The International Race over the Patronage of the South - Comparative and International Education in Eastern Europe and the United States

Oct 15, 2026

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The authors argue that the Cold War’s influence on multilateral institutions, especially UNESCO, and on academic programs in Comparative and International Education or Development Studies has been largely neglected. They describe how both world-systems claimed world-peace through UNESCO and how the 1960s boom in area, language, and development studies connected to competition over postcolonial non-aligned or neutralist states. The article outlines effects on U.S. education policy and notes that post-Cold War studies in comparative education are surprisingly limited.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Methodological shifts in comparative education

Institutional growth in the 1960s

Challenges to classic historical accounts

Cold War effects on research and professional practice

The International Race over the Patronage of the South: Comparative and International Education in Eastern Europe and the United States Gita Steiner-Khamsi Teachers College, Columbia University William deJong-Lambert Teachers College, Columbia University Abstract The authors contend that the impact of the Cold War on multilateral organizations (especially UNESCO) as well as on the academic programs in Comparative and International Education or Development Studies in Education has been largely understudied. Both world-systems (USA and its allies, Soviet Union and its allies) laid claim on the project of world peace that UNESCO was meant to pursue. Furthermore, the boom in area, language and development studies in the 1960s was closely associated with the international race between the two world-systems over the patronage of those postcolonial countries that were viewed as “non-aligned” or neutralist. The salutary effects upon education policy in the United States are described, along with the portrayal of education as an inferior aspect of the capitalist system, behind the “iron curtain.” The authors note the new research field of post-Cold War studies that emerged in U.S. academe over the past decade, and find that such studies are surprisingly scarce in comparative and international education which, by virtue of analyzing other educational systems, was at the center of the dichotomy. Introduction The history of comparative education is often told in terms of revolutionary paradigm shifts that revamped disciplinary focus, methods, and geographical reach (e.g., Altbach 1991). Until the 1960s, comparative education in North America was firmly based in the discipline of history, enamored with one-country studies, and fixated on educational systems in Europe. By the end of the decade, the field was transformed into comparative and international education, with a composition of researchers and practitioners who were multi-disciplinary, cross-national and international in orientation. The name of its professional association was changed accordingly, from Comparative Education Society (CES) to Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) . According to standard accounts, disciplinary “orthodoxy” in history gave way to a “heterodoxy”(Paulston 1993), inclusive of different social science disciplines. Once history was abandoned as the only legitimate disciplinary foundation for the comparative study of educational systems, methodological changes followed suit. For some, the units of comparison became smaller, moving from national educational systems to culturallybounded educative sites or communities. For others, they became broader, as the narrow focus on cross-national comparison in North America and Europe was suspended, and academic curiosity and professional interests were redirected towards the Third World. This textbook summary of developments in comparative and international education is supported by institutional data. The 1960s was in fact a decade of growth for graduate © 2006 Current Issues in Comparative Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 84 April 21, 2006 The International Race Over the Patronage of the South: Comparative and International Education in Eastern Europe and the United States programs in international education. Universities that already offered comparative education programs broadened their curriculum by adding aspects on international education or development studies. In addition, several universities took advantage of the funding made available for area and international studies and established new graduate programs that advanced the field of development and education (see Wilson 1994) . That something critical happened at this time that transformed the field of comparative education is certain. However, exactly what happened, and when, is less clear. This article challenges classic historical accounts of North American comparative educa

FAQs

What does the article claim about the Cold War’s impact on UNESCO and comparative education research?

It argues that the Cold War’s effects on multilateral organizations, especially UNESCO, and on related academic programs have been largely understudied.

How are the 1960s developments in area, language, and development studies connected to the “international race”?

The text states that the boom in those studies was closely associated with competition between two world-systems for influence over postcolonial non-aligned or neutralist countries.

What does the article say about post-Cold War studies in comparative and international education?

It notes that a new post-Cold War research field emerged in U.S. academia, but finds that such studies are surprisingly scarce in comparative and international education.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by OmBimo