比较教育学（Comparative Education）是为了要了解本国与他国教育之间的异同，借由发现各国之间的不同，理解不同国家的教育风格，而本国也可斟酌他国成功的教育经验来弥补本国教育上的缺失。法国安东尼·朱利安（Antonie Jullien，1775 ~ 1848）是最早研究比较教育学的学者，他在1817提出「比较教育的计划及基本观点」，创建了主观的研究。随着时代的进步，全球化的到来，各国之间的连系也越来越紧密，其中包括了经济、政治、宗教、文化、军事、教育等等面向，而各个面向都互相影响，也因此比较教育学也越来越受到重视。

Comparative education is a fully established academic field of study that examines education in one country (or group of countries) by using data and insights drawn from the practises and situation in another country, or countries. Programs and courses in comparative education are offered in many universities throughout the world, and relevant studies are regularly published in scholarly journals such as Comparative Education, International Review of Education, Mediterranean Journal of Educational Studies, International Education Journal,International Journal of Educational Development, Comparative Education Review, and Current Issues in Comparative Education. The field of comparative education is supported by many projects associated with UNESCO and the national education ministries of various nations.