British scholars of comparative education: Examining the work and influence of notable 19th and 20th century comparativists

• In Event: Roundtable Session 7
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Teaching in globalization

Proposal

In his review of this volume, Professor Kenneth King described it as ‘invaluable’ for students and early career researchers in comparative education. He goes on to say that, fifty years ago, he bought one or two books by the scholars who are the subject of this volume, and that he does not think he has used them in his own work yet. And this is very much to the point; the work and influence of these scholars is much more than just the huge body of literature that they produced. They taught courses, supervised doctoral candidates, mentored colleagues, established learned societies and edited journals. By covering this breadth of work and influence, this volume gives a chance for readers to see something that is more like a rounded person than a scholarly oracle. By providing context to the work of the scholars, the individual chapters do not diminish the importance of the writing of the scholars themselves, but they perhaps give novices the sense that publications are an invitation to engage and argue with the protagonists, and not merely accept the written word.

I will concentrate in the discussion on my own chapter on the work and influence of Brian Holmes, and in particular on his advice to a young scholar to determine what one could and would add to the field: ‘You must be a Holmesian and… or a Holmesian but…’ Obviously, he assumed that I would build my position on his, but he was forceful in asserting that nobody was interested in a scholar who simply parroted the ideas and words of his or her doctoral supervisor. That seems to me to be sound advice and particularly pertinent today.

I have been privileged to have met and heard the majority of the scholars who are the subject of the chapters in this volume, as well as having known and worked alongside all of the contributors to this volume. In almost every case the author was on close personal terms with the subject of the chapter, and provides an insight into the mental and personal culture that gave rise to their central concerns. That makes this volume a fitting tribute to a group of scholars whose purpose was, in King’s words, ‘not so much to describe systems as to understand contexts and cultures’.

Author

• David A Turner, 2 Millfield Villas