1. Introduction
a. “Comparative Education is the application of the intellectual tools of history and the social sciences to understanding international issues of education” ― Erwin H. Epstein
b. Drawing on the above comprehensive definition and epistemological boundary of comparative education, the “Centre for Comparative and Global Education” (CCGE) at O.P. Jindal Global (Institution of Eminence Deemed To Be University) will conduct research and facilitate knowledge exchange on international issues of education by inviting comparative education scholars from abroad to learn from educational experiences of people around the world. In his (now classic) lecture in the field of comparative education- “How Far Can We Learn Anything of Practical Value from the Study of Foreign Systems of Education” delivered at the Guildford Education Conference in 1900 at the Christ Church Oxford, M. E. Sadler (one of the founding fathers of the field) stated that: “The practical value of studying, in a right spirit and with scholarly accuracy, the working of foreign systems of education, is that it will result in our being better fitted to study and understand our own.” (Bereday, 1964). This quote from Sadler’s essay summarizes well the value and the importance of studying comparative education to better understand the problems of our own context and become better empowered to seek solutions.
c. Though the study and research of comparative education has not yet taken its root within the Indian academy, India also had great educational thinkers, organic intellectuals and reformers, who did their own comparative research of different education systems around the world independently seeking to reform education within the colonial Indian context. India’s “Kavi Guru” (Poet-Teacher), Rabindranath Tagore’s essay written in Bengali “Shikshayar Herfer” (Topsy-turvey Education, 1892) is a classic example in this area. In this essay Tagore compared English education in UK with English education in British India to critically reflect on the problematics of mainstream English education in India and what lessons India can learn from English education in UK.
d. The Centre for Comparative and Global Education (CCGE) seeks to generate such comparative thinking about education systems, problems of educational transfer within the historic colonial context and in contemporary times of globalization. In doing so, CCGE seeks to advocate for the teaching, research and practice of comparative education in Universities within India and around the world to further inform the contemporary debates on education policy and practice.
2. References
a. Bereday. G. Z. F. (1964). Sir Michael Sadler’s “Study of Foreign Systems of Education”. Comparative Education Review, University of Chicago Press. Vol. 7, No. 3 (Feb., 1964), pp. 307-314
b. Tagore, R. (1892). “Shikshayar Herfer” /Topsy-turvy Education, in Uma Dasgupta (Ed.). Tagore: Selected Writings on Education and Nationalism. New Delhi: Oxford University Pre -Dr. Mousumi Mukherjee, Founding Executive Director, Centre for Comparative and Global Education & Asst. Director, IIHEd
3. Projects & Publications
a. Dr Mousumi Mukherjee has been leading the following projects as Principal Investigator:-
b. “Bridging Internationalisation and Social Responsibility in Higher Education” (2018 JGU Faculty Research Grant)
c. Peer-reviewed Journal Article: Mukherjee, M. (Forthcoming). “Tagore’s “rooted-cosmopolitanism” and international mindedness against institutional sustainability”. In Special Issue on Asian Cosmopolitanism, Susanne Choo & Fazal Rizvi {Eds.], Asia Pacific Journal of Education
Peer-reviewed Book Chapter: Mukherjee, M. (Forthcoming). “Creative Resistance”: Establishing a World-minded Indian University in colonial British India. In Assié-Lumumba, Bedi, Cross and Ekanayake (Eds.) Comparative Education for Global Citizenship, Peace and Harmony through Ubuntu. Brill-Sense Publishers
Ongoing Book project: Mukherjee, M & Bera, A. “Tagore @Illinois: Researching Global Connections in Education”
f. “Comparative and Global Perspectives on International Student Experiences: The case of Tibetan Students in India”-2019 JGU Faculty Research Grant funded project in collaboration with Dr Liz Jackson, Director, Comparative Education Research Centre, University of Hong Kong
g. Handbook project:
h. Dr. Mousumi Mukherjee participated as a resource person to conduct series of workshops in 2018 and co-authored chapters on “Global Citizenship Education: A Handbook for Teachers at Upper Primary level in India” published by Regional Institute of Education, Bhopal- a collective effort of several resource persons- school teachers and academic scholars from NCERT, O.P. Jindal Global (Institution of Eminence Deemed To Be University); UNESCO MGIEP ; Eklavya, Hoshangabad; Kendriya Vidyalaya; Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya; Demonstration Multipurpose Higher Secondary School and Delhi Public School, Bhopal and Neelbad after three week-long workshops and several long-distance deliberations over the email and phone for a year! NCERT will soon make the soft copy of the handbook available for download from their website. The Handbook will now be translated into Hindi and other major regional languages. This GCED Handbook from India has been already selected by the UNESCO Asia Pacific Center for Education in International Understanding (APCEIU) as one of the five EIU/GCED Best Practices in 2019. The other four winners are from Chile, Oman, Philippines, and Slovenia.
j. The Centre for Comparative and Global Education under the International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building hosted the First World Youth Congress for Kindness to promote UN SDGs at O.P. Jindal Global (Institution of Eminence Deemed To Be University) in collaboration with the UNESCO-Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace and Sustainable Development from 20-23rd August, 2019: https://mgiep.unesco.org/article/o-p-jindal-global-university-and-unesco-mgep-join-hands-in-a-unique-partnership
l. Dr. Mousumi Mukherjee participated in the planning meetings of “Knowledge 4 Change” Mentor training programme in CBR designed by the UNESCO-chair in Community-based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education. The UNESCO Chair in CBR initiative Knowledge for Change (K4C) is an International partnered training consortium, built on partnerships between HEIs & CSOs for co-creation of knowledge. It aims to build research capacity to address local challenges, in line with UN SDGs. Following the planning meetings, the Centre for Comparative and Global Education under IIHEd hosted the first face-to-face training in CBR by the UNESCO-Chair in CBR on campus at O.P. Jindal Global (Institution of Eminence Deemed To Be University) during March 2018: http://unescochair-cbrsr.org/index.php/events/knowledge-for-change-k4c-planning-meeting/
m. https://news.webindia123.com/news/press_showdetailsPR.asp?id=1085885&cat=PRN
n. Research Symposium:
o. The Centre organized an International Research Symposium “Other Ways of Knowing and Doing” – Globalizing Social Science Knowledge in Higher Education (Dec 9–12, 2017) in collaboration with the UNESCO-Chair in CBR, WCCES, IOCES and OCIES and a journal special issue publication project with OCIES official journal – International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives (published through the University of Sydney): https://issuu.com/mousumimukherjee5/docs/finalbrochure_irs_2017-9-12_dec_201
p. https://www.worldcces.org/international-research-symposium-sonepat-india-11-12-dec-2017.html