International empirical research in comparative education. An example of the studies of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA)

Abstract

Two questions are posed: 1) does IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) type research fall within the realm of Comparative Education? and, 2) does IEA research produce any generalisations about education? The conceptualisation of IEA studies and the procedures used are outlined and some results of the research are presented. It is left to the reader to decide on whether or not the "social science" empirical approach" can be considered as one of several approaches in comparative education inquiry. (DIPF/Abstract übernommen)