Re-visiting Comparative education in Latin America: traditions, uses and perspectives

Abstract

Comparative education is a field with a tradition that dates back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. The field has come a long way since the times when travellers sought educational experiences that could be applied in their places of origin; it has expanded across the world, though the rhythm of knowledge production varies significantly from one region to the next. More recently, the increased attention to educational internationalisation has enlarged the pool of perspectives linked to the field. In this paper, we examine some of the more recent debates on comparative education to provide an analysis of the field within a specific context: Latin America. From a historical perspective, we analyse the continuity of, and ruptures between, the field on both global and regional fronts. We emphasise specific features of the region: how was comparison introduced, which were the main loci of production and circulation, who tends to use it at present and for what purpose. We focus on the circulation of themes and practices in three periods of time among Latin American countries. A particular form of academic institutionalisation – not driven by universities – is a unique feature of the region that differs from paradigmatic comparative education.