Introduction

This book makes an indelible contribution to the advancement of comparative education. The chapters are reflective of writing that challenges our readers to expand their understanding of the discourse of comparative education in the context of educational transformation. Throughout the text, three critical elements that reflect comparative education as an open, inconclusive discourse come up: (1) there is sufficient pedagogical space for dissonance. It is always possible to compare one’s own authenticity with the epistemological position others hold dear and argue for. It is not that comparative education endeavours to constrain diversity of thought and practice. On the contrary, the individual chapters offer snapshots of how diverse pedagogical actions are and how open the contributions are to what Michael Foucault referred to as sudden upheavals of thought. (2) The contributions in this book should not be read as absolute pieces of writing as that would undermine the flexible nature of education. It is important to point out that the opinions of the authors are temporary moments of attachment to persuasive claims. However, these claims are not cast in stone as new views continue to emerge from epistemological (re)positioning. (3) Our own reading of the book corroborates our interest in comparative education as a continuous discourse in the making. The contributions of scholars at the third symposium organized by WCCES provided a platform for them to pursue their knowledge interests. In addition, these interests have and will or ought never to be homogenous for that in itself would be incommensurate with a defensible practice of comparative education.