Comparative Education and the Dialogue Among Civilizations

This chapter reflects on Comparative Education and Comparative Higher Education in relation to the emergence of a Dialogue among Civilizations in the 1990s after the end of the Cold War. It challenges the domination of Western-derived theories, whether those of modernization or Marxism, and reflects on the enrichment that can be found through an embrace of dialogue with other world civilizations. It suggests a value explicit approach to comparative education research, drawing on the vision of scholars such as Ali Mazrui and Rajni Kothari who had their roots in Asian and African civilizations and founded the World Order Models Project in the 1970s. They put forward the idea of envisioning a preferred future based on the values of equity, autonomy, participation, and solidarity. This approach made possible a frame for evaluating educational interactions across countries and regions. It also anticipated the recognition of the continuing importance of religion that emerged as part of the dialogue among civilizations. Putting values and religion at the heart of future research should facilitate conflict resolution and ensure that our younger generations are nurtured as citizens to serve the public good in a global knowledge society rather than being narrowly shaped for individual and national competitiveness in a global knowledge economy.