Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Explaining Convergence in Education Policy

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Soft Governance, International Organizations and Education Policy Convergence

Part of the book series: Transformations of the State ((TRST))

  • 521 Accesses

Abstract

In this chapter, Tonia Bieber demonstrates how cross-national differences of policy convergence in education can be explained. It includes the policy lessons learned from the Swiss political reactions to the three international initiatives of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Bologna and Copenhagen processes. Furthermore, it includes a mini case study on the role of the PISA study and the Bologna process in the USA. In doing so, Bieber demonstrates the hindering and furthering role of soft governance instruments of transnational communication and international regulatory competition filtered by the national political institutions for the convergence result of the USA, while placing special focus on international reference points.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • ACE. 2011. House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on College Costs. American Council on Education. http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/House-Hearing-on-College-Costs.aspx (accessed 12 March 2015).

  • Adelman, C. 2009. The Bologna Process for U.S. Eyes. Washington, DC: IHEP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, J.E., and R.A. Watkins. 2006. Strategies in Dealing with the Bologna Process. International Educator 15(5): 70–75.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benninghoff, M., and J. Leresche. 2009. The Internationalization of National Decision-Making Processes: The Case of the Bologna Declaration in Switzerland. In Rediscovering Public Law and Public Administration in Comparative Policy Analysis, ed. S. Nahrath and F. Varone, 197–215. Lausanne: Presses polytechniques et universitaires romandes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bieber, T. 2010. Schweiz—PISA als Wegbereiter von Reformen. In P. Knodel et al. (Eds.), Das PISA-Echo (pp. 91–114). Frankfurt a.M.: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bieber, T. 2015. The EU as a Norm Entrepreneur in Education Policy: An Analysis of the Diffusion of European Ideas and Policies. In A. Bianculli & A. Ribeiro Hoffmann (Eds.), Regional Organizations and Social Policy in Europe and Latin America. A Space for Social Citizenship? Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bieber, T., et al. 2014. A New Internationalization Trend? The PISA Study, the Bologna Process and US Education Policy. In Internationalization of Education Policy, ed. K. Martens, P. Knodel, and M. Windzio. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • BMBF. 2008. Strengthening Germany’s Role in the Global Knowledge Society—Strategy of the Federal Government for the Internationalization of Science and Research. Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Busemeyer, M.R. 2007. Bildungspolitik in den USA. Zeitschrift für Sozialreform 53(1): 57–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carey, K. 2013. Obama’s Bold Plan to Reshape American Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/02/13/obamas-bold-plan-to-reshape-american-higher-education/ (accessed 19 March 2015).

  • Dillon, S., & Lewin, T. 2010. Education Chief Vies to Expand U.S. Role as Partner on Local Schools. New York Times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbins, M. 2010. Neuseeland—Überflieger mit Leistungsgefälle. In P. Knodel et al. (Eds.), Das PISA-Echo (pp. 209–233). Frankfurt a.M.: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbins, M. 2014. French Education Politics After PISA and Bologna: Rupture or Continuité? In Internationalization of Education Policy, ed. K. Martens, P. Knodel, and M. Windzio. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbins, M., and T. Bieber. 2015. Bildungspolitik in den USA. In Handbuch Politik USA, ed. C. Lammert, M. Siewert, and B. Vormann. Wiesbaden: VS Springer Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dobbins, M., and K. Martens. 2010. A Contrasting Case—The U.S.A. and Its Weak Response to Internationalization Processes in Education Policy. In Transformation of Education Policy, ed. K. Martens et al., 179–198. Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Gaston, P.L. 2010. The Challenge of Bologna: What United States Higher Education Has to Learn from Europe, and Why It Matters That We Learn It. Sterling: Stylus Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gross, R., and B. Gross. 1985. The Great School Debate: Which Way for American Education? New York: Touchstone.

    Google Scholar 

  • IEBC. 2013. Tuning American Higher Education. http://tuningusa.org/Library/Newsletters-(1)/Tuning-Higher-Education-The-Process.aspx (accessed 11 May 2015).

  • IIE. 2012. Open Doors 2012: Report on International Educational Exchange. New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, D. et al. 2013. Performance of U.S. 15-Year-Old Students in Mathematics, Science, and Reading Literacy in an International Context: First Look at PISA 2012 (NCES 2014-024). Washington, DC: NCES.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kemper, A. 2015. OECD: Stärkste Bildungsbenachteiligung in USA und Deutschland. https://andreaskemper.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/oecd-starkste-bildungsbenachteiligung-in-usa-und-deutschland/ (accessed 14 April 2015).

  • Kliebard, H. 1999. Schooled to Work: Vocationalism and the American Curriculum, 1876–1946. New York: Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knodel, P. 2010. England—PISA und die ‘pick and choose’-Strategie. In P. Knodel et al. (Eds.), Das PISA-Echo (pp. 171–188). Frankfurt a.M.: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knodel, P., et al. (eds.). 2010. Das PISA-Echo. Frankfurt a.M.: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lumina Foundation. 2010. Tuning USA Final Report: The Indiana Plot. Indianapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lumina Foundation. 2011. The Degree Qualifications Profile. Indianapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martens, K. 2010. USA—Wie Man PISA Auch Ignorieren Kann. In P. Knodel et al. (Eds.), Das PISA-Echo (pp. 235–250). Frankfurt a.M.: Campus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martens, K., & Niemann, D. 2010. Governance by Comparison. TranState Working Papers, 139. Bremen: Sfb 597 ‘Staatlichkeit im Wandel’.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGuinn, P. 2006. Swing Issues and Policy Regimes. Journal of Policy History 18(4): 205–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Commission on Excellence in Education. 1983. A Nation at Risk: Imperatives for Educational Reforms. http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/NatAtRisk/index.html (accessed 11 July 2014).

  • Niemann, D. 2014. Instruments of IO Governance. OECD Influence on German Education Policy. Bremen: Universität Bremen.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. 2010. Making Reform Happen—Lessons from OECD Countries. Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. 2013. Lessons from PISA 2012 for the United States. Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. 2014. Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators. Paris. doi:10.1787/eag-2014-en

  • Osterwalder, F., and K. Weber. 2004. Die Internationalisierung der föderalistischen Bildungspolitik. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Bildungswissenschaften 26(1): 11–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell, J.J.W., N. Bernhard, and L. Graf. 2012. The Emergent European Model in Skill Formation: Comparing Higher Education and Vocational Training in the Bologna and Copenhagen Processes. Sociology of Education 85(3): 240–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R. 1988. Diplomacy and Domestic Politics: The Logic of Two Level Games. International Organization 42(3): 427–460.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rauhvargers, A., Deane, C., & Pauwels, W. 2009. Bologna Process Stocktaking Report 2009. Report from Working Groups Appointed by the Bologna Follow-up Group to the Ministerial Conference in Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve, 28–29 April 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slaughter, S., and B. Cantwell. 2012. Transatlantic Moves to the Market: The United States and the European Union. Higher Education 63(5): 583–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spellings, M. 2006. A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of US Higher Education: A Report of the Commission Appointed by Secretary of Education. Washington: U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spring, J. 2013. The American School. A Global Context: From the Puritans to the Obama Administration. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Government. 2009. Race to the Top Program. Executive Summary. Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vögtle, E.M., and K. Martens. 2014. The Bologna Process as a Template for Transnational Policy Coordination. Policy Studies 35(3): 246–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagschal, U., and H. Obinger. 2000. Der Einfluss der Direktdemokratie auf die Sozialpolitik. Politische Vierteljahresschrift 41(3): 466–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiarda, J. M. 2009. Die Bologna-Kopie. DIE ZEIT 64(16).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

    Tonia Bieber (Senior Researcher)

Authors
  1. Tonia Bieber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Bieber, T. (2016). Explaining Convergence in Education Policy. In: Soft Governance, International Organizations and Education Policy Convergence. Transformations of the State. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47695-1_8

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47695-1_8

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-47694-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-47695-1

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation