Abstract

The paper introduces a Special Issue of Scuola democratica proposing a contribution to a better knowledge of comparative studies in education with specific reference to the pedagogical point of view, in a dialogic interaction between the Italian tradition and the international debate, as part of a reflection on education that acts as a hinge between pedagogy and sociology. In so doing, it highlights some crucial issues concerning the field of comparative studies, including the meaning itself of the ‘education’ that is addressed in them, the role of the state, and the link with geopolitics. The paper then goes on to illustrate the profile of the individual essays collected in the Special Issue: the essays space on different topics related to the main theme, from epistemology to history, therefore offering an overview which, if obviously not exhaustive, is however very significant of the present state of the art of comparative studies in education.