Comparative Studies: historical, epistemological and methodological notes

Authors

  • Juan Ignacio Piovani Universidad Nacional De La Plata (UNLP), La Plata/Bs. As
  • Nora Krawczyk Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas/SP

Keywords:

Comparative Studies. Comparative Method. Social Sciences. Methodology.

Abstract

In this article some historical, epistemological and methodological issues related to comparative studies in the social sciences are addressed, with specific reference to the field of education. The starting point is a discussion of the meaning of comparison, its logical structure and its presence in science and in everyday life. It follows the presentation and critical appraisal of the perspectives regarding comparison as a scientific method. It is argued that, even rejecting this restrictive meaning of comparison as a method, there is some consensus on the specificity of comparative studies within the social sciences. And in relation to them, the article address in more detail those studies that can be defined as trans-contextual (cross-national and cross-cultural), with emphasis on the main methodological and technical challenges they face. The socio-historical comparative perspective, which has gained importance in recent years in the field of education, is also discussed.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Juan Ignacio Piovani, Universidad Nacional De La Plata (UNLP), La Plata/Bs. As

Juan Ignacio Piovani is a Magister in Advanced Methods of Social Research and Statistics (City University London) and Doctor in Methodology of the Social Sciences (University of Rome). Full Professor and Director of the Doctorate in Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Researcher of the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research in the IdIHCS (FaHCE/UNLP-CONICET).

Nora Krawczyk, Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas/SP

Nora Krawczyk is Magister in Education and Society from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences – FLACSO/Argentina and a Doctorate in Education from the State University of Campinas – Unicamp/Brazil. She is currently a professor and researcher in the Department of Social Sciences and Education of the School of Education/University of Campinas – UNICAMP and researcher of the National Research Council – CNPq. She has experience in the area of politics and sociology of Education in Brazil and in Latin America.

Downloads

Published

2017-06-16

How to Cite

Piovani, J. I., & Krawczyk, N. (2017). Comparative Studies: historical, epistemological and methodological notes. Educação & Realidade [Education & Reality], 42(3). Retrieved from https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/educacaoerealidade/article/view/67609

Issue

Vol. 42 No. 3 (2017)

Section

Methods of Comparative Education

License

This journal uses Creative Commons license Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).