ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the development and application of comparative and international education in the Australia-Pacific region in the light of the contemporary social context and of the methodological and ethical dilemmas faced by those working within the field. The South Pacific region has assumed increased economic and strategic importance in world affairs. The involvement of educational researchers in the Pacific takes many forms ranging from independent studies based upon the personal interests of the researcher to formalised consultancies related to specific projects or participation in the work of international aid agencies. Particular attention is paid to the potential of ethnographic research methods as a way of promoting genuinely collaborative research of increased value to policy makers and practitioners. With respect to contemporary developments in the field of comparative and international education, the future potential of qualitative research methods, and ethnography in particular, is considerable.
