We find three stages in the development of comparative education.
The First Stage:
The first stage in the development of comparative education begins with the ideas propounded by Antoine Jullien.
This stage continued upto the beginning of the twentieth century. During the nineteenth century, the belief had gained ground that the characteristics prevailing in one country may be Absorbed in the educational system of another.
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This belief resulted into the collection of data on education of other countries. These data were arranged in tables and an attempt was made to deduce some general principles from the same. Consequently, people began to believe that the educational system in a country may be organised according to these principles.
But in the collection of the above data no attention was paid to social, political, economic and religious conditions of the country studied, although they have a direct influence on its educational system.
Therefore, it was not considered necessary whether the country whose educational pattern was to be copied has the same cultural, social, political, economic and religious traditions as the other country had.
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In this first stage of development of comparative education, the names of Victor Cousion of France, Matthew Arnold of England, Horace Man and Henry Bernard of U.S.A., Tolstoy and Ushinsky of Russia and Domingo Sarminto of Argentina may be specially mentioned.
These persons and their followers have opined that in the development of education of a country, it is necessary to; study the educational systems of other countries. Thus the study of comparative education began in order to enrich the educational system of one’s own country.
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The Second Stage:
In the second stage, social, economic and other circumstances which influence education in a country were studied. Thus the influence of these factors in the context of educational development was specially noted and to what extent these factors were suitable for another country.
So the tendency of blind imitation was discarded. Sir Michael Sadler of England was the father of this second stage.
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In 1907 he published an essay in which he emphasized the point that educational system of a country was related to the social environment of the land. Sadler’s point of view was accepted by Issac Kandal and Robert Ulich of U.S.A, Friedrich Schneider of Germany, Joseph Lauwerys and Nicholas Hans of England.
The Third Stage:
The third stage starts in 1950. Bereday, George Z.F. regards this stage as a period of analysis. In this method, economic political, social and religious factors were analysed. Then it was inferred up to what extent that educational system was suitable or in suitable for another country.
Thus the related factors of education were specially studied. Therefore, in the third stage, an attempt was made to reach a conclusion on the basis of various factors, whereas in the second stage this tendency was absent.
Robert Ulich, Friedrich Schneider and Issac Kandel have contributed significantly to the development of the third stage of the study of comparative education.