Time-worn pebbles or unpolished gemstones? (Un)usable pasts and possible futures of comparative education

ABSTRACT

This article draws on the contributions to this special issue to highlight the urgent need to restore checks and balances in our evaluation of ‘usable pasts’ in comparative education. Considering that our reading of the field’s history not only moulds our understanding of comparative education now but also shapes our imagination of its potential futures, reflecting our implicit biases and the way we construct and narrate its history becomes imperative. This article unveils the persistence of silences and exclusions concerning specific histories, countries, and topics, and highlights the possible influence of evolving geopolitical power dynamics on the future of comparative education. Consequently, it urges critical examination of the field’s positionality amid shifting geopolitical tensions and calls for a thorough scrutiny of entrenched silences and the reductionist use of sweeping policy signifiers such as globalisation, decolonisation, excellence, and the notion of ‘future’ as explanatory concepts.