180     Current Issues in Comparative Education

for living in community with others. By extending their notion of community, and encouraging 
a	citizenship	education	that	encourages	international	respect	and	understanding,	McCowan	and	
Gomez	take	a	step	forward	in	the	path	to	peace	through	education	on	an	international	scale.

– Reviewed by Beth Wright, Loyola University Chicago

Education in Small States: Global Imperatives, Regional Initiatives and Local Dilemmas, edited by 
Peter Mayo. New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2010. 168 pp. ISBN-13: 978-
0415560399 

Sixteen	scholars	contributed	to	nine	chapters	in	Peter	Mayo’s	edited	book	that	drew	on	articles	
that Comparative Education published as a special issue in 2008 (Volume 44, Issue 2). The chapters 
covered issues that range from basic education, adult education, and entrepreneurship training, 
to	 the	 impact	 of	 globalization	 on	 educational	 restructuring,	 career	 guidance,	 advancement	 of	
educational	research,	and	funding	of	higher	education	in	specific	small	state	regions.	In	spite	of	a	
seeming	lack	of	coherence	the	papers	weave	in	and	out	of	five	main	research	strands:	politics	and	
policy making; economic development and labour market characteristics; education and human 
resource development; administration and sociocultural issues. 
 
One of the major strengths of the book is its diversity in terms of not only the range of issues but 
also the representation of work done on small states	–	a	not	easily	defined	concept	– in the Southern 
Pacific,	Caribbean,	African,	European,	and	Mediterranean	regions.	Some	of	 the	claims	authors	
make	about	the	notion	of	small	scale	are	very	specific	while	others	are	more	tentative,	taking	into	
consideration other variables and the presence of similar challenges in regions and communities 
that	might	not	be	categorized	as	‘small	or	smaller’.	The	authors	agree	that	the	question	of	size	is	
indeed a very critical issue for jurisdictions that grapple with creating educational systems that 
allow them to better prepare students at all levels of the educational system to participate in a 
global	economy.	While	some	authors	seem	to	focus	on	the	seemingly	negative	aspects	of	size,	
others	look	to	the	positive	and	the	advantages	of	being	‘small,’	or	attempt	to	strike	a	balance.	

Of	great	importance	to	this	book	is	the	contribution	of	the	late	Kazim	Bacchus,	a	leading	scholar	
in	 international,	 comparative	 and	 development	 education.	 Bacchus’	 scholarly	 work	 over	 the	
years positions him to adequately provide a historical background and introduction to the many 
issues	raised	in	other	chapters	of	the	book.	Of	great	significance	is	his	reference,	though	some	
scholars might argue somewhat uncritical, to the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat, World 
Bank,	and	other	organizations	and	the	role	they	played	in	identifying	the	educational	challenges	
facing small states, and supporting their integration into the competitive global economy of the 
21st century. It is important to note that as Crossley suggested one of the priorities of small states 
should be the strengthening of their capacity to do research and evaluation. The lack of funds to 
do	this	kind	of	work	is	a	major	limitation	in	terms	of	small	states’	ability	to	participate	in	global	
initiatives, make public the achievements of small states, and challenge the hegemonic discourse 
of many of the research paradigms used to study local contexts.
 
Given	the	focus	of	the	text,	Bacchus’	discussion	on	the	varying	definitions	of	‘small state’ is most 
critical	and	relevant	to	an	understanding	of	its	influence	on	what	these	various	so-called	entities	
find	they	can	and	cannot	do	as	 they	attempt	 to	participate	 in	global	 imperatives	and	regional	
initiatives.	The	economic,	sociocultural,	and	political	issues,	their	relationships	to	size,	and	the	



Current Issues in Comparative Education     181

kinds of possibilities for small states, are the crux of this and many of the chapters in this book. 
Bacchus and many other authors bring to the fore challenges relating to the structure of the 
educational systems of small states, including the teaching strategies used in the preparation of 
‘students’	to	participate	in	a	competitive	global	economy	and	meet	the	needs	of	the	communities.

An important aspect of most of the chapters is the focus on historical and social contexts and culture 
of the regions and the challenges faced primarily because of the dependence on aid from external 
sources.	Indeed,	they	point	to	the	influence	of	aid	agendas	on	small	states’	ability	or	inability	to	
achieve	their	communities’	individual	goals	and	objectives.	These	discussions	highlight	the	issue	
of power relationships, disparity, and the negative effects on the educational projects that are 
aimed	at	‘development’.	Generally,	the	authors	critique	the	lack	of	focus	on	indigenous	ways	of	
knowing and doing of the local cultural contexts and its contribution to the ongoing inability to 
allow for authenticity in terms of planning and implementing educational programs and training 
to meet the needs of a global and knowledge-based economy.

Baldacchino makes an interesting turn in his discussion on the role of education in the 
development of entrepreneurship in what he chooses to term smaller European jurisdictions. 
He uses his study to make a case for entrepreneurship on the ground instead of allocating 
money, effort and resources to educational programs. He hits the nail on the head in arguing that 
governments should spend more time and resources fostering an environment for the emergence 
of entrepreneurs than focusing on internal training and development. Creating the environment 
will lead to the emergence of the entrepreneurial class whether they come from an internal or 
external source. The “right” training environment needs to be in place as well. I am uncertain 
if I agree with the idea that it has to be entrepreneurial training. Are we talking about a formal 
transfer of knowledge, the teaching of behaviors, an informal mentoring programme, or all of 
the	above?	I	found	the	definition	of	the	“training”	absent,	so	any	critique	will	be	tentative	at	best.	
However, Baldacchino makes a strong case for an alternative to what he considers a pessimistic 
scenario in which education is proposed as the panacea for all the challenges smaller states face. 

Sultana’s	chapter	provides	what	I	found	to	be	a	careful	assessment	of	the	research	that	has	been	
done on issues surrounding education in small states. Indeed, his adoption of a more cautious 
approach	(given	the	exploratory	nature	of	the	empirical	data	and	the	difficulty	of	establishing	
causation in social sciences research) is one that I highly recommend to researchers. 

All	too	often	scholars	and	educators	at	the	graduate	level	are	not	able	to	find	texts	that	speak	to	
a diversity of regions and allow for a more international focus. The chapters of this edited book 
note	that	the	question	of	size	brings	with	it	a	series	of	challenges:	educating	the	populations	at	
various levels of the educational systems, human resource development, sustainability, the use 
of learning technologies, and the role of donor countries in the development of small states. All 
of these topics are well served in this text, which offers a contribution to curricular discussions 
with	a	focus	on	international	comparative	education.	Even	more	significant	is	that	the	discussions	
on education/training are not limited to any particular level but range from classroom to post 
secondary, higher, and continuing education. Scholars and graduate students who use this text 
can	benefit	greatly	from	the	presentations	of	the	various	historical	contexts	from	the	perspectives	
of	a	range	of	scholars	and	their	relationships	to	the	jurisdictions’	ability	or	inability	to	compete	
and cope with the global demands.

– Reviewed by Janice B. Fournillier, Georgia State University