Providing one of the first accounts in English of the work of the founding scholars of comparative education in Latin America from the 19th and 20th centuries, this book presents a detailed analysis of their influence on the field and highlights the pivotal role played by each scholar in the development of comparative education in the Global South.

The book chiefly comprises biographical contributions about the achievements of significant Latin American scholars both in terms of critical historical-epistemological traditions, and educational reforms that impacted the development of Latin American societies and education systems. Across 13 chapters, the book discusses travelers that contributed to the post-independence period of nation-building; progressive reformers inspired by the work of John Dewey; and finally, scholars that played a key role in the institutionalisation of the field of comparative education in the region. Novel in its focus even considering publications in Spanish and Portuguese, the book ultimately appeals to the current interest in understanding comparative education and its history as a world-wide project.

Exploring the history of comparative education beyond the confines of established Anglo-European accounts, this volume will be of great interest to researchers and scholars in comparative and international education, history of education, and Latin American studies.

About the Author

Jason Beech is Associate Professor in Global Policies in Education, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne and Visiting Professor, Universidad de San Andres, Buenos Aires where he holds a UNESCO Chair in Education for Sustainability and Global Citizenship.

Cristina Alarcon Lopez is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer, Department of Education, University of Vienna, Austria.

Reviews

"This book of essays on Latin American comparativists of education is quite simply a wonderful read from beginning to end. Refreshing in its focus on leading comparativists as scholars, public intellectuals and political activists, compelling in its framing of their engagement with, and advancement of, a revolutionary tradition in the region, and insightful in being able to point to comparison as method, mode of reflection, and act of contemplation. This book advances comparative education scholarship in new and significant ways."

Susan L. Robertson, 2024-2025 CIES President, University of Cambridge, UK

"Latin American Scholars of Comparative Education is a groundbreaking book reclaiming the overlooked contributions of 12 Latin American forceful intellectuals who framed educational perspectives, systems and policies in the region and beyond. Spanning two centuries and interweaving individual stories of influential thinkers and doers within the broader tapestry of Latin American educational histories, this book not only fills a critical gap in the historiography of comparative education but also overcomes significant shortcomings of the field's traditional Anglo-American centrism."

Gustavo E. Fischman, Professor & Director Scholarly Communications Group, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College/Arizona State University, US

"This volume, excellently edited by two outstanding representatives of comparative education, makes a significant contribution to a deeper understanding of this field of research. The twelve biographies of Latin American scholars of comparative education included in the volume, written by a clever selection of experts, show the wonderful complexity of this field of research, which becomes visible when the essence of comparative education itself is not dictated by a cultural area, but itself reconstructed historically and comparatively. This timely volume has achieved this in an impressive way."

Prof. Daniel Troehler, University of Vienna, Austria

"This book of essays on Latin American comparativists of education is quite simply a wonderful read from beginning to end. Refreshing in its focus on leading comparativists as scholars, public intellectuals and political activists, compelling in its framing of their engagement with, and advancement of, a revolutionary tradition in the region, and insightful in being able to point to comparison as method, mode of reflection, and act of contemplation. This book advances comparative education scholarship in new and significant ways."

Susan L. Robertson, 2024-2025 CIES President, University of Cambridge, UK

"Latin American Scholars of Comparative Education is a groundbreaking book reclaiming the overlooked contributions of 12 Latin American forceful intellectuals who framed educational perspectives, systems and policies in the region and beyond. Spanning two centuries and interweaving individual stories of influential thinkers and doers within the broader tapestry of Latin American educational histories, this book not only fills a critical gap in the historiography of comparative education but also overcomes significant shortcomings of the field's traditional Anglo-American centrism."

Gustavo E. Fischman, Professor & Director Scholarly Communications Group, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College/Arizona State University, US

"This volume, excellently edited by two outstanding representatives of comparative education, makes a significant contribution to a deeper understanding of this field of research. The twelve biographies of Latin American scholars of comparative education included in the volume, written by a clever selection of experts, show the wonderful complexity of this field of research, which becomes visible when the essence of comparative education itself is not dictated by a cultural area, but itself reconstructed historically and comparatively. This timely volume has achieved this in an impressive way."

Prof. Daniel Troehler, University of Vienna, Austria

Book Information
ISBN 9781032265964
Author Jason Beech
Format Hardback
Page Count 264
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd