Multilevel Analyses in Comparative Education

Your first paper is to be a 6-8 page (1500-2000 word) critical analysis paper in" rel="nofollow">in which you examin" rel="nofollow">ine the mappin" rel="nofollow">ing of educational comparisons presented in" rel="nofollow">in Mark Bray and R. Murray Thomas’ 1995 “Levels of Comparison in" rel="nofollow">in Educational Studies: Different Insights from Different Literatures and the Value of Multilevel Analyses” article (PDF posted on Sakai). Please note that this is a different Bray piece than that was origin" rel="nofollow">inally identified in" rel="nofollow">in the syllabus. You are to analyze Bray and Thomas’ article in" rel="nofollow">in light of the various theories and methods discussed in" rel="nofollow">in the class sessions and required readin" rel="nofollow">ings through, and in" rel="nofollow">inclusive of week 2. You will note that the Bray and Thomas piece calls for comparative education studies to expand beyond a narrow focus on cross-national comparisons and in" rel="nofollow">instead to in" rel="nofollow">introduce multiple levels of analysis. In addition to grapplin" rel="nofollow">ing with the overall significance of this gesture, you are asked to engage with the more fin" rel="nofollow">ine-grain" rel="nofollow">ined specifics of what is proposed by Bray and Thomas. In this, the Figure 1 cube on page 475 and the discussion thereof will be useful to take up. I can envision multiple ways to write a high-quality paper in" rel="nofollow">in response to the above charge. One way to proceed analytically would be to compare and contrast what Bray and Thomas recommend with the recommendations presented by others who call for and discuss comparative education studies. In connection with this it would likely be worthwhile to thin" rel="nofollow">ink about what the Bray and Thomas piece ignores, as well as what it in" rel="nofollow">includes that others don’t. It is fin" rel="nofollow">ine if your paper ends up takin" rel="nofollow">ing an evaluative stance (e.g. discussin" rel="nofollow">ing strengths and weaknesses of the Bray and Thomas) however please note that that is not your prin" rel="nofollow">incipal charge – your charge is more to fit the Bray and Thomas piece in" rel="nofollow">into this ongoin" rel="nofollow">ing conversation that we call the field of Comparative Education. Some writin" rel="nofollow">ing tips: (1) The organization of your writin" rel="nofollow">ing is a very important aspect of an analytic paper like this. Do not hesitate to use sub-headin" rel="nofollow">ings as this is an effective way both to disciplin" rel="nofollow">ine your writin" rel="nofollow">ing and to telegraph to your reader what you are now goin" rel="nofollow">ing to be discussin" rel="nofollow">ing. (2) Use direct quotes and block quotes sparin" rel="nofollow">ingly. In many – if not most cases – it is better to provide a parenthetical citation and paraphrase or rework it in" rel="nofollow">in your own words. When you directly quote someone else's writin" rel="nofollow">ing you always need to comment on it and analyze it. Do not leave the quoted text to speak for itself. (3) Proofread carefully. I fin" rel="nofollow">ind that the best way to do this is to read it aloud to someone else – in" rel="nofollow">in all likelihood you'll catch any writin" rel="nofollow">ing mistakes yourself as you do this. Your paper should use a parenthetical in" rel="nofollow">in-text reference style and in" rel="nofollow">include a list of references at the end. There are several versions of this but we will be usin" rel="nofollow">ing the APA style. Please note that I am only requirin" rel="nofollow">ing that the in" rel="nofollow">in-text cites and reference list be in" rel="nofollow">in APA style – you are not required to use a "runnin" rel="nofollow">ing headin" rel="nofollow">ing" or an APA-immaculate cover page. Additional in" rel="nofollow">information on this reference style is available at https://owl.english. purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/. [Please note that sin" rel="nofollow">ince it is clear that this paper is an analysis of Bray and Thomas it will not be necessary to put in" rel="nofollow">in a parenthetical in" rel="nofollow">in-text citation at absolutely every mention of their piece. I thin" rel="nofollow">ink it will be adequate to simply put in" rel="nofollow">in in" rel="nofollow">info when you are directly quotin" rel="nofollow">ing, for example: “When discussin" rel="nofollow">ing world religions Bray and Thomas (1995) note that these are often ‘open to challenge’ (p. 476).”] Please note that this paper does not require you to conduct any additional research outside of the Bray & Thomas piece and assigned course readin" rel="nofollow">ings to-date. It will be graded on the basis of (a) how well it demonstrates a careful readin" rel="nofollow">ing of the texts under consideration, (b) the quality of your analysis of the Bray and Thomas chapter in" rel="nofollow">in relation to the topics and required readin" rel="nofollow">ings covered to date, and (c) the clarity and organization of your writin" rel="nofollow">ing.