After the Big Bang — German Education Policy in the Wake of the PISA Study and the Bologna Process

Abstract

The expansion of the education poiicy universe to the international space affected Germany and its constellation of education policy politics, polity, and ideas substantially. Recent reforms in German education policy could not be assessed without referring to two international institutions that were particularly important for Germany: the Programme for International Student Assessment oPìSA) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in secondare education and the Bologna Process in higher education. Both projects were set up on the international level and incorporated no binding commitments. However, the actual effects of the internationalization of education policy on Germany were neither foreseeable nor universally intended; both PISA and the Bologna Process successively generated severe repercussions for domestic education policy-making. Since encompassing education reforms in the late 1960s and early 1970s, education policy in Germany has been characterized by a backlog of reforms (for secondary education, see Baumert et al. 2003; Ertl 2006; for higher education, see Teichler 2005). Although some minor adjustments were enacted and agendas were set for further core reforms, no groundbreaking reforms were conducted.