state is the true
"Father." Article 8 of that same code reads, "Society and the
state work for the efficient protection of youth against all
influences contrary to their Communist formation."

The "Cumulative School File" was used to measure

academic achievements and also "revolutionary integration,"
of the student and their families. It accompanied the child for
life, and was continually updated. His university options
depend on what that file says. If he did not profess a truly
Marxist life, he would be denied many career possibilities. It
monitors the ideological integration of individuals virtually
throughout their lives, by including not only purely academic
or employment-related material, but also information
regarding their membership in mass organizations, functions
performed in such organizations, level of activism, ideological
features of family members, misconduct, etc. Often
individuals were expelled from educational institutions,
dismissed from their jobs or subjected to some form of

50
discrimination for expressing, in some way, views inconsistent
with the official ideology.”

The curriculum in primary and secondary schools is based

upon principles of "hard work, self-discipline and love of
country”. Students are required to work in agriculture three
times a week and do social service. Private universities,
which were nationalized without reimbursement. The
education system is very centralized and is controlled from
Havana. There are about 45 universities in Cuba with about
200,000 students.Castro wanted Cuba to become a leading
world education power by the 21st century. Women are at par
with men in educational attainment. Cuba is among the most
literate countries in Latin America ahead of Panama,
Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Haiti.

8. South Africa

South Africa is a middle income economy and has 44 million

people. Apartheid (literally "apartness" in Afrikaans and
Dutch) was a system of racial segregation that was enforced in
South Africa from 1948 to 1994. South Africa had long been
ruled by whites and apartheid was designed to form a legal
framework for continued economic and political dominance
by people of European descent.Under apartheid, people were

51
legally classified into a racial group - the main ones being
White, Black, Indian and Coloured - and were geographically,
and forcibly, separated from each other on the basis of the
legal classification.

Education, and other public services were segregated with

those available to non-white people were generally
inferior.The existing pass laws required blacks and coloureds
to carry identity documents. The white schools were of a very
good standards, had well-educated staff and ample funds,
while black schools were seriously understaffed and under
funded, with many black areas without a school at all. Each
black child's education cost the state only a tenth of each white
child's. The Bantu Education Act specifically aimed to teach
blacks only the basic skills they would need in working for
whites. Higher education was also provided in separate
universities and colleges. Very few places were provided for
blacks and all the existing and reputable universities remained
white.

Proponents of apartheid argued that once apartheid had been

implemented, blacks would no longer be citizens of South
Africa; rather, they would become citizens of the independent
"homelands". In terms of this model, blacks became (foreign)

52
"guest labourers" who merely worked in South Africa as the
holders of temporary work permits.Eighty-seven percent of
the land was reserved for whites. The rest was divided into ten
'homelands' for blacks (80% of the population). Blacks were
forcefully removed to these homelands e.g the 1950
Johannesburg, removal in which 60,000 people were moved to
the new township of Soweto (an acronym for South Western
Townships).

Apartheid was condemned internationally as unjust and racist.

Through ANC there was open resistance in the form of strikes,
public disobedience, and protest marches which even led to
violent clashes. The Sharpeville Massacre where police
opened fire on unarmed and peaceful protesting blacks is one
of the cases. Nationalists such as Nelson Mandela, Govan
Mbeki, Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and Robert Sobukwe led the
Black Consciousness Movement

The 1976 students uprising in Soweto in which 23 students

were killed triggered revolts in the schools. When Steve Biko
was arrested and killed in 1977 a generation of young blacks
committed themselves to a revolutionary struggle against
apartheid and wanted "liberation before education,". Due to

53
pressure at home and international sactions, apertheid had to
come to an end with S.Africa attaining independence in 1994.

After independence, the government begun implementing the

Black Economic Empowerment policy and affirmative action
laws for employment equity targets. South Africa is
responding to the people’s main demands by opening up the
education and training system to all citizens. South Africa is
finally rebuilding its educational system to facilitate the
democratic transformation of the national education and
training system.Education and professional training were at
the heart of the political struggle against the former system,
and “education for all” is currently a key theme. Youth
demonstrations against segregation in education and the
attempt to impose the teaching of Afrikaans, one of the white
minority’s two official languages, touched off the Soweto riots
.

S.Afrfica has now moved from elite to mass higher education

to address both equity and development needs.The new system
includes proposals for lifelong education. There have also
been mergers between the historically originally white

54
universities and the historically black ones. Social inequalities
are still deeply embedded in the society.

9. Angola

The third world comprises mainly Africa and contains the

large majority of the world’s population. There are major
differences in terms of economic conditions, politics and
educational traditions. However the third world faces some
common problems. According to UNESCO's Regional
overview on sub-Saharan Africa, in 2005 only 58% of
children were enrolled in primary schools, the lowest
enrollment rate of any region. It was also the region with the
highest rate of drop outs. It also reported marked gender
inequalities. There are 46 million African children who have
never stepped into a classroom. Out of those in school, 4 out
10 children still did not complete primary school. Angola and
Mozambique could illustrate this.

Angola is a sub-Saharan African country with a population of

about 16 million. Angola’s substantial natural resources make
it potentially one of the richest countries in Africa. Angola
attained independence in 1975 and their education system has
strongly followed the Portuguese one. The system is
centralised and lacks adequate resources. Angola is still far

55
from meeting the goal of universal quality primary education.
The prolonged civil conflict left the Angolan educational
sector in a state of disarray. Between 1992 and 1996 alone, the
war detracted the education sector. The country faces the huge
challenge of increasing access to all levels of education.
Institutional and systemic strengthening of the education
sector and related capacity building are a pre-requisite to take
on this challenge.

The 2001 UNICEF Survey showed that only 56 per cent of

children of primary school age attend the first level of basic
education with clear disparities by gender and socio-economic
groups. Although current enrolment figures show a trend of
increase in enrolment, a large number of Angolan children are
still deprived of their right to quality education. At present, it
is estimated that at least one million primary school age
children are out of school, the majority of them being girls. It
is also important to note that Angola uses Portuguese as the
language of instruction.

56
10. Mozambique

Mozambique was also a Portuguese colony till 1975 when

FRELIMO took power and nationalised education. It has
about 19m people, low income country. The curriculum was
strongly influenced by the Portuguese. Previously
Mozambique could only offer education till grade 3 after
which further learning had to be attained in Tanzania.
Education was given more priority after independence and
more funds allocated to the sector. It has about 78% enrolment
in primary schools, 7% in secondary schools and only 1% in
tertiary education. About 60% of children drop out of primary
school.

Education is a right and duty of every citizen, equal

opportunities for access is provided at all levels. Rehabilitation
and restoration of the system after the war that ended in 1994,
overall recovery almost attained. Mozambique is facing a
dilemma between improving the quality of education and
expanding the system, because of enormous financial
constraints, absolute poverty of the majority of the population,
low rates of school attendance, growth in the school-age
population and high drop-out rates. Access to education is
significantly limited––particularly in rural areas for poor

57
children, and in some regions for girls. The quality of
education is prejudiced by the poor quality and insufficient
quantity of teaching materials, poorly trained teachers, weak
educational infrastructure.

The nation has for along time maintained Eduardo Mondlane

University as the major higher education centre. Portuguese
still remains the language of instruction in schools

11. Palestine

Education and the chronic crisis in the occupied Palestinian

territories is a case of education in emergency situations. The
Israeli- Palestinian conflict is long standing and has been a
major concern for the whole world. Post WW2 politics led to
the creation of Israel on Palestinian territory. Palestine has
gone through 50 years of dispossession, 35 years of
occupation and restriction of movement which have adversely
affected education. In 1967, after war with other Arab states,
Israel annexed East Jerusalem and occupied West Bank and
Gaza i.e. the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Jerusalem is
seen as the rightful city of both the Israel and future
Palestinian state. Palestine has never had a self governing state
except for some few responsibilities over West Bank and
Gaza. It was hoped that the Oslo accord of 1994 could lead to

58
a Palestinian state by 1999. The process stalled and since then
there has always been a crisis.

A genuine Palestinian education started to develop in 1994,

with the establishment of a Ministry of Education after the
Oslo accord. The Oslo accord agreed on the establishment of a
Palestinian state, this was mot realised. The ministry tried to
plan, budget, manage and enhance access to the education
system. Enrolment in school increased and more schools were
constructed.

The second Palestinian uprising in 2000, about the delay of the

establishment of their independent state, again led to
occupation of both Gaza and West bank by the Israelis which
among others destroyed all the gains achieved in education.
The previous growth of the sector, its quality and access were
all negatively affected. Due to the occupation, a genuinely
Palestinian education has not been achieved. The main threats
to peace have been on the borders, the Israeli settlements in
Palestine, denying the Palestinians the right to return to their
occupied lands, and the desire by each part to control
Jerusalem. The road map to peace provided by the Camp
David negotiations of 2000, have also not yielded any results.

59
Education has been recognised as one of the ways of
maintaining the Palestinian identity. Persistent instability, war
and violence continue to worsen the crisis. Several years down
the line, peace is still elusive. While the Dakar World Forum
on Education in 2000 stressed on education rights of children
in conflict and emergency situations, this is not the case for
Palestinian children.

Curriculum development has been a major challenge as it has

been dominated by foreign influence. The Jordanian and
Egyptian curriculum have been in use until 2000 when a
Palestinian one was put in place. Due to acquisitions that
Palestinian books incited the young Palestinians against Israel,
the text books used in the system are foreign and have to be
scrutinised by Israel. Teachers are crucial in the driving of any
education system. In Palestine teacher training has been
piecemeal, uncoordinated and lacking in standards. The
curriculum is therefore foreign influenced and does not have a
Palestinian identity. There are no supplementary educational
materials apart from the prescribed books. Donor support to
the education sector has also been mismanaged. There is also
high poverty rates caused by the crisis making it impossible to
locally support the education sector. The crisis has been
accompanied by gross violations of human rights and

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freedoms. The Israelis have also on several occasions closed
Palestinian schools and termed the system as illegal. As such
the Palestinians have so much been oppressed and an equally
oppressive education system has been in place for years.
However, in rare cases, Palestine still offers a 10 years
compulsory basic education. The schools are single sex. The
ministry of education and many donor agencies manage and
support the system.

12. Kenya

The history of Kenya is closely linked to the history of humanity

with the oldest skulls estimated to be 2.5 million years old having
been discovered in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. Kenya lies at
the equator on the east coast of Africa, occupying an area of
582,646 square kilometers with a population of about 43 million
(GoK, 2012) majority of whom are aged below 25 years. The
Kenyan community is composed of more than forty different
ethnic groups of varying cultures and sizes with 2% of the
population made up of Indian, European and Arab immigrants.
While 14 majority of Kenyan are Christians, there is also a fairly
large Muslim and Hindu population. Kenya borders Somalia to
the East, Ethiopia to the North, Uganda to the West, Tanzania
to the South and South Sudan to the North West. The capital of
Kenya is Nairobi. Kenya is divided into forty seven counties
following the enactment of a new constitution in 2010. The
national motto of Kenya is “harambee”which means pulling
together and through which many development initiatives have
been undertaken through collective efforts.
Kenya was a British colony until 1963 when it attained
independence. Though Kenya is multilingual, with each of the 43

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tribes having an ethnic language, Kiswahili and English are the
official languages. English is the main language of instruction in
the school system. Kenya is the most industrialized country in
Eastern Africa though industry represents only 10% of its GDP.
Agriculture which is the mainstay of the economy employs about
80% of the working population, accounts for 50% of all exports
and 25% of the GDP. Tourism is also a major foreign exchange
earner. About 80% of Kenyans live in rural areas and depend on
peasant agriculture and livestock keeping. By 2012, the GDP
growth rate was at 4.3%. Unemployment and poverty still
remain major national challenges amid rising inequality (GoK,
2012).
Kenya has been a democracy and has enjoyed political stability
which was however shaken shortly by the post-election violence
after the contested 2007 general elections making it a hub for
most international agencies in the region. Kenya is a member of
several regional and international agencies and organizations
including the East African Community (EAC), the African
Union (AU), the United Nations (UN), the Commonwealth, the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and
the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA), among others.

5.2 History and objectives of the education system

Formal education was introduced in Kenya by the Christian

missionaries who linked education to Christianity and with an
objective that mainly served the needs of the colonialists
(Eshiwani, 1993). This was a segregated and stratified system
offering the different races different education. This is the
system that Kenya inherited at independence in 1963 (IUCEA,
2009). The new government formed the first Education
Commission (GoK, 1964) to formulate a new education policy
framework for the country which was to link education to
economic development and the national aspirations of the newly

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independent state (Buchmann, 1999). In the subsequent years,
other commissions and taskforces have guided policy and
provision of education in Kenya. They include; Sessional Paper
No 10 of 1965, Gachathi Report of 1976, Mackay Report of
1984, Kamunge Report of 1988, Koech Report of 1998,
Sessional Paper NO.1 of 2005 and Kenya’s Vision 2030, among
others.
The national philosophy and goals of education in Kenya stem
from the Kenyan constitution and other government legal
instruments. The constitution of Kenya and the Session paper on
African Socialism and its Application to Planning in Kenya (1965),
outlaw discrimination of any kind including gender and
emphasizes social justice and equal opportunities to education.
The Children’s Act (2001) also grants every child’s entitlement to
education, thus ensuring full inclusion of all children in basic
education. Consequently, the long-term objective of the
government is to provide every citizen with quality basic
education and training.
Through education the government aims at developing quality
human resource for the attainment of national goals for
industrial development enshrined in the Vision 2030. It also aims
at realizing universal access to basic education and training to
ensure equitable access to education and training for all children,
including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups and to 15
provide education necessary for the development and protection
of democratic institutions and human rights. The goals of the
Kenyan education system are to:
 Foster nationalism, patriotism and promote national unity.
 Promote the social, economic, technological and industrial
needs of national development.
 Promote individual development and self-fulfilment.
 Promote social equality and social responsibility.
 Promote respect, foster and develop Kenya’s rich and varied
cultures and instil respect for unfamiliar cultures.

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 Promote international consciousness and foster positive
attitudes to other countries and to the international community
 Promote sound moral and religious values to create self-
disciplined, self-reliant and integrated citizens
 Promote positive attitudes towards good health and
environmental protection (GoK, 2012).

5.3 The structure and management of the system

From independence in 1964 and 1985, Kenya followed the 7-4-

2-3 education structure modeled after the British education
system. It provided seven years of primary education, four years
of lower secondary education, two years of higher secondary
education and a minimum of three years university education. In
1984, following the recommendations of the Mackay
Commission, the 8.4.4 system was implemented and entailed
eight years of primary school education, four years of secondary
school and a minimum of four years of university education
(GOK, 1984). It is still the prevailing system of education,
though it has undergone several reviews over the years especially
on the content of the curriculum.
Kenya’s school year runs from January to December with
holidays of 3 to 4 weeks in April, August and December.
Regarding the different levels of the system, pre-school
education in Kenya begins from age 3 to age 6 and mainly
targets the physical, social, spiritual, mental and social growth of
the child. Primary education serves students between age 6-14
with an aim of preparing them for the social, political and
economic well-being of the country. At the end of eight years of
primary schooling, learners undertake the Kenya Certificate of
Primary Education (K.C.P.E) which is also used to determine
their transition to secondary school. Candidates are examined in
five subjects including Kiswahili, English, Mathematics, Science
and Agriculture, and Social Studies. The primary school

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curriculum was intended to provide functional and practical
education with vocational training forming an integral part.
The constitution of Kenya 2010 provides for free, universal and
compulsory basic education as a right to all Kenyan children
which has led to increases in enrollment and expansion of the
sector. By 2010, Kenya had 27,487 primary schools with an
enrolment of over 9 million pupils. National Gross Enrolment
Rates (GER) at primary level increased from 93 per cent in 2002
to close to 100 percent in 2010 (GoK..). Completion rate at
primary schools increased from 68.2 per cent in 2003 to 81.0 per
cent in 2007 with more boys (86.5 per cent) completing than
girls (75.7 per cent).
However, there are still significant regional disparities regarding
access, retention and even learning outcomes. By 2011, North
Eastern Province had the lowest completion rate, 36.8. The
highest completion rates were recorded in Rift Valley (88.4 per
cent) and Western (87.0 per cent). Ancillary costs especially for
poor households still hamper access to primary schooling.
Students from richer households increasingly enrol in private
schools where learning conditions and quality of education is
better. The main challenges for primary education still remain
access, 16 equity, quality, efficiency and management.
Government’s budgetary allocation to the sector still remains
low, with teacher student ratio standing at 1:45.
Secondary school begins at around age fourteen and takes four
years. It offers English, Mathematics and Kiswahili as mandatory
subjects. The other subjects are grouped in four clusters from
where students are required to pick at least one subject from
each cluster as per their preferences. At the end of the fourth
year students take the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education
(K.C.S.E). Beginning 2008, the government implemented
subsidized secondary school education (GoK, 2008) by meeting
the costs of tuition and school supplies while students meet the
costs of their other school needs. This has led to increased
numbers of students attending secondary school education and

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opened up more opportunities for those who were hitherto not
able to afford secondary school education. Enrolments in
secondary schools increased from 881,328 to 1,180,267 students
in 2007 of which 540,874 were girls and 639,393 were boys. By
2010, there were 7,308 secondary schools with an enrolment of
1.7 students (GoK, 2012).
The continued poor performance in the secondary school
entrance examination just at the end of grade 8 of primary
schooling has been a barrier to access to secondary school
education. Overall student performance at the end of secondary
schooling has also been poor leading to low transition rates to
universities and other tertiary colleges (Uwezo, 2010). Transition
from primary school to secondary school is still rather low with
only 47% of pupils who complete primary school transit to
secondary school (Owiti, 2013).
Adult and continuing education opportunities are also being
opened up further. As a result national literacy levels have also
risen considerably (GOK, 2007). Generally there is considerable
expansion of education opportunities at all levels in the recent
years. However it is still a concern for example that about 10%
of eligible school going age children are not in school and that
only about 5% of the youth access higher education.
Some identified weaknesses of the current structure include
failure to incorporate the pre-school cycle as part of the system,
unhealthy competition based on certification at the end of each
level, limited training and vocational opportunities, limited focus
to the world of work, lack of harmony with education systems of
other East African states and lack of open door opportunities
for lifelong learning (GoK, 2012).
Until 2013, the Kenyan education system was managed and
administered by two main ministries: the Ministry of Education
and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science & Technology
(MOHEST). MOHEST was responsible for university education
while Ministry of Education was responsible for basic and all
other forms of education. In 2013, the newly elected

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government amalgamated the two ministries into Ministry of
Education responsible for management of all levels of education.
The mission of the Ministry of Education in Kenya is to provide,
promote, coordinate quality education, training and research for
empowerment of individuals to become caring, competent and
responsible citizens who value education as a lifelong process
(GoK, 2012). The mandate of the ministry is to provide services
that target achieving economic, social and political development.
The main tasks of the Ministry of Education include, among
others, policy formulation, implementation, evaluation and
funding of the system. The ministry is also responsible for
employment of teachers for public schools, distribution of
learning resources and curriculum development. At the basic
education level, the main aim of the education sector is to
achieve Education for All (EFA) by 2015, in tandem with
national and international commitments. Major 17 management
reforms in recent years include the move from centralization to
decentralization of educational functions. These include
monitoring and evaluation of programs; quality assurance; and
capacity building of officers. With the new devolved governance
structure, county governments will have more responsibility for
education.
The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) is the
national body which supervises and oversees all national
examinations in Kenya with the exception of university
examinations. It mainly undertakes summative assessments at
the end of every cycle. KNEC was established by an act of
parliament 1980, after the breakup of the East African
Community in 1977, to conduct primary, secondary, post
primary, post secondary and other examinations at national level.
Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) is issued to
students who have successfully completed the 8th year primary
education course in Kenya. KCPE candidates are examined in
Kiswahili, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.
KNEC is also responsible for teacher training examinations for

67
both primary and secondary school teachers. GoK (2012 :) has
proposed a competency based form of assessment in line with a
competency oriented curriculum.
The Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is issued
to students who completed the 4 year secondary education
course. The external examinations by KNEC are very
competitive since their results determine students’ promotion to
the next level. The KASNEB Act empowers the board to
conduct examinations and certification in some business fields
which the KNEC Act provides for the administration of
examinations and certification in schools and institutions outside
the university. Even though Kenya has one of the most robust
education systems in Africa, the system is still faced with a
number of challenges. The Kenya Institute of Education (KIE)
is the main agency for curriculum development in Kenya.
In 2003 the Ministry of Education embarked on reforms
towards attaining the education related Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA).
Thus the Sessional Paper No.1 of 2005 set the sector targets to
guide the education sector in Kenya till 2015. They include the
following strategic objectives:
 Attain primary school Net Enrolment Rate (NER) of 100
percent in 2015;
 Attain completion rate of 100% by 2010;
 Achievement 70 percent transition from primary to secondary
education by 2008.
 Ensure that the learning needs of all are met through equitable
access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes by
2015;
 Promote and popularize Open and Distance Learning (ODL)
at all levels of education and training by 2010;
 Increase the proportion of women in teaching, administration
and research, science and technology at all levels of institutions
of higher learning to 30 percent by 2012;

68
 Enhance national awareness, appreciation and prioritization of
ST&I, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and
TIVET for global competitiveness by 2012;
 Develop and install responsive governance structures and
effective management systems for all levels of education, training
and STI by 2010 and for effective service delivery;
 Expand public universities to have a capacity of at least 5,000
students intake each annually by 2015 and increase the
proportion of students studying science related courses to 50%
with at least one third of these being women by 2010;
 Promote innovativeness and research in tertiary colleges and
universities;
 Improve the quality and relevance of teaching, learning and
research at universities and TIVET institutions by 2010 and
 Enhance capacity of the sector to coordinate and support
development of STI and TIVET (GoK, 2005).
18

In 2012 the government produced a report aligning the

education system to Kenya’s vision 2030 and to the newly
enacted constitution. This in addition to the policies of the East
African Community (EAC) related to education will determine
the developments in the sector in the coming years. Although
Kenya has made impressive achievements in education since
independence, the sector is still engulfed in a number of
challenges. GoK (2012) recognises several challenges to the
sector including; access, drop outs, financing, equity, learning
outcomes, management, teacher absenteeism, high levels of
poverty, inhibitive cultural practices, quality assurance and
impacts of HIV/AIDS.

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9.0 Globalization and Comparative Education

The expression by Marshall McLuhan in 1960 of the world as

a global village was likely the first expression of the
contemporary concept of globalization. Although the theory of
globalization is relatively new, the process is not. What makes
globalization distinct in contemporary life is the broad reach
and multidimensionality of interdependence among nation-
states. It encompasses a broad range of economic, social,
cultural and political issues. It is characterized by the rise of
multinational markets, international flow of capital, goods and
labour and the very quick pace of information sharing. Simply,
it is seen as the compression of time and space and enhanced
global consciousness.

Globalization has been defined in different ways. Knight

(2008) sees it as “ a process that increases the flow of people,
ideas, cultures, values, knowledge, technology and economy
across borders resulting into a more interconnected and
interdependent world”. In popular educational discourse,
globalization is often synonymous with internationalization,
referring to the growing interconnectedness and
interdependence of people and institutions throughout the
world. Globalization denotes the complexities of

70
interconnectedness, and worldwide influences on local settings
and responses to those influences. The globalization of
education is one of the fundamental themes which world
education faces in the 21st century. With the more remarkable
trend of economic globalization and closer international
relationships, different countries are carrying out educational
reforms to improve international competence, improve on
quality, enhance their advantages, adjust educational policies
and systems to strengthen international cooperation.

National education systems now find themselves in new

regional or global contexts which require them to be
competitive and relevant. Nationally it has been characterized
by collaborations and partnerships in education, out going and
incoming mobility of academics and students, distance
education, international language programmes, international
dimensions of curriculum and development of international
educational networks.

At the same time, the rapid advances in information and

communication technologies and the unfolding global
knowledge society are reshaping national education systems.
It makes provision of more knowledge, information about
other systems and mobility of students and expertise to be

71
unprecedented activities. It emphasizes the use of ICT in
teaching and learning and the development of more networks.
It is driven by knowledge which has become the key factor in
economic development, the developments of global labour
markets and its role in enhancing political and social change.

However, globalization has in some cases worked to the

disadvantage of most developing countries. It requires a shift
in the balance of influence between the developed and
developing world. Global institutions and most dominant
world powers have always used the opportunities presented by
globalization to sway, mislead and exploit the developing
countries using contradictory policies which mainly favour
them. It is still rooted on the historical dominance of the
western hegemony devoid of a healthy balance or exchange.

END

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