The Changing Grammar of Comparative and International Education

This introductory chapter to the Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2025 examines the evolving “analytical grammar” of the field in response to shifting global conditions and internal intellectual debates. Drawing on the contributions within the volume, this chapter identifies three interrelated research fronts shaping contemporary comparative and international education (CIE): (1) epistemic and conceptual renewal, (2) technological transformation and governance, and (3) persistent global inequality and mobility. It argues that the field is undergoing a substantive reconfiguration, moving beyond system-bound and policy-centric approaches toward more multidimensional, relational, and reflexive forms of analysis. This chapter highlights how emerging scholarship interrogates knowledge production, incorporates new conceptual tools such as temporal and spatial frameworks, and examines the governance implications of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time, it underscores the enduring centrality of structural inequality, meritocratic narratives, and cross-system mobility in shaping educational opportunity worldwide. By synthesizing these developments, this chapter demonstrates how CIE is expanding its analytical scope while reworking the conceptual foundations that structure inquiry in the field, offering new directions for research and policy engagement in an increasingly complex and interconnected global education landscape.