Session Information
23 SES 12 C, Democracy and Education in Performative Regimes
Paper Session
Contribution
This is a study of education policy in a specific context: A national government coalition, lasting 4 years, in a single European country. It asks how education policies of such a government are formed, negotiated and implemented, how they are influenced by national and trans-national structures, and how they mix priorities of economic competitiveness and social welfare.
Denmark has a political culture and tradition with an emphasis on collaboration and pluralism, both in national and local matters. During the 20th century coalition government was the rule rather than the exception. In recent governments a new style has emerged, where coalitions are based on comprehensive platforms with political objectives and plans, and where the government’s credibility towards voters is based on its ability to follow up these objectives and plans.
Denmark is a welfare state with a strong emphasis public provision of welfare, generally funded through taxes. Economic globalisation has been changing the conditions of national welfare policy and Danish governments have been trying to tune welfare policy to face this challenge. The dominant approach is what political scientists have called ‘the competition state’ calling for the state to focus on the development of the political, economic, and cultural institutions that gives a nation the capacity to achieve socioeconomic success.
The coalition government consisting of the Social Democrats, the Socialist People’s party and the Social Liberal party with Helle Thorning Schmidt as prime minister took office in October 2011, after a narrow election victory. The platform of the new government was characterized by tensions between on one hand ambitions to improve social equality and welfare, on the other hand to consolidate the Danish economy and competitiveness through a pragmatic economic policy. Education was a key element in the government platform, which emphasized investment in education both as a way to improve employment and competitiveness and as a way to reduce social inequality. Education policy was located mainly in two ministries, one focusing on primary and secondary education, another on higher education and, research and innovation.
The Thorning-Schmidt government led a difficult life. From the outset it faced accusations that the platform did live up to the promises given in the election campaign, and tensions between the coalition partners surfaced several times, in one instance with the consequence that the Socialist People’s Party left the government. At the election in June 2015 polls showed the social democratic coalition lagging far behind the liberal and right-wing parties. They lost, but only by a narrow margin, and were replaced by a liberal minority government.
In spite of its problems the government was still been very active, not least in the field of education. Two major educational reforms were proposed, negotiated and implemented; a reform of primary and lower secondary education (“Folkeskole”) and a reform of vocational education. Several smaller reforms were also introduced, including one in higher education.
In this paper I will give an overview of the education policy pursued by the Thorning-Schmidt government, including its general objectives, the main reform proposals and the impact of political struggles on the reforms. I will include the role of transnational policy frameworks, especially the EU and the OECD. I will try to trace how the government interpreted problems and necessary interventions in Danish education, and how government argued for educational reform in relation to economic consolidation on one hand, social equality and welfare on the other. I hope to contribute to general knowledge and debate about the possibilities and constrains of progressive education policy in present-day Europe.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Ball, S.J. (2013). Foucault, Power and Education. New York: Routledge. Blossing. U., Imsen, G. & Moos, L. (2014). The Nordic Education Model. A ‘School for All’ encounters Neo-Liberal Policy. Dordrecht: Springer. Bourdieu, P. (2014). On the State. Cambridge: Polity Press. Fielding, M. ed. (2001). Taking Education Really Seriously: four years hard Labour. London: Routledge Falmer Lawn, M and Grek, S (2012). Europeanizing Education. Governing a new policy space. Oxford: Symposium Books. Meyer, H-D. and Benavot, A. eds. (2013). PISA, power and policy. The emergence of global educational governance. Oxford, UK: Symposium Books, pp. 303-322 OECD (2014). Education Policy Outlook: Denmark. Paris: OECD. Pedersen, OK (2013). Political Globalization and the Competition State. B Brincker (ed.), Introduction to Political Sociology. Copenhagen: Hans Reitzel, 281-298. Rasmussen, P. (2014). Lifelong learning policy in two national contexts. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 2014 (3). Rasmussen, P., & Jensen, U. H. (2014). Equity Issues in Education: NESET Country Report: Denmark. DG-EAC: NESET Network. Rizvi, F and Lingard, B (2010). Globalising education policy. London: Routledge. Telhaug, A.O. & Tønnesen, R. (1992). Dansk utdanningspolitik under Bertel Haarder: Dansk nyliberalistisk og nykonservativ utdanningspolitikk fra 1982-1992. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
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