Changing Times, Changing Territories

This CERC monograph differs from others in the series in that it is not a research report but a commentary on a research institution: the Comparative Education Research Centre (CERC) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) which was established in 1994. The monograph documents the trajectory of CERC as narrated by its five Directors and with a commentary by the editor.

Historically, the value of the monograph lies in encapsulating the collective efforts of its founders and their successors. It reflects on why CERC was formed and how the Centre’s “tribes and territories” and their work have evolved over time. Sociologically, CERC as a unit for analysis provides an example of the institutionalisation of the field of comparative education. Viewed from a sociology-of-knowledge perspective, CERC exemplifies the dynamic interplay of international and domestic politics, episteme, personal biography, and the internal sociology of universities.

Maria Manzon is a Research Scientist at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. She is also an Associate Member of the Comparative Education Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong. She was co-editor of a volume of histories of comparative education societies (2007), and of another volume about comparative education in universities worldwide (2008). Her 2011 book entitled Comparative Education: The Construction of a Field has been acclaimed for its comprehensive approach and path-breaking conceptualisation.