Soft Governance, International Organizations and Education Policy Convergence (eBook)

Tonia Bieber is Policy Advisor to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany. Before, she was Senior Researcher at the Kolleg-Forschergruppe ‘Transformative Power of Europe’ of Otto-Suhr-Institute, Free University of Berlin, and at the Collaborative Research Center ‘Transformations of the State’, University of Bremen, Germany. She has published on multilevel governance, international organizations, European integration in education and training policies, and policy convergence. She is the co-editor of Shaping Inequalities: Welfare State Transformation and its Outcomes.

Series Preface 6
Acknowledgments 8
Contents 12
Abbreviations 14
List of Illustrations 18
List of Tables 20
Part I: Framing Soft Governance, Education, and Convergence 21
Chapter 1: Education in Transition: An Empirical Puzzle 22
Internationalization Processes in Education 26
The Approach and Intentions of the Book 30
The Plan of the Book 36
Notes 38
References 39
Chapter 2: Measuring Convergence in Education Policy 44
Measuring Policy Convergence 44
The PISA-Based OECD Recommendations 46
The Aims of the Bologna Process 49
The Aims of the Copenhagen Process 52
Multistage Case Selection and Methodology 55
Notes 59
References 60
Chapter 3: Soft Governance and Voluntary Policy Convergence: A Theoretical Framework 63
International Organizations and Soft Governance 63
Policy Convergence 67
Transnational Communication 70
International Regulatory Competition 75
Veto Players 82
Notes 89
References 91
Chapter 4: Education Policy-Making in Switzerland: Origins and Trends 100
Historical and Ideational Foundations of the Education System 101
Historic Landmarks in General Education 103
Historic Landmarks in Vocational Education and Training 104
Swiss Education Policy-Making Today 106
The Structure of the Education System 107
Political Authorities, Legislation, and Funding 110
International Contextualization 115
Participation in OECD Programs 117
Participation in EU Programs and Worldwide Cooperation 120
Notes 122
References 123
Part II: Switzerland: An Extreme Case 128
Chapter 5: Swiss Reforms in Compulsory Education: Drawing Lessons from PISA’s Revelations 129
Swiss Reforms and the OECD Recommendations 131
The Action Plan PISA-2000 131
The Strategy on Language Teaching 132
The Constitutional Revision 133
The Reform Project ‘HarmoS’ 134
1) Superordinate Aims of Compulsory Schooling 136
2) Unitary Structural Benchmark Figures 137
3) Instruments of System Development and Quality Assurance 138
4) Organization of the School Day 141
Results: Degree and Dimensions of Delta-Convergence 141
PISA: A Driver of Harmonization 144
PISA Results: The Intensification of Swiss Problem Pressure 144
PISA as a Source of Scientific Legitimization and Lesson-Drawing 146
Domestic Players and PISA’s Reception in Switzerland 148
PISA as a Facilitator of Policy Learning 150
Boosting Competition in Education: PISA’s Benchmarking 153
Results: Convergence through Learning, Legitimization, and Competition 156
Conclusion 157
Notes 159
References 160
Chapter 6: Swiss Reforms in Higher Education: The Poster Child of the Bologna Process 165
Swiss Reforms and the Bologna Aims 166
The Law on Financial Aid to Universities 167
The Federal Law on Universities of Applied Sciences 169
The Two Bologna Directives and the Agreement on Permeability 170
Directives on Quality Assurance and Directives on Accreditation 171
The Constitutional Revision 172
Federal Law on Financial Aid to Universities and Intercantonal Concordat 172
The National Qualifications Framework 174
The Social Dimension 175
The Global Context of European Higher Education 176
Results: Degree and Dimensions of Delta-Convergence 176
Bologna: A Catalyst for Swiss Coordination 179
The Window of Opportunity for Reforms 180
Swiss Communication in Transnational Networks 182
Consultative Members of the BFUG 184
The EC’s Role as a Full BFUG Member 185
Switzerland’s Striving for Competitiveness 188
Results: Communication and Competition as Convergence Factors 192
Conclusion 193
Notes 196
References 197
Chapter 7: Swiss Reforms in Vocational Education and Training: Cherry-Picking from the Copenhagen Process 201
Swiss Reforms and the Copenhagen Aims 202
The Federal Law on VET 202
Reform Projects on the Copenhagen Process 204
Results: Degree and Dimensions of Delta-Convergence 214
Copenhagen: Implementation à la carte 215
Competitive Pressure for Positioning Swiss VET in the European Context 217
The Blocking Impact of Domestic Players 219
Limited Transnational Communication 220
Conclusion 222
Notes 224
References 225
Part III: Comparative Conclusions 228
Chapter 8: Explaining Convergence in Education Policy 229
Comparison of Main Findings 230
The Dimensions and Degree of Policy Convergence 231
Causal Mechanisms of Voluntary Policy Convergence 233
Transnational Communication 236
International Regulatory Competition 238
Veto Players 239
Education Reforms in the USA and Their International References 242
No Response to the PISA Study? 246
Bologna à la Carte 249
Notes 253
References 253
Chapter 9: Soft Governance in Education: Lessons and Prospects 256
Recapitulating the Approach of This Book 257
Discussion of Research Findings and Alternative Explanations 259
Contribution of This Book and Future Prospects 262
References 269
Annex 271
Interviews 271
European Commission 271
Switzerland 271
USA 272
Index 274