HED4806 Assignment 3 2026 - Distinction | Due August 2026

HED4806 Assignment 3 2026 - Distinction | Due August 2026 • Answer all questions. • The excerpts in this assignment are extracted from: Wolhuter, C. C., Seroto, J., & Davids, M. N. (Eds.) (2020). Decolonising education in the Global South: Historical and comparative international perspectives. Pearson. Question 1 [30] Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow: “The decades after the Second World War saw the rapid economic recovery of Europe, the decolonisation of large parts of the Third World and finally the worldwide economic boom of the 1960s. The post-Second World War recovery of Europe was widely attributed to education, with an increase in the level of education and training of the European workforce. In these times, a ceilingless belief in the power of education to bring about any kind of desired change, took hold. For example, someone who wishes to reduce the incidence of aggression in society advocates ‘anti-aggression education’, or the person who is concerned about pollution pleads for environmental education. This belief in the societal elevating power of education spilled over to the field of comparative education too. The dominant paradigm in this field shifted from the factors and forces framework to structural-functionalism and its derivate modernisation.” 1.1 Compare the central tenets of structural functionalism and modernisation theories in relation to: a) Society (5) b) Education and development (5) 1.2 Briefly discuss the idea of education as a “panacea for all social ills”, and frame it in the context of the excerpt, as well as your understanding of the role of education in economic development. (10) 1.3 The field of Comparative and International Education plays a crucial role in the evaluation of global systems of education. a) Explain the mechanisms used to evaluate global education systems, with specific reference to the institutions involved in such practices, and their role in shaping international education. (4) b) Name three (3) educational aspects to which Comparative and International Education can be applied. (6)