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Frontiers in Comparative and International Sociology of Education: American Distinctiveness and Global Diversity

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Frontiers in Sociology of Education

Part of the book series: Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research ((FSSR,volume 1))

Abstract

This chapter assesses the degree to which the American sociology of education is comparative and international in scope and briefly considers why the attention devoted to comparative and international research has remained relatively stable over time. It then describes the broad intellectual returns that a more comparative and international lens could bring to the field generally. Comparative and international research can determine the degree to which propositions formulated in the USA can apply to other contexts. Such research can generate important questions for further research that would not be considered if only a US-centric lens were used. A comparative lens can also serve to caution scholars against the tendency to generalize knowledge from the often atypical case of the American educational system. This chapter explains the distinctive role of comparative and international research for advancing new insights on longstanding substantive questions and provides examples of past research that has done so. It then discusses some pressing questions rarely considered by US-based research that constitute frontiers for a more globally oriented and theoretically expansive sociology of education.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Sociology of Education is one of the highest ranking education journals in the USA and nearly exclusively publishes research by sociologists of education. Thus, it can be said to reflect the “forefront of current sociological thinking about education in the USA” (Brint 2009:8). Articles (excluding special features, comments, and replies) were coded as international and comparative if they focused on one or more societies other than the USA. Case studies of a single society other than the USA, research comparing at least two societies (one of which could be the USA), and cross-national research comparing many nations were all coded as international and comparative.

  2. 2.

    Fortunately, data constraints have eased in the past decade with the development of several high quality, comparative international data sets related to education. These include the Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), the International Adult Literacy Study (IALS) and, perhaps most notably, the Program for Student Assessment (PISA) of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

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Acknowledgments

This chapter is dedicated to Alan Kerckhoff, John Meyer, and David Baker—three scholars whose provocative research and writings have deeply influenced my thinking about comparative and international sociology of education. I also thank Maureen Hallinan and a reviewer for thoughtful comments and suggestions that have refined and improved this chapter.

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  1. Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Claudia Buchmann

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Correspondence to Claudia Buchmann .

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  1. , Dept. Sociology, University Notre Dame, Flanner Hall 1017, Notre Dame, 46556, Indiana, USA

    Maureen T. Hallinan

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Buchmann, C. (2011). Frontiers in Comparative and International Sociology of Education: American Distinctiveness and Global Diversity. In: Hallinan, M. (eds) Frontiers in Sociology of Education. Frontiers in Sociology and Social Research, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1576-9_3

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