Centre for International & Comparative Studies (ICS)
Work within the Centre builds on a long and distinguished tradition of international and comparative research and consultancy work carried out by the GSoE. Members' research is at the forefront of the international resurgence and reconceptualisation of this multi-disciplinary field of study. This challenges the uncritical international transfer of educational policies, practices and theories by exploring the significance of cultural and contextual differences in educational, societal and international development. The Centre has pioneered the development of grounded and collaborative international research partnerships in European, transitional and low-income countries, while contributing to the advancement of comparative theorising, context-sensitive research strategies and related research capacity initiatives. Innovative theoretical, methodological and empirical work, therefore, underpins the Centre's commitment to:
- multi-level studies of the ways in which global and national factors interact with the local organisation of education and learner identity
- the bridging of theoretical and critical scholarship with advances in more applied research and evaluation relating to the improvement of educational policy and practice
- collaborative approaches to comparative and international research that prioritise capacity building and long term, context sensitive, national and international partnerships
Within this broad intellectual framework current research focuses largely upon six interrelated areas:
- Theoretical and methodological advances in international and comparative research in education
- Comparative studies of educational policy, practice and outcomes, and the relationship between teacher professionalism, learning and cultural context, in a range of European systems
- Research on the distinctive socio-cultural issues relating to educational development in small states.
- Comparative studies of language, culture and identity within the Baltic region - extending our ICS small states specialism to such transitional contexts and to related theoretical work on the education of minority groups and cultures.
- Theoretical and methodological contributions to innovative models of research capacity building for international development - pioneering long-term international, collaborative partnerships.
- Critical policy analyses of the role of education in individual, cultural and national development - focusing upon the nature and impact of initiatives designed to improve the quality of education.
Research in the centre is closely integrated with the teaching of the Education Leadership, Policy and Development (ELPD) specialist MEd programme, and with comparative/international units taught by centre members in the EdD programmes in Bristol and Hong Kong.
