A Probe Into Methodological Transformation Of Comparative Education Research From The Perspective Of Post-structuralism

Since the school of thoughts of postmodernism has been introduced into China for more than three decades, during the process, some theoretical analysis and value judgment on postmodernism and poststructuralism methodologies have been emerging in the methodology of comparative education research in recent years, the evaluations given by some theoretical researchers on poststructuralism methodology vary each other and are mixed. The theoretical researchers have been concerning and judging the impact of poststructuralism methodology in the field of the methodology of comparative education research, but few people has been reflecting on the inner development clue of such impact forming in comparative education research and its transformational process after its collision with traditional researches. This doctoral dissertation on the poststructuralism transformation in the field of the methodology of comparative education research can be a kind of attempt about the exploration.This study is marked by the theoretical advocate and practical guidance of some individual scholars. As one of the methodologies in the school of thoughts of postmodernism, the application and development of poststructuralism in the methodology of comparative education have been a kind of choppy and indistinct penetration, which is also a kind of free game between the modernity and post-modernity. Therefore, this study is a kind of reflective meta-research, namely, a research targeting on some researches, which is a micro examination on the minor details of comparative education theories and methodological researches. The perspective of poststructuralism is regarded as the entry point of this dissertation, and the text analysis is based on the articles about the discipline construction of comparative education published in the journal of Comparative Education Study, which is one of the CSSCI source journals of comparative education, and other relevant journals and works as cases during the three decades after the reform and opening up policy taking(1983-2013)in China. Through the statistical analysis on such literatures above, the transformation of the methodology of comparative education research can be explored, meanwhile, the reason and its nature of the methodological transformation of poststructuralism in the field of the methodology of comparative education can be examined.The first chapter begins with the origin of the study, explores the theoretical background of the emergence of the methodology of comparative education from the perspective of poststructuralism, summaries the research status at home and abroad, and makes some distinction between some relevant concepts, on this basis, points out the research method of this dissertation. On the basis of clarifying the discipline’s logical starting point of comparative education, the feasibility of choosing poststructuralism as the perspective to study on the theoretical dimension and value judgment of comparative education researching methodology is illustrated, and the logical clue of the whole study is also established in this chapter.The second chapter mainly explains the characterization and characteristics of structuralism methodology in comparative education research. This chapter firstly illustrates the current situation of the method of literature review in comparative education research, and then questions its “modernity”. However, the fundamental role of the method of literature review cannot be deniable, but as a kind of cross cultural study field, comparative education research undertakes the task of evaluating and exploring the differences between different cultures, which promotes the researchers to explore the theoretical basis of comparative education research, and seek the original intention and its trend of being more complicated with the development of our era. In essence, the modern comparative education is one of the parts of educational modernity, the establishment of the characteristics of “certainty” in the methodology of structuralism, as well as the start of the characteristics of “uncertainty” in the methodology of poststructuralism are the results of the internal drive of transformation. Secondly, in this part, four representative scholars have been chosen in the process of the development of structuralism from the diachronic perspective, and the theoretical analysis frameworks and core propositions in their structuralism theories which comparative education research benefits are examined, which aims at illustrating the characteristics of structuralism methodology in comparative education research.The third chapter mainly explores the transformation from structuralism to poststructuralism—the transformation of the characteristics of methodology of comparative education research. The conceptual framework and the methodology of Saussure’s structural linguistics and semeiology are accepted by the structuralism, and serve as the basis of the methodology of structuralism. Structuralism advocates the overall understanding on the society and culture from the perspective of linguistic and semiotic system. During this understanding, the relationship between the components shows the significance of the methodology. The poststructuralism inherits it, which pays attention to the understanding on the society and culture from the perspective of linguistics and semeiology, and stresses on the interactive relationship between the components. The poststructuralism thoughts develop its own methodological series in comparative education research, and these methods act according to their own logic, tending to be more emphasis on history, differences and diversity, as well as the concept of infinite generating and deconstruction. The transformation of social science philosophy from structuralism to poststructuralism is the extrapolating force of the methodology of comparative education research, whose characteristics also present the transformation from certainty to uncertainty. Based on this, this chapter also explains the trend of the theory and practice of comparative education towards complexity, summarizing the methodology of comparative education research from the perspective of complexity theory and poststructuralism—taking the complexity theory and the methodological interest(the fractal theory) of Edgar Moran as an example, and probes into the complexity and infinite loop in comparative education research. Based on the analysis on characteristics of poststructuralism in comparative education research, the dimension of relational thinking is introduced into comparative education research, and lastly, the methods of comparative education research with the orientation of post structuralism in the evolution of comparative education methodology are illustrated.The fourth chapter is mainly to make a theoretical illustration on the poststructuralism methodology in comparative education research. Firstly, Holmes’ rational critical consciousness in his comparative education theory is explored, then the thoughts of system functionalism of Schriewer’s and methodology of comparative education are analyzed. This chapter focuses on the tendency of post structuralism of Schriewer’s comparative education thoughts, and summarizes his theoretical illustration about the purpose, the object and researching methods for comparative education research, and based on this, digs the new growth point of discipline development from the internal development of comparative education. To examine the analysis framework of the system functionalism theory of Schriewer from the perspective of post structuralism, it can be found that it mainly expounds such issues as the subject identity, researching method choosing and researching purpose establishing. Although Schriewer’s whole theoretical analysis system remains to be perfect, the analysis perspective of the post structuralism promotes comparative education researchers pay more attention to the generating mechanism of meaning behind the facts instead of paying attention to the facts themselves only.The fifth chapter explains the substance of comparative education methodology from the perspective of post structuralism. What does the "post structuralism" mean for comparative education researchers? What is the enlightenment for the methodology of comparative education research? The enlightenment can be shown on such aspects as follows: the transformation of comparative education research content, namely, "open" discourses and text system, the causation with complexity in comparative education research, which is non continuity and fracture, the purpose of comparative education research is to make it more reflective, critical and transcendent, and the appeal of comparative education research is to respect the differences and pursuing the equivalence in meaning.Finally, in the conclusion part, the right and wrong points of the poststructuralism methodology in comparative education research are pointed out, and as a new kind of meta narration in order to find a way out for the redemption of modernity, post structuralism still need our rational treatment on its theoretical prospective with reflective and critical sight.