Comparative education and development: reflections from Nepal

Relation between education and development has been recognized in Nepal since the beginning of planned development efforts and the modern schooling at mass level. Both were initiated during 1950s. Beginning of Development Studies in MPhil and PhD in Education in School of Education, Kathmandu University focused exploring such relationships in a systematic manner. This reflective paper shares some of the ideas and experiences on comparative education and development while working and developing the program Development Studies. It has been realized that comparative education can provide an important frame to explore such relationships. Accordingly, attempts were made to develop the program Development Studies that derive from understanding and exploring the pattern of the everyday life of the people, their knowledge base and the meaning they give to aspects like education and development. The purpose was also to consider how state interventions a modernization/globalization interplay with local values and meanings. The paper discusses challenges and strengths achieved while working with Development Studies. Finally, some key points are drawn to establish the international and comparative perspective of Nepali practices and experiences.