Comparative Education: The Social Construction of the Modern World System

The possibilities for research on educational systems have been enhanced by the development of cross-national data bases. Most of these cover national educational systems (UNESCO 1950-1971; UNESCO World Survey of Education 1955-1971; OECD 1972-73), but a few contain information on individuals or schools (Husen 1967; Passow et al 1976). The need for such materials is widely recognized (Merritt & Coombs 1977). For the most part, however, research in comparative consists in studies of education in individual countries, with few direct comparisons. The case-study approach, whether with quantitative or qualitative data, still governs the literature (see Comparative Educational Review 1977; Havighurst 1968; but also see Eckstein & Noah 1969). By definition, such case studies contain little variance at the system or societal level, so theoretical and empirical foci tend to shift downward