Most recent papers:

• Can we meet the sustainability challenges? The role of education and lifelong learning.
  Arjen E. J. Wals, Aaron Benavot.
  European Journal of Education. October 10, 2017
  Education and lifelong learning are increasingly being mobilised to address the global environmental crisis and accompanying sustainability challenges. This article discusses the many roles of education about and for sustainable development, drawing on evidence and arguments put forward in the 2016 Global Education Monitoring Report, Education for People and Planet. It highlights specific viewpoints, values and ways of thinking that best characterize effective learning for sustainability. It also emphasises the importance of a ‘whole school’ or ‘whole institutional’ approach to education for sustainability.

  October 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12250   open full text
• Measuring child development and learning.
  Abbie Raikes.
  European Journal of Education. October 10, 2017
  The Sustainable Development Goal's ‘Education 2030’ agenda includes an explicit focus on early childhood development. Target 4.2 states that all children are ‘developmentally on track’ at the start of school. What does it mean for a child to be developmentally on track, and how should it be measured, especially in an international context? In this article, principles of child development with implications for measurement are described, together with issues in accurately capturing the complex nature of early development with feasible, cost‐effective measures. Three measures are described, with an emphasis on identifying the policy relevance, feasibility, and methodologies that influence their potential usefulness for measuring progress towards global education goals. Directions for measuring early childhood development and learning are outlined.

  October 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12249   open full text
• Post‐secondary scholarships for students from developing countries: Establishing a global baseline.
  Rajika Bhandari.
  European Journal of Education. September 19, 2017
  With the goal of informing progress towards Sustainable Development Goal target 4.b which focuses on the provision of global scholarships for students from the developing world, this article analyses the current state of global data on scholarships available at the tertiary level for individuals from developing countries. In addition to assessing the status of and gaps in the data, the analysis explores the feasibility of creating a baseline against which future progress towards target 4.b can be monitored at the global level. It reviews a broad range of scholarship programmes that are sponsored by government institutions, non‐profit organisations, and corporations in order to inform the analysis, identify challenges, and propose solutions. Data gaps are especially apparent with regard to the national origins and socio‐demographic characteristics of scholarship recipients. Despite the severe limitation of the data, a tentative baseline against which the progress of target 4.b can be measured is proposed. This baseline estimates that currently there are approximately 22,487 tertiary students from the developing world who are receiving scholarships from developed and developing countries. This figure accounts for just under 1% of the 2.5 million students from the developing world who are globally mobile. In addition to providing a framework for organising and monitoring global scholarship programmes, the article provides recommendations for the steps that can be put in place in order to ensure better data collection on the provision of scholarships for students from the developing world.

  September 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12235   open full text
• Indigenous knowledge and implications for the sustainable development agenda.
  Giorgia Magni.
  European Journal of Education. September 19, 2017
  With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the international community committed to address a great number of challenges. Among those emphasised by the SDGs, some are highly relevant for indigenous groups. Education, poverty, access to justice and climate change are only a few of the issues affecting indigenous people's lives. Yet, indigenous groups are not passive actors. Despite being at the mercy of climate hazards and misleading political decisions, the knowledge system they have developed throughout the centuries has helped them to successfully respond to ecological and development challenges. By exploring indigenous cultures and their knowledge systems in greater depth, this article aims to understand how the sustainable development agenda can benefit from these different forms of traditional knowledge. More particularly, it will attempt to explain the main notions in which traditional knowledge is rooted and analyse means of knowledge maintenance and transmission. It will then explore the relationship between indigenous knowledge, sustainable practices and land and resource management, as well as climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies. These ideas will be supported by a discussion on the need to guarantee indigenous people full access to land and justice in order for them to fully realise their rights. The conclusion reflects on the importance of fostering an integrated system of knowledge in which indigenous groups are involved in knowledge sharing practices and decision making processes.

  September 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12238   open full text
• Skill achievement and returns in developing countries: Evidence from adult skills surveys.
  Kenn Chua.
  European Journal of Education. September 19, 2017
  Using novel adult skills surveys, this article analyses cross‐country patterns in skill achievement and labour market returns, comparing the outcomes for a subset of developing countries with the results previously found for high‐income economies. Apart from displaying lower average cognitive skills, developing countries also exhibit wider disparities in levels of skills by subgroups of educational attainment, gender, and parental education. Meanwhile, baseline estimates of returns to skills reveal that a one‐standard deviation increase in literacy skills is associated with an earnings increase of 14.6% in developing countries, which is statistically indistinguishable from the average returns of 17.7 estimated for developed countries. Nonetheless, there is considerable heterogeneity in the returns across developing countries, with the lowest estimates found in Armenia and Ukraine at 2% (not statistically significant) and 6%, respectively, and the highest reported in Kenya at above 30%. Differences in the type of employment opportunities and the degree of employment selection in these labour markets are important determinants of the observed gap in returns. International comparisons of returns should take this into consideration.

  September 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12236   open full text
• Measures of learning and teaching material availability and use in sub‐Saharan Africa and other low‐income countries.
  Nicholas Read.
  European Journal of Education. September 19, 2017
  This article reviews the accuracy and relevance of the national monitoring mechanisms currently used to establish national learning and teaching material (LTM) availability indicators. In many countries, only very basic LTM monitoring requirements are provided. These are not updated regularly and are usually not designed specificially to support effective LTM provision. One of the most disturbing conclusions emerging from recent research is the very widespread lack of investment in the provision of reading books and reading materials for use in schools and the equally widespread lack of usable data on the availability of reading books in relevant languages at any levels in the education systems of most developing countries, particularly in lower primary and pre‐school grades. Effective LTM provision requires reliable information on a number of different activities and inputs that must operate efficiently in sequence. This sequence of activities is often referred to as the Book Chain. If one of the links in the chain is dysfunctional, then there is a risk that the whole system will function ineffectively or inefficiently—or both! Most countries aim to collect their EMIS data, including LTM‐related data, on a national basis by drawing information from every school and then consolidating the data gathered on a sub‐district, district, regional and eventually national basis. The combination of large numbers of schools located in different regions, often with radically different facilities and operational environments, with large numbers of titles supplied in differing quantities based on grade level enrolments and supply assumptions and potentially in different languages, is very difficult to manage on a manual basis with non‐specialist managers. Investments in more sophisticated computerised information management systems are recommended to ensure that decisions can be made quickly, based on good information, sound future planning and adequate financial allocations to maintain textbook, teachers’ guides and other essential hard copy LTM supplies equitably at target levels for every school and grade level in the country. Although bespoke, computerised information management systems probably represent the way ahead in terms of reliable annual provision of accurate LTM‐related data they are expensive and there are immediate changes that can be introduced at low cost which will improve the usefulness of the data collected. In most countries, a review needs to take place to ascertain exactly what data need to be collected, how often, and in what formats different MOE departments require this information. This review should be accompanied by a plan for reducing the duplication of work, district/school administration overhead and data collection methodology.

  September 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12242   open full text
• Education for global citizenship and sustainable development in social science textbooks.
  Jeremy David Jimenez, Julia Lerch, Patricia Bromley.
  European Journal of Education. September 18, 2017
  This article reviews the state of research and data on relevant content, broadly understood as sustainable development, in social science textbooks worldwide. Specifically, it examines the extent to which these textbooks could help learners to acquire the knowledge, skills and values that are needed to meet goal 4.7 of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals: ‘By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non‐violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture's contribution to sustainable development’. It reviews relevant literature and analyses three cross‐national, longitudinal databases containing information that is coded from textbook content to assess the current state of knowledge. In addition to analysing measures concerning the environment and sustainable development, this article also focuses on areas of human rights, global citizenship, gender equality, and multiculturalism/social diversity. We find that textbook discussions of these variables have, in general, steadily increased since the middle of the 20th century. The article concludes by indicating where future research efforts are most needed, identifying geographic and substantive needs, and considering monitoring mechanisms that could encourage on‐going evaluation and monitoring of textbook content.

  September 18, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12240   open full text
• Higher education in the sustainable development goals framework.
  Taya Louise Owens.
  European Journal of Education. August 25, 2017
  Agenda 2030 for sustainable development focuses attention on lifelong learning opportunities for all. The new targets expand on their predecessors, the Millennial Development Goals, by both widening and deepening the scope of system‐wide quality education systems. Whilst the Millennial Development Goals focused attention on universal primary attainment, the Sustainable Development Goals introduce tertiary education into the global development agenda. Higher education was an important consideration in the 2000 Dakar framework, but it was not included as a target. Instead, it appeared indirectly as a supportive pathway to other goals such as youth skills or quality teacher. Now, higher education plays a key role as a means to achieving Goal 4 on education: inclusive, equitable and quality education for all. This article evaluates the introduction of higher education into the development agenda and the introduction of the SDGs into the parallel but fragmented multilateral and university agendas. It concludes by specifying two factors that are essential if higher education is to play a revitalised role in the sustainable development framework: publicly‐funded research and regional higher education partnerships.

  August 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12237   open full text
• Non‐cognitive skills: Potential candidates for global measurement.
  Kai Zhou.
  European Journal of Education. August 23, 2017
  Skills are widely considered as key elements that contribute to the sustainable development of nations and the well‐being of individuals. Given the increasing interests in the international comparisons of skills for informing educational policy, it is necessary to understand the definitions, measurement, and development of key skills. Using literature from economics, sociology, and psychology, this article focuses on non‐cognitive skills that have a positive effect on life outcomes and can be better developed through education and training. Three non‐cognitive skills – grit, self‐control and social skills are illustrated and thoroughly reviewed here. Although some progress has been made in developing and measuring non‐cognitive skills, there is currently no systematic global measure. Several factors hinder the global monitoring of non‐cognitive skills and inhibits effective non‐cognitive skills assessment across countries. These include a lack of solid evidence showing which soft skills predict academic and workforce outcomes and how does the strength of this relationship differ by situation.

  August 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12241   open full text
• Integrated planning for education and development.
  Amlata Persaud.
  European Journal of Education. August 23, 2017
  This article addresses the issue of integrated planning for education in a post‐2015 international development paradigm. It argues that there has been a growth in the opportunity space for education stakeholders at both global and local levels to pay greater attention to the links between education and other development sectors. It uses a boundary‐spanning policy framework to present an analysis of this trend, pointing to political, economic and social factors that have intersected to create a conducive environment for consideration of integrated approaches. It proposes three ‘dimensions’ of integration, namely, horizontal integration of the education sector with other development sectors such as health and social protection; vertical integration across national and sub‐national levels; and lateral integration of state and non‐state actors. The article focuses on horizontal integration and draws on the theoretical literature on collaborative management to highlight the contextual, personal, structural and technical factors that can present risks and challenges to policy makers and practitioners in implementing integrated approaches in the education sector.

  August 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12233   open full text
• A perspective on education's importance for urban development.
  Priyadarshani Joshi.
  European Journal of Education. August 22, 2017
  The 21st century has been called the ‘age of the city’. The concentration of human activity is what makes cities such an important space of opportunity and challenge. This article views urban development challenges from an education perspective and argues that education must be viewed as an important intermediary for capitalising on the physical, intellectual and social capital available in cities. The distribution of educational opportunity within cities must be monitored to ensure that education plays a role in reducing and not exacerbating urban inequalities. Making sure that the city works for all requires improving how we plan cities and making urban planning processes more inclusive through knowledge‐based participation. There needs to be more appreciation of education's role in transformative urban development and stronger advocacy by education stakeholders to gain a seat in the circles that wield the most power in the urban futures debates.

  August 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12234   open full text
• The implementation of internationalisation in Israeli teacher training colleges.
  Miri Yemini, Julie Hermoni, Vered Holzmann, Liron Shokty, Wurud Jayusi, Nazeh Natur.
  European Journal of Education. August 22, 2017
  Higher education institutions worldwide are increasingly investing in ‘internationalisation’, although its meanings and measures differ significantly between contexts, countries, and institutions. This article analyses the implementation of internationalisation in three second‐tier higher education institutions specialising in teacher training programmes in Israel under an EU‐funded TEMPUS (Trans‐European Mobility Programme for University Studies) project. We show how internationalisation is implemented at these institutions, where diverse motivations, power relations, and ideas intervene. We discuss the main themes that emerged through semi‐structured interviews with the colleges’ leadership, supporting our findings with a content analysis of the colleges’ strategic plans. Our study provides new insights, revealing how the EU internationalisation agenda is interpreted locally in such settings, thereby highlighting the importance of the particular context in this process.

  August 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12239   open full text
• University research and the creation of spin‐offs: The Spanish case.
  Isabel Román‐Martínez, María‐Elena Gómez‐Miranda, Juan Sánchez‐Fernández.
  European Journal of Education. July 20, 2017
  The backbone of the European innovation strategy is knowledge transfer from universities to companies, the programmes supporting the creation of university spin‐offs being one of its pillars. In order to achieve a better understanding of this kind of entrepreneurial activity in Spain, this article analyses the relationship between research activity and the creation of spin‐offs and identifies the factors which can be linked to the level of technology used by these companies. Consulting the websites of Spanish universities and their respective Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) led to the identification of 499 spin‐offs. We analysed two groups of universities, correlating their number and technological nature with the research potential of the parent university, the general economic situation and the assistance received in creating this type of company. We found a positive relation between the creation of university spin‐offs and the average number of projects achieved by the university. In addition, their technological nature is positively related to the number of patents awarded to the university. This article focuses on Spain. However, the aspects addressed are common to other countries and its results may therefore be of interest to universities and policy makers wishing to promote the commercialisation of research outcomes.

  July 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12231   open full text
• Towards an interdisciplinary model of practice for participatory building design in education.
  Karen D. Könings, Catherine Bovill, Pamela Woolner.
  European Journal of Education. July 20, 2017
  It is recognised that educational environments influence learning experiences, so it is important to ensure that educational buildings are designed to be fit for purpose. In order to ensure that educational buildings meet the needs of those who use them, all relevant stakeholders should be involved in the design process. However, this is not straightforward and much remains unclear about how involvement in such complex design processes should proceed. This article presents the findings of four small heterogeneous groups of architects, educational designers, teachers and students from the UK and The Netherlands, discussing how they would envision optimal collaboration and involvement of stakeholders in the process of (re)designing educational buildings and instructional methods. Presentations from the four groups were transcribed and analysed. Informed by a review of existing models and frameworks, our findings were synthesised into a new interdisciplinary model of participatory building design in education. This new model focuses on an iterative design process with different stakeholders involved in different ways at different times. We propose that this model can inform policy and practice in educational building design, as well as within co‐creation of curricula, learning, teaching and assessment.

  July 20, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12230   open full text
• Classroom biographies: Teaching and learning in evolving material landscapes (c. 1960‐2015).
  Jo Tondeur, Frederik Herman, Maud De Buck, Karen Triquet.
  European Journal of Education. July 16, 2017
  Despite growing interest in redesigning the material landscape of education, relatively little is known about the impact of these evolving classrooms. This study aimed to gain insight into the physical learning environment and the potential pedagogical impacts thereof. A ‘biographical approach’ (c.1963‐2015) was used to explore the long‐term socio‐material landscapes where teachers and pupils, classroom material and spatiality, and teaching practices were entangled. Stimulated recall interviews were conducted in Flanders (Belgium) with primary school teachers. Teacher‐generated floorplans detailing their material classroom over time, transcribed oral accounts elaborating on these, and supportive data sources were aggregated and analysed by theme. The resulting identification of six key themes shed light on the evolving architectural and infrastructural developments, as well as triggers and teaching impacts thereof amongst the interviewed teachers. Findings show that negative school evaluations urging school intervention, and teachers’ proactive engagement within their classrooms, were the main catalysts of change. Moreover, evolving classroom layouts, in addition to the affordances of upgraded equipment, can be associated to changes in teachers’ practices. It can be concluded that the classroom is becoming an action context as the result of the inextricable mediating agencies identified.

  July 16, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12228   open full text
• Architecting the ‘third teacher’: Solid foundations for the participatory and principled design of schools and (built) learning environments.
  Tony Hall.
  European Journal of Education. July 03, 2017
  This issue of the European Journal of Education examines a crucially important, though largely overlooked, area in educational design research: architecting and building physical educational environments. Effective policymaking in school design necessitates the negotiated, shared and timely input of key educational stakeholders, including policymakers, architects, educational designers, pupils, teachers, and parents. Furthermore, practical, participatory and principled examples of the design and construction of bespoke learning spaces are warranted to guide those formulating and implementing policy, particularly the commissioning and construction of built educational environments. The articles exemplify how to engage diverse, key stakeholders in participatory design of school buildings, whilst practically illustrating design innovations in context. This commentary article offers reflections on the respective articles, informed by extant, relevant research on the history and praxis of school building design internationally. This includes the Reggio Emilia Schools’ socio‐material concept of ‘the third teacher’, a philosophy that is particularly germane to the participatory design of contemporary (built) learning environments. The article concludes with design sensitivities and SEAM framework (space, engagement, aestheticity and media), which can be used to explore and extend further the concepts, methods and technologies outlined in this issue.

  July 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12224   open full text
• A visual information tool for user participation during the lifecycle of school building design: BIM.
  Alexander Koutamanis, Jos Heuer, Karen D. Könings.
  European Journal of Education. June 23, 2017
  User participation is a key element in decision processes concerning the accommodation of dynamic organisations such as schools. This article addresses the discrepancy between the perspectives of the architects and engineers, as the makers of school buildings, and school management, teachers and students, as the users of the buildings, and proposes that productive and efficient participatory design of school buildings requires appropriate information tools. Visual information technology tools, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), already used in interaction between architects, engineers, consultants, etc., are proposed to support school managers, teachers and students in participating in all stages of the life cycle of their school building. The proposed use of BIM is compared to a retrospective analysis of a Dutch school which realised a completely new secondary education building. The article concludes with recommendations to increase the impact of visual information technology tools such as BIM in the design of school buildings in Europe and beyond.

  June 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12226   open full text
• Participatory educational design: How to improve mutual learning and the quality and usability of the design?
  Fred J. J. M. Janssen, Karen D. Könings, Jeroen J. G. van Merriënboer.
  European Journal of Education. June 23, 2017
  Many educational change proposals, designed to improve student learning, fail to be implemented in classrooms, which is a threat to the impact of educational policy on educational practice. This has led to a call for participatory educational design in which different stakeholders are involved in the generation and consideration of alternative learning environments, including physical spaces that better support learning. The development of tools to effectively engage non‐professional designers in design activities is still in its early stages. In this article, we present two tools that can improve mutual learning of those involved in the design process and the quality and usability of both learning environments and supportive physical spaces: the laddering tool and the building block tool. Both are based on a new conception of teaching as bounded rational design in which a teaching practice is seen as a design to attain multiple goals simultaneously in a complex classroom context with limited available resources. By presenting a case from biology teaching, we illustrate how educational design processes between teachers unfold when they use these two tools. We argue and demonstrate that these tools are important for facilitating effective use of diverse contributions from different stakeholders, and also when involving students and architects in a participatory design process.

  June 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12229   open full text
• Competition, student sorting and performance gains in local education markets: The Dutch secondary sector.
  Sofie Cabus, Ilja Cornelisz.
  European Journal of Education. June 21, 2017
  This article empirically examines the implications of competition among Dutch secondary schools: (1) regarding the sorting of students by performance levels in schools at the begiining of secondary education; and (2) regarding performance gains in the secondary school career, controlling for the aforementioned sorting patterns. We used data from about 13,000 students enrolled at 102 school locations in The Netherlands. Using differences in the distribution of competition intensity across local education markets, we applied Kernel estimation techniques to match students from relatively high‐ to low‐competitive markets on the basis of student and household characteristics. Our results indicate that, with increasing competition, relatively more schools target the group of high‐achieving students. As a result, schools will arguably have to enrol more ‘students at the margin’ to ensure sufficient enrolment rates. To conclude, we observed that, accounting for sorting patterns, competition was related to small negligible improvements in academic achievement at the bottom of the distribution of student performance within the first three years of secondary education. Furthermore, a negative result for competition was found for categorical academic classrooms settings.

  June 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12221   open full text
• The distribution of skills among the European adult population and unemployment: A comparative approach.
  Jorge Calero, Álvaro Choi.
  European Journal of Education. June 21, 2017
  The most painful effect of the Great Recession in European countries has been the surge in unemployment rates during a period that has been characterised by an increase in income inequality and the heterogeneous pattern of this inequality by educational level. Thus, workers with low levels of educational attainment were among the first to lose their jobs. This article addresses two main research questions: first, it estimates the importance of the level of skills and education on the probability of being unemployed, disentangling the extent of the effects of human capital and signalling theories of education; and, second, it provides evidence of the impact of inequalities in the previous socioeconomic and cultural background of individuals on the probability of being unemployed. These two objectives are assessed using data for 24 jurisdictions that participated in the first round of the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Skill levels play a central role in explaining unemployment in Europe and act as an indirect channel via which a family's sociocultural background has an impact on its labour market status. Combining the results of alternative models, we identify those European labour markets that are most sensitive to human capital.

  June 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12222   open full text
• Aligning pedagogy with physical learning spaces.
  Jeroen J. G. van Merriënboer, Susan McKenney, Dominic Cullinan, Jos Heuer.
  European Journal of Education. June 21, 2017
  The quality of education suffers when pedagogies are not aligned with physical learning spaces. For example, the architecture of the triple‐decker Victorian schools across England fits the information transmission model that was dominant in the industrial age, but makes it more difficult to implement student‐centred pedagogies that better fit a modern knowledge society. Yet, very little is known about how to reach powerful alignment of pedagogies and physical learning spaces. This article aims to fill this gap by describing a participatory design process to help to realise physical spaces and school buildings that optimally support specific visions of learning and pedagogy. Three phases are distinguished in this design process: (1) specifying the pedagogy, (2) aligning the pedagogy with seating arrangements and physical learning spaces, and (3) realising the school building. Particular attention is given to the core tasks relating to pedagogy (phases one and two), and especially the second phase, in which school management, teachers and students on the one hand, and architects and interior designers on the other must collaborate in a participatory design process. Illustrations are given from two schools, UCL Academy in London, UK, and De Werkplaats Kindergemeenschap in Bilthoven, The Netherlands.

  June 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12225   open full text
• Completion in vocational and academic upper secondary school: The importance of school motivation, self‐efficacy, and individual characteristics.
  Marianne Dæhlen.
  European Journal of Education. May 31, 2017
  A vast amount of research is devoted to identifying factors that predict early school leaving. However, there is no simple explanation because the results show that young people leave education prematurely for various reasons, such as their level of school involvement, their background characteristics and different school systems. This article investigates the importance of school motivation, self‐efficacy and the characteristics of students and their families for completing school and examines students in the vocational and academic tracks separately. With a focus on school completion, this study is guided by the following research question: Do students who obtain an upper secondary diploma have greater motivation and stronger beliefs about their abilities than those who choose to leave early? When adjusting for background characteristics, the results indicated no, or a relatively low, relationship between school motivation/self‐efficacy and completion. The most predictable variable is prior school performances, particularly for students in the vocational track.

  May 31, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12223   open full text
• The politics of PISA: The media, policy and public responses in Norway and England.
  Therese N. Hopfenbeck, Kristine Görgen.
  European Journal of Education. April 25, 2017
  Using the PISA 2015 releases in Norway and England, this article explores how PISA has been presented in the media and how the policy level has responded to the results. England will be used as an example for comparison. The article presents early media responses from the 20 most circulated daily newspapers in the two countries and discusses them in relation both to the national PISA reports in Norway and England, as well as the international report of the OECD. The media responses are further interpreted in light of previous research in both countries, with a particular focus upon Norway, where previous Ministers of Education have been interviewed about assessment policy and education reforms.

  April 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12219   open full text
• PISA and its consequences: Shaping education policies through international comparisons.
  Dennis Niemann, Kerstin Martens, Janna Teltemann.
  European Journal of Education. April 23, 2017
  As the field of education has become a highly internationalised policy field in the last decade, international organisations such as the OECD play an ever more decisive role in the dissemination of knowledge, monitoring of outcomes, and research in education policy. Although the OECD lacks any binding governance instruments to put coercion on States or to provide material incentive, it has successively expanded its competences in this field. OECD advanced its status as an expert organisation in the field of education mainly by designing and conducting the international comparative PISA study. With PISA, the OECD was able to greatly influence national education systems. Basically, States were faced with external advice based on sound empirical data that challenged existing domestic policies, politics, and ideas. One prominent case for the impact of PISA is Germany. PISA was a decisive watershed in German education policy‐making. Almost instantly after the PISA results were publicised in late 2001, a comprehensive education reform agenda was put forward in Germany. The experienced reform dynamic was highly surprising because the traditional German education system and politics were characterised by deep‐rooted historical legacies, many involved stakeholders at different levels, and reform‐hampering institutions. Hence, a backlog of grand education reforms have prevailed in Germany since the 1970s. The external pressure exerted by PISA completely changed that situation.

  April 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12220   open full text
• Working whilst studying in higher education: The impact of the economic crisis on academic and labour market success.
  Albert Sanchez‐Gelabert, Mijail Figueroa, Marina Elias.
  European Journal of Education. April 21, 2017
  An analysis of the phenomenon of combining work and study amongst university students is made using data obtained from surveys of graduates carried out four years after finishing their degrees. First, the article reviews the evolution of the phenomenon over the last ten years, taking into account the Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency (AQU) labour market insertion surveys for 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2014. Second, the 2008 and 2014 waves are compared to analyse the impact of the economic crisis. In this case, how combining work and study affects academic results and labour market insertion is studied, in addition to whether or not differences occur according to the family's educational background. A random stratified two‐stage sampling is used to obtain the results; descriptive and ANOVA analyses with different factors are performed. The evolution shows how the numbers of students who combine work and study has increased, especially among those whose parents have little education. Furthermore, this means that lower marks are obtained and that there is a greater degree of inequality in labour market insertion, depending on the educational background of the family of origin. In general, the relationship between the different variables shows how combining work and study has negative effects on marks but positive effects on labour market insertion, especially if the work experience whilst at university is related to the studies.

  April 21, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12212   open full text
• The contribution of PISA to the convergence of education policies in Europe.
  Alain Michel.
  European Journal of Education. April 19, 2017
  The international comparative studies on students’ outcomes have initiated analyses that have had a growing influence on national and sub‐national education policies in industrialised and developing countries. It is particularly the case of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which started in 2000 and has organised surveys every 3 years, so that the 2015 survey was the 6th. Its influence has been particularly important for several reasons: 1) it assesses the basic competences in reading literacy, maths and science of 15 year‐olds students, i.e. around the end of compulsory education in many countries; 2) the assessment is based on a reliable methodology and the tests are completed by qualitative surveys and studies; 3) and the results lead to recommendations and are amplified by the media in most countries. However, it is not easy to evaluate the real impact of PISA because of the existence of other international studies such as IEA's TIMSS and, particularly in Europe, the influence of the recommendations and benchmarks of the EU that has been growing steadily in the last 25 years. Our analysis of the impact of PISA and EU policy focuses on the evolution of the education policy in France, but also studies its evolution in a few other European countries. Finally, we underline the limits of the influence of PISA and international standards in education towards a convergence of education systems because of the importance of their specific historic and cultural contexts.

  April 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12218   open full text
• The impact of OECD‐PISA results on Japanese educational policy.
  Noritomo Tasaki.
  European Journal of Education. April 17, 2017
  The author describes the results of PISA, including those of 2015 and Japan's reaction, as well as their impact. Highly‐ranked in PISA, Japan has always tried to improve its education system. The promotion of reading comprehension remains an important issue and low interest and motivation to learn subjects are crucial problems. The author discusses these questions and reform policies from a Japanese point of view. He explains the latest reform plan which will be implemented in 2020. The Japanese peculiarity in education is referred to in the conclusion.

  April 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12217   open full text
• Education policy in Poland: The impact of PISA (and other international studies).
  Ireneusz Białecki, Maciej Jakubowski, Jerzy Wiśniewski.
  European Journal of Education. April 17, 2017
  The impact of the PISA study on Polish education policy has been significant, but probably different from any other country. Poland has not experienced the so‐called ‘PISA shock’, but its education system has been benefiting considerably from PISA. For experts and policy makers, it has been a useful and reliable instrument that has made it possible to measure the effects of consecutive reforms of the school education system. Moreover, PISA and other international studies have influenced the perception of education policy in Poland. The latter has shifted from an ideology‐driven, centralised policy to an evidence‐informed policy, developed with the involvement of multiple stakeholders, although this has mostly affected the thinking of experts and policy makers rather than the general public. The new government (in power from 2015), following public opinion polls, has reversed most of the previous education reforms, eliminating lower secondary schools introduced in 1999.

  April 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12216   open full text
• Seeing education through the prism of PISA.
  Andreas Schleicher.
  European Journal of Education. April 17, 2017
  International comparisons are never easy and they are not perfect. But PISA shows what is possible in education and it helps countries to see themselves in the mirror of student performance and educational possibilities in other countries. This article summarises key policy insights from PISA. It highlights how excellence and improving equity need not be conflicting policy objectives, but that they tend to be jointly achieved only when deliberate policies are in place that match resources with needs and when stratification and grade repetition are contained. The article also shows how a number of countries have been able to raise learning outcomes and moderate the impact of social background in the last decade and highlights some of the policies and practices that characterise these countries.

  April 17, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12209   open full text
• Fifteen years looking at the mirror: On the presence of PISA in education policy processes (Portugal, 2000‐2016).
  Luís Miguel Carvalho, Estela Costa, Catarina Gonçalves.
  European Journal of Education. April 11, 2017
  This article describes and discusses what happens when knowledge for policy generated within PISA is received by its target audience: what have the Portuguese policy actors been doing with PISA data and analysis when they consider, express and justify their choices? Drawing on previous and current studies, using interview materials and formal and informal policy documents, as well as texts published in the written press, the article analyses two main phenomena related to the reception of PISA and how this has evolved between 2001 and 2012 in Portugal: the consolidation of PISA's credibility as a source for policy processes and texts; the emergence of new actors and modes of intervention in the production of knowledge for national policy, drawing on PISA. Finally, it presents an analysis of the reception of PISA 2015 in the Portuguese media, focusing on the interventions by political actors in the Portuguese daily and weekly written press. Two main elements emerge from our content analysis as the main common elements of that reception: the consecration of PISA's credibility; and the practices of qualification and disqualification of educational policies and perspectives. The article concludes by emphasising the regulatory role of PISA in Portuguese policy processes and the relevant contribution played by the politics of reception in legitimising this role.

  April 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12210   open full text
• Beyond educational attainment: The importance of skills and lifelong learning for social outcomes. Evidence for Europe from PIAAC.
  Esperanza Vera‐Toscano, Margarida Rodrigues, Patricia Costa.
  European Journal of Education. April 11, 2017
  Empirical evidence suggests that educational attainment nurtures people's social outcomes and promotes active participation in society and stability. However, it is unclear to what extent other types of human capital also correlate with social outcomes. Hence, we explored the opportunity offered by the PIAAC survey through its provision of information on educational attainment, observed individual key skills proficiency, and participation in adult education and training (adult lifelong learning). We therefore studied the association between these human capital variables and social outcomes, and more specifically interpersonal trust and participation in volunteering activities. Results revealed that these social outcomes were affected not only by the formal qualification obtained, determined by the education variable, but also throughout the life‐cycle. Indeed, education and training when undertaken during adult life have a significant impact, especially on volunteering. The fact that the skill proficiency also plays a significant role is extremely relevant, as skills are more likely to change over the life‐cycle, either in a positive or negative way. Whilst the formal education received is constant after exiting the educational system, skills reflect competences more accurately: first, because those with the same level of education may have different skill levels because of differences in the quality of education or ability; second, because skills can vary over time. For example, they may increase with work experience or informal education, or decrease as a result of depreciation and ageing. These findings suggest that social outcomes are prone to be affected by many factors other than formal education, suggesting that policy makers can implement recommendations even after formal education has been completed.

  April 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12211   open full text
• Fifteen years of research on PISA effects on education governance: A critical review.
  Xavier Pons.
  European Journal of Education. March 31, 2017
  This article provides a literature review on the effects of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) on education governance and policy process across participating countries. This review seemed necessary because there has been a growing body of literature on this topic since 2003, especially since 2010, because this literature is not always well‐known and because the discourse on the so‐called ‘PISA shock’ remains important, even if it is more of a metaphor than a concept and may be politically partial. The article exploits a dataset of 87 references which show that PISA introduced major changes in the governance of education worldwide. Driven by soft power strategies and new policy transfers, this governance is based on data and measurement tools which redefine the scales of education policies. It also shows that PISA has a strong influence on a variety of national reforms, as illustrated in many case studies. However, this influence strongly depends on domestic policy contexts that scholars intended to capture through different theoretical frameworks. Nonetheless, few propose overarching theorisations of the political meaning of PISA effects on education governance and policy processes. The article concludes by stressing three main challenges for the subsequent studies on these PISA effects: better conceptualising these effects, preserving an epistemology of uncertainty in order to avoid taken for granted views and normalising the research on PISA effects not to perpetually and artificially rediscover its so‐called novelty.

  March 31, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12213   open full text
• PISA in Spain: Expectations, impact and debate.
  Alejandro Tiana Ferrer.
  European Journal of Education. March 29, 2017
  PISA, which was launched by OECD, is one of the most significant and successful initiatives on which education systems have recently collectively embarked. However, although it is a well‐coordinated international programme, its reception differs according to country. There is therefore a need to analyse specific national circumstances in order to gain a deeper understanding of the undertaking as a whole. This article specifically considers Spain's participation in PISA and focuses on a number of aspects: a) the expectations created when it joined the programme, in parallel to the implementation of its own national education evaluation system; b) the impact PISA has had, both in the media and in political and discursive spheres; and c) the technical and scientific debates generated in Spanish academic media. Finally, it is argued that, in the last few years, PISA has met with a certain disenchantment among specialists and the public opinion because of its limitations as a ranking tool, the difficulty in explaining its findings, and its inability to prescribe education policies that are suitable for very different contexts.

  March 29, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12214   open full text
• Why School Choice Reforms in Denmark Fail: the blocking power of the teacher union.
  Susanne Wiborg, Kristina R. Larsen.
  European Journal of Education. February 22, 2017
  This article investigates why school choice is exercised to a limited degree by parents despite major government initiatives to enhance diversity, competition and choice in the Danish education system. Denmark has had 20 years of centre‐right governments, promoting choice reforms perhaps even more vigorously than the other Nordic countries, yet school choice is seldom used – only 12% of parents choose a public school that differs from the one that is allocated to them. The literature on school choice in Denmark argues that this is primarily due to a general lack of parental interest because of the relatively high similarity across schools. In this article, we argue that the main reason is to be found in the politics of vested interests, namely municipalities’ persistent use of pupil assignment schemes supported by powerful teacher union branches at the local level.

  February 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12203   open full text
• HELOs and student centred learning – where's the link?
  Rachel Sweetman.
  European Journal of Education. February 22, 2017
  Learning outcomes are presented as a tool that can enhance teaching and learning in higher education, in particular by fostering student‐centred learning. However, the ways in which this change can and should take place and the specific kinds of enhancement involved are often unclear. This article analyses common claims about the advantages of learning outcomes for teaching and learning and their relationship to student‐centred learning. The potential links between these concepts are investigated, based on interviews with teachers and students from a range of degree programmes at Norwegian and English universities. The interviews with 29 teachers and students suggest that learning outcome approaches are influencing course planning and some aspects of teaching practice, supporting more transparency and clear communication with students and offering a way to address particularly weak or traditional teaching. However, there is limited evidence that learning outcome approaches promote student‐centred learning, and the analysis identifies several tensions between the challenges student‐centred learning ideals pose to traditional teaching practices, in terms of transferring power and choice to students, and perceived pressures to specify and assess learning outcomes. It also suggests that teachers’ and students’ beliefs about the conditions and practices that lead to the most satisfying and successful elements of learning in degree courses are unlikely to be addressed through either learning‐outcome or student‐centred reforms.

  February 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12202   open full text
• Learning outcomes in professional contexts in higher education.
  Tine S. Prøitz, Anton Havnes, Mary Briggs, Ian Scott.
  European Journal of Education. February 22, 2017
  With the policy of developing a, transparent and competitive European higher education sector, learning outcomes (LOs) are attributed a foundation stone role in policy and curriculum development. A premise for their implementation is that they bear fundamental similarities across national, institutional or professional/disciplinary contexts. In contrast, detractors suggest that LOs cannot communicate precisely across programmes or national boundaries. With this as a backdrop, this article analyses how LOs are used to communicate what students are to learn and the extent to which their use drives standardisation. The analysis is based on a case study of how LOs are formulated in study programme documents in two professional education programmes in Norway and the UK. The findings indicate that LOs can be considered to drive standardisation through the same presentation using bullet points. The study also finds that LOs are framed in different ways in the two countries and within the different study programmes and in a web of interconnected documents. This ‘local’ structural use of LOs disrupts their ‘foundation stone’ role as a vehicle for standardisation and weakens the establishment of sameness across institutions and nations.

  February 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12207   open full text
• Higher education learning outcomes – Ambiguity and change in higher education.
  Joakim Caspersen, Nicoline Frølich, Johan Muller.
  European Journal of Education. February 22, 2017
  The emerging interdependent world order poses new challenges for States and citizens alike. For States, interdependence has meant a new concern with integration, whilst for citizens and authorities alike, greater mobility has raised new concerns about recognition of competences, qualifications, quality and transparency. The introduction of learning outcomes is one of the principal instruments to achieve this in higher education. This article analyses how the implementation of higher education learning outcomes (HELOs) can be seen as ambiguous governance and management tools, manifested as parts of international policy development and policy trends. These ambiguous tools intertwine with different disciplinary and stakeholder networks. The desire to implement HELOs in a more or less uniform way across as diverse contexts (countries, disciplines, institutions) as possible has led to a design strategy that favours generic definitions of learning outcomes. In the implementation process, these generic HELOs are experienced as ambiguous, meaning that they are characterised by an openness to different interpretations. This opens up a space of discretionary and interpretational latitude, either because HELOs are assimilated to traditional path dependencies, or because they allow institutional agents (such as institutional leaders and others) the space to introduce change. The ambiguity of HELOs simultaneously provides the flexibility for contextually‐diverse implementation, ensures less comparability than initially envisaged, and opens up the possibility for change, although change is contingent on structures and processes that are external to the policy process itself. HELOs are thus a paradigm case of the centrality of context in policy implementation studies.

  February 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12208   open full text
• Measuring learning outcomes.
  Joakim Caspersen, Jens‐Christian Smeby, Per Olaf Aamodt.
  European Journal of Education. February 02, 2017
  The growing interest for measurement of learning outcomes relates to long lines of development in higher education, the request for accountability, intensified through international reforms and movements such as the development and implementation of qualifications frameworks. In this article, we discuss relevant literature on different approaches to measurement and how learning outcomes are measured, what kinds of learning outcomes are measured, and why learning outcomes are measured. Three dimensions are used to structure the literature: Whether the approaches emphasise generic or disciplinary skills and competence, self‐assessment or more objective test based measures (including grades), and how the issue of the contribution from the education program or institution (the value‐added) are discussed. It is pointed out that large scales initiatives that compare institutions and even nations seem to fall short because of the implicit and explicit differences in context, whilst small‐scale approaches suffer from a lack of relevance outside local contexts. In addition, competence (actual level of performance) is often confused with learning (gain and development) in many approaches, laying the ground for false assumptions about institutional process‐quality in higher education.

  February 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12205   open full text
• Academic Institutions, Ambiguity and Learning Outcomes as Management Tools.
  Ivar Bleiklie, Nicoline Frølich, Rachel Sweetman, Mary Henkel.
  European Journal of Education. February 02, 2017
  Specifying learning outcomes (LOs) in higher education as part of the European Qualification Framework (EQF) has resulted in a variety of experiences in the national contexts of England and Norway, as well as in different institutional and disciplinary settings. This article contributes to a contextualised understanding of the kind of management tools that higher education learning outcomes (HELOs) are, based on a conceptually‐informed comparative empirical analysis. The comparison is based on two types of disciplines (the humanities and STEM) in two national contexts (Norway and England) at two research‐intensive universities in each country. These settings offer an opportunity to look for evidence – inspired by public administration literature – as to whether HELOs have some specific characteristics as management tools. HELOs share the characteristics that afflict most reform policies – that of ambiguity and the potential of being shaped by a number of circumstantial factors. Higher education institutions are highly dependent on, and embedded in, multiple relationships to the environment. Hence, as decision making structures, they are ‘penetrated’ and influenced in ways that are likely to vary across countries, types of institutions and academic disciplines. Because institutions and disciplinary groups are embedded in different policy (varying degrees and forms of state steering and policy implementation) and organisational environments (different degrees and forms of hierarchical leadership, managerial control, and autonomy) and different disciplines (different perceptions of scientific‐, professional‐, educational mission, and relationships to external stakeholders) they also constitute different organisational spaces for participation and engagement in shaping and using HELOs.

  February 02, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12200   open full text
• International Demand For Spanish University Education: an analysis in the context of the European Higher Education Area.
  Virginia Rincón, Jon Barrutia.
  European Journal of Education. January 25, 2017
  In the current context of globalisation it seems inevitable that the international openness of universities would also lead to efforts to attract foreign students. In the case of Spain, this is more necessary, insofar as the drop in population, the existence of other quality educational offerings, and the greater number of public and private universities have made students a target to compete for. Cutbacks in public funds have accentuated this trend. This article analyses the international demand at Spanish universities in order to determine whether there are significant differences because of the level of local competition faced by universities and public or private ownership. The Herfindhal index and analysis of variance are used to this end. Using data from the Statistics on University Students for the 2005‐2006 and 2011‐2012 academic years, we found that the creation of the European Higher Education Area partially affected international demand at Spanish universities. The overall international attractiveness of the Spanish university system improved considerably and universities have assumed an international view, regardless of the competition in their respective areas. Therefore, local competition is no longer a decisive factor to explain the international demand. In contrast, although public or private ownership does not determine the international attractiveness of universities, it does serve to explain their type of international demand.

  January 25, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12198   open full text
• Higher Education Learning Outcomes and their Ambiguous Relationship to Disciplines and Professions.
  Svein Michelsen, Agnete Vabø, Hanne Kvilhaugsvik, Endre Kvam.
  European Journal of Education. January 22, 2017
  This article highlights the significance of professional and disciplinary spaces in the shaping of Learning Outcomes (Los) in higher education. It is based on empirical studies of three programmes (engineering, the humanities and medicine) at two Norwegian universities. The results demonstrate both similarities and differences in the dynamics of learning outcomes formation. In the humanities and engineering they were translated into learning objectives, closing in on course rationalisation and portfolio coherence. Whilst the focus in the humanities remained internal in orientation, in engineering, internal processes of implementation merged with quality assurance and external development processes mediated by the engineering profession. In medicine, the introduction and implementation of learning outcomes were mediated by prior experiences with problem‐based learning practices. During that process, learning outcomes became oriented towards professional identity and conformity to international quality standards. In that sense, learning outcomes could function as regulatory mechanisms sheltering medical education from outside interference rather than as a tool for structuring learning. Within the framework of learning outcomes, professional compliance with external scrutiny through the display of standards has become more important, but also more linked to the university as an organisational actor.

  January 22, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12199   open full text
• The Spread of the Learning Outcomes Approaches across Countries, Sub‐systems and Levels: A special focus on teacher education.
  Gábor Halász.
  European Journal of Education. January 19, 2017
  This article is based on the outcomes of the study entitled “The application of learning outcomes approaches across Europe”, which was funded by Cedefop and completed in 2015 (Wiśniewski et al, ). The study, aiming at exploring the implementation of the learning outcomes approach in European countries, addressed two major questions: (1) to what extent and how the shift to learning outcomes has been influencing education and training policies and strategies at macro (national) level and teaching practices at micro (institutional) level in EU and EFTA member countries, and (2) to what extent and how political priority given to learning outcomes has influenced institutional practices in the training of education and training professionals. The study, covering 33 EU and EFTA member countries and all sub‐systems of education, used empirical evidence from country case studies and also from a limited number of institutional case studies focusing on initial teacher education. The study demonstrated a significant progress in the use of the learning outcomes approach in most countries and in all sub‐systems, but also major implementation challenges. This article presents the outcomes of the study using an analytical framework combining three analytical perspectives: (1) curriculum development and delivery (2) European integration, and (3) governance and policy implementation.

  January 19, 2017   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12201   open full text
• Well‐being in the Welfare State: the redistributive capacity of education.
  Janine Jongbloed, Ashley Pullman.
  European Journal of Education. November 21, 2016
  Focusing on the macro‐micro interaction between institutional arrangements and individual life outcomes, this article investigates how welfare régime types impact the association between education and well‐being, as measured by satisfaction with life. Theorising with Esping‐Andersen's ideal‐typical welfare régime typology, we hypothesise that decommodified institutional arrangements reduce the association between education and well‐being through compensatory social protections for at‐risk individuals, while stratifying forces strengthen this association. These results are only partly supported; we find that Conservative Welfare States show the most robust association, whilst Liberal and Social‐Democratic Welfare States display weaker relationships. Thus, stratification appears to play a more important role than decommodification in moderating this association. We also examine potential mediating factors and how they differ between welfare régime types, finding that health and income mediate the effects of education on well‐being to varying degrees.

  November 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12196   open full text
• Reflections on the Field of Higher Education: time, space and sub‐fields.
  Keiko Yokoyama.
  European Journal of Education. November 21, 2016
  The objective of this study is to define the field of higher education and clarify its identity. It examines three analytical dimensions which, it proposes, shape the field: knowledge, approach and community. It argues that contextual knowledge around the issue of higher education has defined the field but has not determined techniques that are specific to it. The core elements of these three dimensions— contextual knowledge, the diversity in approaches and the multi‐disciplinary and loosely coupled community—suggest diversity in the field and in its identity rather than coherence and consolidation. The two dimensions of approach and community partially relate to the development of the field as a product of efforts to solve financial and management problems caused by the expansion of higher education after World War II in the US, and, in terms of experience, in Europe where expansion came much later, increasing public interest in higher education.

  November 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12197   open full text
• When Complexity Meets Evidence in Governance….
  Lorenz Lassnigg.
  European Journal of Education. November 05, 2016
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  November 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12195   open full text
• Steering Dynamics in the Dutch Education System.
  Sietske Waslander, Edith Hooge, Tineke Drewes.
  European Journal of Education. October 28, 2016
  Based on detailed empirical analyses, we paint a layered picture of emerging steering dynamics. Inspired by Foucault, we put the focus on roles stakeholders define both for themselves and others, how they give sense to policy, how they work together in policy elaboration and implementation, and the subtle and sometimes deceitful function of soft policy instruments such as information, communication, support and research. The policy to stimulate ‘schools as learning organisations' in secondary education in the Netherlands is used as a case study. The Dutch education system is one of the most decentralised en complex systems in the world. While central Government aims to turn schools into learning organisations, it has no formal responsibility nor any direct means of control in this area. The study draws information from (1) relevant government reports, policy documents and websites and (2) semi‐structured interviews with key actors. Data analysis consisted of data reduction through coding and memoing, data displays in tables and networks, and drawing and verifying conclusions. In the ground layer of the steering picture, we reconstruct how ‘schools as learning organisations' came to be a topic for Government policy. The next layer identifies 20 (networks of) actors who play a substantial role in steering. The mutual relationships between the main actors are manifold, while funding appears to be an important means for the Ministry to position actors in a steering network. A wide array of steering modes was identified. The last step in our analysis adds a dynamic element to the picture, as we look at how different actors interact, starting with how actors envision their own steering roles and the role of others. The non‐complementary role definitions that were identified in the documents, were confirmed in the interviews. Our results illustrate, in Foucault's terminology, different processes of responsibilisation and normalisation. Above all, the study illustrates that the theoretical framework provides a promising starting point for the empirical study of steering dynamics in complex education systems.

  October 28, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12188   open full text
• Governance Dynamics and the Application of the Multilevel Governance Approach in Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the European Neighbourhood Countries: the case of the ENPI South region.
  J. Manuel Galvin Arribas.
  European Journal of Education. October 28, 2016
  This article analyses moves towards good multilevel governance approaches in Vocational Education and Training (VET) as an effective way to improve VET policy making in transition and developing countries, focusing on the Southern Neighbourhood of the EU (ENPI South). The centralised approaches in public administration and to VET governance still prevail in this region. The new modes of governance applied by the EU in the policy area of education and training are based on the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). They are a source of inspiration to improve VET governance, taking into account the complexity of VET policies and systems. According to current European and international experiences, the most effective, relevant and attractive VET models and systems are demand‐driven. They rely on the effective and accountable participation of both state (national/local public actors) and non‐state VET stakeholders (e.g. employers, sectoral actors, unions) in decision‐making and policy implementation processes. This could also pave the way towards self‐governed and performance‐based VET provider institutions which would give quicker responses to rapidly changing labour market skills, competences and qualification needs. Thus, this means putting in practice more and better inclusion and effective cooperation and coordination of regional and local voices of VET actors and developing stronger social partnerships to engage employers, unions and civil society in shaping and investing in skills development. Furthermore, the role of methodological tools for VET governance is not only to provide an analytical ground to capture data and structure further policy advice. These tools can also be used as ice‐breakers to improve collaboration, inclusiveness, multi‐participation and trust‐building among policy makers as they work together on very sensitive issues such as reviewing country VET governance models, modes and institutional arrangements, and/or planning policy thinking and/or learning for implementing coordination mechanisms for VET policy making. The European Training Foundation (ETF) has implemented a methodology to map, analyse and self‐assess good multilevel governance in VET, inspired by how EU governance soft tools in education and training are being used. This methodology has been applied to the Governance for Employability in the Mediterranean (GEMM) project in the ENPI South region, which is a regional project implemented by the ETF and financed by the European Commission's Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargements Negotiations (NEAR).

  October 28, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12190   open full text
• Steering Dynamics in Complex Education Systems. An Agenda for Empirical Research.
  Henno Theisens, Edith Hooge, Sietske Waslander.
  European Journal of Education. October 17, 2016
  Many policy systems and education systems have grown more complex in the last three decades. Power has moved away from central governments in different directions: upwards towards international organisations, sideways towards private institutions and non‐governmental organisations and downwards towards local governments and public enterprises such as schools. Where once we had central government, we now have governance, which can be defined as the processes of establishing priorities, formulating and implementing policies, and being accountable in complex networks with many different actors. Steering in such complex education systems emerges from the activities, tasks and responsibilities of state and non‐state actors, operating at different levels and from different positions and often has un‐deliberate, un‐intentional and un‐foreseen consequences. There are many conceptual models that encapsulate this complexity, but this article suggests that there is a real need for empirical research. Without empirical research it remains unknown whether and how steering in complex networks works out in practice, what are its effects and for whom. Moreover, it is only through empirical research that we can find out whether central government has become less dominant, or rather whether its appearance has changed and it has become less visible, but not necessarily less influential. Foucault's governmentality perspective is a useful notion on which to build such a framework for empirical research which allows for a careful study of the interactions that signify steering. Inspired by Foucault, this article develops a trilogy of assumed conditions for steering to take effect in modern societies. Following this reasoning, ‘something' first needs to be made thinkable, calculable and practicable by different actors for steering to occur. This trilogy is a promising starting point for empirical research into very specific phenomena which can help us to understand how steering in complex education systems works.

  October 17, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12187   open full text
• Is Thorough Implementation of Policy Change in Education Actually Possible? What Complexity Theory Tells Us About Initiating and Sustaining Change.
  Mark Mason.
  European Journal of Education. October 06, 2016
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  October 06, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12193   open full text
• Complex Education Systems: from steering change to governance.
  Alain Michel.
  European Journal of Education. October 06, 2016
  The theories and approaches of steering/monitoring a process of change within education systems have evolved over the last 20 years or so as a result of many factors such as globalisation and decentralisation, a faster pace of change, increasing expectations and demands from various stakeholders (parents, employers, teacher unions, etc.) and the growing influence of OECD and of the EU in the field of education because of some more or less explicit standards and policy recommendations. All these evolutions contributed to increase the complexity of the education systems and of the instruments and procedures required to establish some coherence between the initiatives of a large number of more autonomous stakeholders. Our main objective here is to describe how the previous notions and concepts used in analysing the conditions for steering education systems have been gradually integrated within a larger paradigm: the ‘governance of multi‐level complex education systems’.

  October 06, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12186   open full text
• Identifying, Characterising and Assessing New Practices in Doctoral Education.
  Lukas Baschung.
  European Journal of Education. September 27, 2016
  Traditionally, European doctoral education has principally taken place within the binary relationship of professors and their doctoral students according to the apprenticeship model. However, in the last one to two decades, this model has been questioned. Governments and higher education institutions (HEIs) reform doctoral education by establishing and running structured doctoral programmes or Doctoral Schools. Inspired by American Graduate Schools, various forms of Doctoral Schools have been increasingly emerging in many European HEIs. This article identifies, characterises and critically assesses the principal changes in doctoral education practices introduced through Doctoral Schools on the basis of eight case studies carried out in Swiss and Norwegian HEIs. The empirical analysis results in the identification of six types of changes which concern doctoral students’ recruitment, curricular component, supervision, scientific exchange, tracking and their career. These changes lead to four kind of trends – which vary according to the case study – consisting of a structuring, standardisation and opening of doctoral education, whereas its academic character is maintained. If greater competitiveness, better scientific quality and higher graduating rates may be achieved, problems in terms of ‘brain drain’, workload, supervision, innovation and careers may even be reinforced or at least not completely solved.

  September 27, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12191   open full text
• From Hard to Soft Governance in Multi‐level Education Systems.
  Harald Wilkoszewski, Eli Sundby.
  European Journal of Education. September 21, 2016
  Decision‐making in educations systems has become more complex: while decentralisation has moved the locus of power to lower governance levels, the central level still is held responsible for the quality of outcomes. As a consequence, new steering strategies have emerged that tend to apply softer modes of governance as opposed to harder ones in the past. This article aims at shedding empirical and conceptual light on these new developments. It compares two national examples for soft modes of governance with a supra‐national one (the EU's Open Method of Co‐ordination OMC) and argues that OMC might be both a useful analytical lens to categorise new steering mechanisms and a possibly promising policy strategy at the national level.

  September 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12189   open full text
• The Determinants of Students’ Well‐being in Secondary Vocational Schools in Kosovo and Macedonia.
  Ardiana Gashi, Nikica Mojsoska‐Blazevski.
  European Journal of Education. August 01, 2016
  Students’ well‐being is crucial for learning motivation and effective learning, for their quality of life and their psychological health later in life. In this regard, this article investigates the factors that affect the well‐being of students in secondary vocational schools in Kosovo and Macedonia. It empirically examines determinants of students’ well‐being categorised into socio‐demographic factors, environment and socialisation, and satisfaction factors. It is based on an OLS regression analysis, using data from six secondary vocational schools in the two countries. Findings reveal that well‐being is determined to a great extent by students’ experience in school, particularly their perception of the usefulness of what they are learning for a future job, whether teachers are welcoming, and the friendliness of co‐students. Students who experience bullying are much less happy in school. These findings are important from a policy perspective, as they reveal that students’ well‐being is mainly determined by factors that can be controlled and influenced by schools and less so by factors that are not determined by schools. The evidence from this study can be used to strengthen the social inclusion role of vocational schools.

  August 01, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12181   open full text
• Access to the Albanian VET System: social, individual and school‐based barriers.
  Merita Xhumari, Sidita Dibra.
  European Journal of Education. July 26, 2016
  This article analyses the determinants of access to the VET system in Albania and its impact on the inclusion of young people and vulnerable groups. The VET system often attracts students who have completed the compulsory levels of education with weak academic results. Many come from families with a low level of income and a low education level. Skill development can make a positive contribution to social inclusion and is particularly important for Albania at a time of greater unemployment among young people, lack of proper skills and competences of the labour force, demographic changes, and high levels of emigration. Yet, Albania has the lowest enrolment rate in the vocational education and training (VET) system in the Western Balkans and a variety of factors hinders access to VET schools. This article draws on original research based on in‐depth interviews with national and local actors, school managers and parents, focus groups and structured survey questionnaires with teachers and students at three VET providers in Albania. It finds that social, individual and school‐based factors all place barriers for enrolment of children from disadvantaged backgrounds in the VET system and that this contributes to the wider landscape of social exclusion in Albania.

  July 26, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12185   open full text
• EDITORIAL: Vocational schooling and social exclusion in the Western Balkans.
  Claire Gordon, Will Bartlett.
  European Journal of Education. July 26, 2016
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  July 26, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12184   open full text
• From VET School to the Labour Market in Bosnia and Herzegovina: expected versus actual wages.
  Nina Branković, Nermin Oruč.
  European Journal of Education. July 21, 2016
  This article analyses the differences between expected and actual wages of VET students and graduates. It uses a survey of VET students enrolled in schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and data about employed VET graduates from the Labour Force Survey. The model of determinants of wages, expected or actual, estimated separately on each dataset, reveals important differences in factors affecting individuals’ expectations and actual experience of the labour market. The results show that women have lower expected and actual wages than men. The same applies for those living in rural areas. The comparison between the two models suggests that VET students are well informed about their labour market (dis)advantages. The findings are similar to those reported in other studies that analysed expected and actual wages of university graduates.

  July 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12180   open full text
• The Determinants of Non‐Cognitive Education: does the school matter? Empirical evidence from Spain.
  Javier Suárez Pandiello, Marián García Valiñas, Manuel A. Muñiz.
  European Journal of Education. July 18, 2016
  The literature on the economics of education emphasises the relevance of the cognitive and non‐cognitive dimensions of educational results. However, the latter have been ignored in the empirical literature that focuses on the measurement and evaluation of outcomes in secondary education. This article analyses non‐cognitive outcomes using a survey on some 5,500 15‐year‐old pupils at grant‐aided and public schools in Spain for the 2010‐2011 academic year. Our results show that school ownership does not have a significant impact on non‐cognitive educational outcomes. However, other school‐specific characteristics do matter, for example, the student's peer group. With regard to individual and family characteristics, we found some new variables that should be considered in the case of affective education. Therefore, some traditional explanatory factors (such as socioeconomic attributes) lose significance and other variables (such as the father's age) emerge as significant explanatory factors of non‐cognitive educational results.

  July 18, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12179   open full text
• Agenda‐setting for VET policy in the Western Balkans: employability versus social inclusion.
  Will Bartlett, Marina Cino Pagliarello.
  European Journal of Education. July 15, 2016
  For the last decade, the Western Balkan countries have sought to modernise their vocational education and training (VET) systems, adapting them to the needs of their emerging market economies. Within the framework of the EU accession process, the policy agenda for VET policies has been strongly influenced by a range of international and domestic policy entrepreneurs. This complex policy process has given rise to tension between policies that seek to frame the problem as one of employability and skill mismatch on the one hand and those that frame the problem as a challenge of social inclusion on the other. By examining the VET policy process in the Western Balkans, we show that national policies have been more strongly oriented towards the promotion of employability and the adaptation of VET systems to labour market needs, rather than to policies designed to overcome social exclusion and discrimination. Among the factors driving this economistic view of VET, we underscore the roles of various domestic and international policy entrepreneurs, including ministries in charge of education, employment and social policy, social partners, the European Commission, and bilateral and multilateral donors. We conclude that increased cooperation is needed between international and domestic policy entrepreneurs who favour inclusive education systems in order to place social inclusion higher up on the VET policy agenda.

  July 15, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12182   open full text
• The Embodiment of Class in the Croatian VET School System.
  Karin Doolan, Natalija Lukić, Nikola Buković.
  European Journal of Education. July 07, 2016
  This article engages with the notion that schools embody social class in their structures and practices. We draw on Bourdieu's critical concept of ‘field’ to describe the larger landscape of Croatian secondary schooling: a stratified system whose routes serve, and have served, to reinforce the maintenance of class (under)privilege. We also draw on the concept of ‘institutional habitus’, an analytical extension of Bourdieu's concept of ‘habitus’ to school settings, in order to capture how schools produce and reproduce class distinctions through their status, expressive order, curriculum and organisational characteristics. We ‘load’ these concepts with empirical meaning based on interview and focus group data we collected from students, teachers and parents in three, three‐year vocational schools in Croatia, finding that these schools embody a working‐class ‘habitus’. Students in these schools tend to come from less privileged family backgrounds than students in four‐year schools, practical subjects are prioritised over the academic, on‐the‐job training over school work and the schools are fairly under‐resourced.

  July 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12183   open full text
• Complex Problem‐Solving Skills and Innovativeness – Evidence From Occupational Testing and Regional Data.
  Peer Ederer, Alexander Patt, Samuel Greiff.
  European Journal of Education. May 14, 2016
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  May 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12176   open full text
• Adult Learning in Innovative Organisations.
  Dorothy Sutherland Olsen.
  European Journal of Education. May 14, 2016
  The relationship between learning and innovation has been a central theme in studies of innovation (Fagerberg et al., 2005, Borras & Edquist, 2014, Lundvall & Johnsen, 1994). Studies of the workplace have also claimed a relationship between skills or training and a firm's ability to innovate (Toner, 2011). Recent studies of innovation in European firms (Arundal et al., 2007) included surveys on organisational contexts and suggested that some organisational forms were especially conducive to learning and innovation. Studies of the learning context or of training and skills development often refer to, or make assumptions about learning, without explaining who is learning or how this learning is occurring. This article supplements some of these earlier surveys by carrying out in‐depth qualitative studies of learners in innovative organisations in Norway. The organisation of activities and the learning environments are analysed. This is supplemented by information on local HRM practice and strategies for skills development and training. The data include information on formal and informal learning of participants working within product development. We then discuss how these workers draw upon their learning in their everyday work and how their everyday work provides the opportunity for new learning. By linking HRM and innovation, this article offers a novel way of studying adult learning in the workplace and adds to our understanding of how it contributes to economic success.

  May 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12170   open full text
• Fostering Entrepreneurial Learning On‐the‐Job: evidence from innovative small and medium‐sized companies in Europe.
  Yvette Baggen, Thomas Lans, Harm J. A. Biemans, Jarl Kampen, Martin Mulder.
  European Journal of Education. May 14, 2016
  As economies become more innovation‐driven, the need for entrepreneurial behaviour amongst employees working for existing companies increases in order to enhance the organisations’ capacity to develop new ideas, products and services. Hence, entrepreneurial learning and the development of entrepreneurial competencies of employees on‐the‐job become more important. One of the most crucial competencies in this regard is the ability to identify potential business opportunities, referred to as opportunity identification competence (OIC). In this empirical study, antecedents of OIC were investigated in a small and medium‐sized business context. Based on the 3‐P (i.e. presage, process, product) model, specific learner, work environment, and process factors influencing OIC as an outcome variable were studied. More than 200 employees from 12 companies completed a questionnaire. Results of a backward regression analysis underline the importance of investing in programmes that focus on entrepreneurial learning at the shop floor level, trusting employees that they are capable of actively participating in the early stages of innovation and the crucial role of owner‐managers to support entrepreneurial employee activities.

  May 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12171   open full text
• Work Organisation, Forms of Employee Learning and National Systems of Education and Training.
  Edward Lorenz, Bengt‐Åke Lundvall, Erika Kraemer‐Mbula, Palle Rasmussen.
  European Journal of Education. May 14, 2016
  This article uses a multi‐level framework to investigate for 17 European nations the links between forms of work organisation and style of employee learning at the workplace on the one hand, and the characteristics of national educational and training systems on the other. The analysis shows that forms of work organisation characterised by relatively high levels of employee discretion and learning are more likely to be adopted in nations with broad‐based systems of education and training that recognise the value of both academic and vocational training and provide ample opportunities for continuing adult education. Furthermore, it shows that employees with low levels of formal education have better access to jobs involving organisational learning in countries with more developed adult education systems. The results point to the need to balance policies designed to increase tertiary education rates with a commitment of resources at both the EU and national levels to develop broad and inclusive systems of lifelong learning.

  May 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12177   open full text
• Innovation, Skills, and Adult Learning: two or three things we know about them.
  Stéphan Vincent‐Lancrin.
  European Journal of Education. May 14, 2016
  There is no abstract available for this paper.

  May 14, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12174   open full text
• Factors That Promote Innovativeness and Being An Innovative Learner At Work – Results From PIAAC.
  Liv Anne Støren.
  European Journal of Education. May 05, 2016
  In this article, innovative activity is considered in the light of broader conceptualisations of innovativeness and what it means to be innovative. Central to the definition of innovativeness used in the analysis is that the worker actively seeks new knowledge and uses it for work‐related tasks. This is based on previous research emphasising learning‐by‐doing, taking new knowledge into use and learning organisations. Innovativeness is analysed for Denmark, Finland, The Netherlands and Norway. Data from the PIAAC survey of adult skills are examined to identify key factors involved in promoting innovative behaviours at work. Significant country differences are found. Findings suggest that the work profiles of the workers, the work environment and the intensity of training and learning are very important for the innovative capabilities of the workforce.

  May 05, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12173   open full text
• Learning Strategies in Enterprises: empirical findings, implications and perspectives for the immediate future.
  Ulrik Brandi, Rosa Lisa Iannone.
  European Journal of Education. April 27, 2016
  The article examines learning strategies at the enterprise level, conceptualising them into three main dimensions: learning systems and incentives, connecting to the affective dimension of learning which behavioural learning addresses effectively; skills’ development, chiefly addressing the cognitive dimension of learning to which cognitive and action learning principles can be applied; and, work design and the organisation of work, which attend to the structural dimension of learning and socio‐cultural approaches. Through this conceptual understanding, we empirically explored the learning strategies of 194 enterprises, searching for the most pressing needs and commitments to learning. Our results show that enterprises struggle to find the optimal balance between the use of systematic and ad‐hoc arrangements of learning systems and incentives, yet they must emphasise intrinsic needs as a key business strategy, systematise certain aspects of HR, whilst minimising the negative effects of status distinction, hierarchy and bureaucracy. They must also address the pervasive effects of stress and burnouts. Most especially, enterprises must address the gap between the high valuation of soft skills and the low investment in developing them. Methods equipping enterprises with clear calculations for return on investment in soft skills' training are needed. These issues can be effectively addressed by strengthening networks and communities of practice, fostering greater awareness of public funds and public‐sponsored opportunities, investing in public‐private research and backing the greater recognition of on‐the‐job learning.

  April 27, 2016   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12178   open full text
• International Influences on Post‐Soviet Armenian Education.
  Shelley Terzian.
  European Journal of Education. December 29, 2015
  This article analyses the most recent international influences on Armenian education, illustrating how international standards are driving post‐Soviet reform in the Armenian Secondary Schools. Since 1991, when Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union, organisations such as the World Bank and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation‐Armenia (OSIAF‐A) played a crucial role in creating and implementing the Armenian National Curriculum (Curriculum) and State Standards for Secondary Education throughout the education system. In addition, in 2005, the Armenian Government and the Ministry of Education signed the Bologna Process, affirming the alignment of higher education with the international standards of the EU.

  December 29, 2015   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12143   open full text
• Between Efficiency and Transformation: the opinion of deans on the meaning of quality in higher education.
  Jon Olaskoaga‐Larrauri, Miren Barrenetxea‐Ayesta, Antonio Cardona‐Rodríguez, Juan José Mijangos‐Del Campo, Marta Barandiaran‐Galdós.
  European Journal of Education. September 22, 2015
  The literature on quality management at higher education institutions has for some time been working on the basis of two issues: a) the diversity of ideas as to what “quality” means, which makes it harder to apply the principles of quality management in this context; and b) the idea that this diversity is in some way a response to the different positions occupied by stakeholders in regard to the processes and institutions of the sector. It has been suggested that students, employers, administrations in charge of funding and academics may hold different positions concerning the purposes of universities and, therefore, concerning the criteria on which their quality should be assessed. However, those stakeholders have rarely been asked directly what concept of quality they defend. This paper presents the results of a survey of deans of Spanish university faculties and schools in which this question was put to them. Their answers contrast with some of the commonplaces of current literature.

  September 22, 2015   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12141   open full text
• Determinants of Research Productivity in Spanish Academia.
  Cecilia Albert, María A. Davia, Nuria Legazpe.
  European Journal of Education. September 22, 2015
  This article aims to widen the empirical evidence about the determinants of Spanish academics’ publication productivity across fields of study. We use the Spanish Survey on Human Resources in Science and Technology addressed to Spanish resident PhDs employed in Spanish universities as academics. Productivity is measured as the total number of publications in a three‐year period. We show how personal and academic variables explain differences in productivity within universities and fields of studies and across fields of research. Female workers report lower productivity than their male counterparts, but family responsibilities do not explain this gender gap. The type of contract and tenure or rank do not seem to have any influence on productivity. Researchers seeking professional promotion rather than altruism or personal satisfaction are more productive and young scholars publish more than their older counterparts. Additionally, we find a certain research‐teaching trade‐off and some nuances in the predictors of publication productivity across birth cohorts and fields of study. Finally, international cooperation is one of the most relevant determinants of the number of publications, regardless of the birth cohort. The institutional context in the Spanish research system as regards requirements for promotion and the assessment of research outcomes may contribute to the understanding and interpretation of our results.

  September 22, 2015   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12142   open full text
• Two Decades of E‐Learning Policy Evolution at EU Level: motivations, institutions and instruments.
  Florin D. Salajan, Elizabeth A. Roumell.
  European Journal of Education. September 22, 2015
  This article records and documents the historical development of e‐learning policies at EU level by conducting a discourse and content analysis of four key e‐learning policy documents drafted and implemented by the European Commission over the past 20 years: Learning in the Information Society: Action Plan for a European Education Initiative (1996), the eLearning Action Plan (2001), the eLearning Programme (2003) and the Lifelong Learning Programme (2006). The themes teased out from the analysis reveal a gradual consolidation of e‐learning policy at EU level, indicating the emergence of an increasingly coherent and formal approach to supporting e‐learning initiatives for the benefit of actors at Member State level. The forging of a ‘European dimension’ in e‐learning projects represents the hallmark of these EU policies, but it remains to be seen whether the EU institutions will continue to devote similar attention to and place particular focus on e‐learning as a distinct policy priority in the years to come.

  September 22, 2015   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12144   open full text
• The Road Travelled in Europe towards the 2020 European Objectives in Education. A Spanish Perspective.
  María Luz Martínez Seijo, Juan Carlos Torrego Seijo.
  European Journal of Education. April 28, 2015
  From the beginning of the European Community to the current EU there have been important steps in education cooperation between the participating countries. In this article, we analyse the facts and difficulties that influence the educational policy of the EU to reach agreements and the facts that define common work until the year 2020, mainly under the principle of subsidiarity or complementarity. We also discuss the way to work in the different administrative political systems of the EU countries, i.e. centralised, federal and decentralised countries and how these systems influence education policies. Another objective of this article is to discuss the role of National Agencies in the development of European programmes in the different administrative political systems and their structure. We analyse the European framework so that the European objectives in education can be developed in the Member States.

  April 28, 2015   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12128   open full text
• Does Europe Matter? A Comparative Study of Young People's Identifications with Europe at a State School and a European School in England.
  Nicola Savvides, Daniel Faas.
  European Journal of Education. April 28, 2015
  This article explores the extent to which young people in predominantly middle‐class environments identify with Europe and considers the influence of European education policy, school ethos and curricula. We compare data drawn from individual and focus group interviews with students aged 15–17 at a state school and a European School in England. The empirical analysis was informed by post‐structuralism and found that young people at both schools developed multidimensional, multifaceted identities. Students at the European School, which has an ethos of developing both national and European identities, identified themselves more as European than their peers at the state school, which integrated students on the basis of a common British citizenship. The findings suggest that the policy on the European dimension in education contributes towards developing students’ identification with Europe and to their knowledge of Europe, though not at the expense of their ethnic and national identities, which were stronger than their European identities. Lack of a European dimension in education (both in and out of school) seems to result in a lack of identification with and knowledge about Europe.

  April 28, 2015   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12127   open full text
• School Leader Appraisal — A Tool to Strengthen School Leaders' Pedagogical Leadership and Skills for Teacher Management?
  Thomas Radinger.
  European Journal of Education. June 02, 2014
  With increasing school autonomy, often coupled with greater accountability requirements, school leaders are increasingly responsible for new human resource management tasks. Policies to improve the teaching workforce, therefore, cannot do without policies to improve the school leadership profession. Teachers' effectiveness depends, among others, on effective school leaders who shape teachers' working environment and influence their motivations. Furthermore, as recent research indicates, school leaders are the second most important school‐level factor affecting, even if mainly indirectly through their influence on teachers, student learning after classroom instruction. Considering the role school leaders play for the effective school‐level management of teachers and for teaching and learning through their pedagogical leadership, it is essential that school leaders are adequately prepared and supported for their role. As part of their school reform programmes, more and more countries have been introducing a range of evaluation and assessment policies to improve school, school leadership and teaching practices. The individual appraisal of schools leaders and teachers is a key component of evaluation and assessment policies. This article explores if, and how, individual school leader appraisal can develop school leaders' pedagogical leadership, a key element of which is teacher management. It analyses the policy approaches of several European countries and the extent to which formal frameworks in these countries focus on developing pedagogical leadership. The article concludes with ideas for policy to strengthen appraisal as a tool to improve school leaders' practices and behaviours and their competencies for pedagogical leadership and teacher management.

  June 02, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12085   open full text
• Teacher Competence Frameworks in Europe: policy‐as‐discourse and policy‐as‐practice.
  Francesca Caena.
  European Journal of Education. May 26, 2014
  This article analyses the growing focus on teacher competences in European policy discourse against the backdrop of global convergences in education reforms. It traces key ideas, policy recommendations, peer learning and documents which underscore the relevance of teacher quality for education improvement, as recently stressed in the European Commission Communication and Staff Working Documents Rethinking Education. The intertwining of teacher competence frameworks with other areas of education policy is outlined — key competences in school education, the quality of initial teacher education, and the continuous professional development of teachers — teasing out reasons for their central role. Some insights from research and peer learning then explore key implications in the defining and implementing of teacher competence frameworks in national education systems. A comparative viewpoint further analyses current policy trends about teacher competences across European national contexts, in discourse and practice. In order to do so, a framework of analysis takes into account system features as key variables affecting national policy — roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, governance and education cultures, and the status of the teaching profession. Across the variety of policy practices, the analysis endeavours to trace some emerging patterns and trends, highlighting paradigmatic national examples, with some food for thought.

  May 26, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12088   open full text
• Teacher Educators: hidden professionals?
  Kay Livingston.
  European Journal of Education. April 24, 2014
  The pace of change in today's society means that there is an ongoing need for teachers to learn, have new knowledge and use new pedagogical approaches to meet the needs of their pupils. For many teachers, this requires redefining their identity as teachers and what ‘teaching’ means in 21st century learning environments. These changes also require teachers to be supported in learning to ‘teach’ in different ways that are relevant to their own individual needs and to the contexts in which they work throughout their career. In this article, it is argued that a more integrated and collaborative approach to teacher education is needed with better understanding of those who take up the roles of teacher educator across a teacher's career. With a particular emphasis on ‘teacher educators’ working in school to support teachers' career‐long professional learning it is argued that currently many do not recognise themselves as teacher educators nor are they recognised by those they work with as teacher educators. Drawing on an empirical study carried out with mentors in schools in Scotland, it is suggested that these teacher educators may be ‘unrecognised’ and remain ‘hidden professionals’ because of the identities they construct for themselves, the values and priorities that they or others attach to their roles or because of the institutional structures and cultures in which they work. It is concluded that it will be difficult to recognise and value these ‘hidden teacher educators’ and the distinctive contribution they can make to teachers' career‐long professional learning without further clarification by them and others of the roles and responsibilities they hold.

  April 24, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12074   open full text
• Reflective Journal Writing as a Tool to Teach Aspects of Social Studies.
  Samih M. Al‐karasneh.
  European Journal of Education. April 22, 2014
  This article analyses the impact of a constructivist approach to learning in Jordan, where a traditional context of passive/receptive philosophy of teaching prevails. Student teachers were introduced to journal writing. It was expected that their experiences with journal writing would afford them a better understanding of how it would affect their learning to teach social education. Thirty students were given a short course in journal writing as a reflective learning tool in their final placement. The schools operated passive/receptive approaches to learning and the students in the sample had experienced this throughout their own schooling. The impact of the course was assessed using semi‐structured interviews. Some students found the experience stressful, but 75% found it fruitful and motivating.

  April 22, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12084   open full text
• Creating and Sustaining Inquiry Spaces For Teacher Learning and System Transformation.
  Linda Kaser, Judy Halbert.
  European Journal of Education. April 08, 2014
  Over a 15‐year period, one Western Canadian province, British Columbia, has been exploring the potential of inquiry learning networks to deepen teacher professional learning and to influence the system as a whole. During this time, we have learned a great deal about shifting practice through inquiry networks. In this article, we provide a description of the key features of the inquiry framework that has evolved through this work, offer suggestions for creating and sustaining influential educator networks and provide some observations about how this approach is shifting practices at the classroom, school, university and policy levels.

  April 08, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12079   open full text
• Teacher Education and Curriculum Change in Scotland.
  Graham Donaldson.
  European Journal of Education. April 04, 2014
  The dynamic forces shaping education in the 21st century have led countries across the world to pursue sweeping educational reforms. Despite significant investment and radical approaches including system and organisational restructuring, managerialism and marketisation, evidence of sustained impact in the classroom remains elusive. Using the example of an emerging systemic approach to educational change in Scotland, this article analyses an aligned approach to improvement, encompassing teaching, leadership, curriculum, self evaluation and related structural support. In this context, it becomes necessary to re‐imagine the profession of teaching as one in which teachers are active as authors and drivers of educational change and career‐long professional growth is the norm. The emerging approach to reform in Scotland reflects this interpretation of effective reform. Its curriculum reform, ‘Curriculum for Excellence’, focuses on the development of capacities in young people and is much less prescriptive than traditional forms of curriculum development. Scotland's now well‐established approach to inspection and self‐evaluation provides a further pillar in the overall reform programme. More recently, major developments have been set in train in relation to teacher education and school leadership. Following a fundamental review of teacher education, a radical and systemic programme of reform of the teaching profession is now under way. The article outlines the main features of the approach and considers the main factors which will influence its likelihood of success.

  April 04, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12077   open full text
• Implications of Research on Effective Learning Environments for Initial Teacher Education.
  Lindsey Conner, Anne Sliwka.
  European Journal of Education. April 04, 2014
  As a result of multi‐disciplinary research on learning, a consistent and comprehensive body of knowledge on effective learning environments is currently emerging (OECD 2010). While this evidence is increasingly influencing the academic and policy discourse on the improvement and innovation of schools, its impact on the design principles of effective initial teacher education has been limited so far. In this paper, the seven transversal learning principles published in the 2010 OECD publication The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice serve as a framework for systematic reflections on how learning research on effective learning environments can inform initial teacher education and how the seven transversal learning principles can contribute to greater coherence and alignment in initial teacher education programs. We consider the implications of The Nature of Learning and other research on teacher education, alongside international examples of next practice, concluding that initial teacher education should model effective student learning.

  April 04, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12081   open full text
• Induction and Early‐career Support of Teachers in Europe.
  Milena Valenčič Zuljan, Barica Marentič Požarnik.
  European Journal of Education. March 24, 2014
  The deep economic, social, technological and cultural changes in Europe represent a real challenge for teacher education. The teacher's role is becoming more complex and demanding, while the expectations of society are rising. Teachers are expected not only to enable optimal development of increasingly heterogeneous groups of pupils, but also to mitigate the effects of social inequality. All this requires qualitative changes in pre‐service and in‐service teacher education. In this regard, the transition from school/university to professional life — the induction period and early career years — requires special attention. In this phase, a fruitful synthesis of theory and practice can occur if novices are systematically introduced and supported by good mentoring in the transition from study to school life and culture, but a ‘practice shock’ is also possible during which many positive effects of pre‐service education are lost. Our aim is to identify some principles and optimal solutions that would foster teacher's professional development in this important phase of their career.

  March 24, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12080   open full text
• Implications of the Bologna Process for Throughput in the Higher Education Sector: an empirical illustration based on a Finnish‐British comparison.
  Matti Lindberg.
  European Journal of Education. March 20, 2014
  This study illustrates the differences between Finnish and British graduates in the higher education‐to‐work transition and related market mechanisms in the year 2000. Specifically, the differences between the Finnish and British students' academic careers and ability to find employment after graduation were evaluated in relation to the Finnish HE policy that hastens the entry of new graduates into the labour market. The Finnish HE system is representative of a system that operates in an occupation‐specific and relatively strictly‐regulated labour market context, whereas the labour market context for the British HE system is essentially the most liberal in Europe. The results of the study suggest that it is not the length of the first degree programmes per se that determines the throughput of the HE sector, but the relative emphasis placed on the opportunity structures pertaining to HE participation and on career mobility in the labour market.

  March 20, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12075   open full text
• Equity in an Educational Boom: lessons from the expansion and marketisation of tertiary schooling in Poland.
  Mikolaj Herbst, Jakub Rok.
  European Journal of Education. January 15, 2014
  This article shows how the probability of enrolment in tertiary schools has evolved for different social groups in Poland during the period of the educational boom. It also analyses how the socio‐economic status influences the choices between full‐time and part‐time studies (the latter being of relatively low quality), and the probability of admission to subsidised, free programmes versus programmes with tuition fees. Between 1994 and 2008, Poland improved the participation of students with a low socio‐economic status in university education. However, if we look at the change in the ratios of enrolment probabilities for different layers of the social strata, we find that the improvement refers to those with a low family educational background who live in small cities, but not to those from low income families. Further investigation shows that the policy makers should focus not only on ensuring equal access to tertiary education for all social strata, but on allowing the unprivileged groups access to education of acceptable quality.

  January 15, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12068   open full text
• The Future Starts in the Past. The Loss of the Spiritual Centre of the University.
  Kristof K.P. Vanhoutte.
  European Journal of Education. January 15, 2014
  Discussion on the crisis in/of the humanities and in/of the university institution has in the past decades become ubiquitous. The surge of literature on the subject strongly suggests that the problem is a genuine one. However, the variety of explanations that have been offered not only have brought along confusion, but the majority of these explanations also neglect the historical development of higher education. As such, they tend to underestimate the scale of the problems affecting the humanities and higher education. This article seeks to investigate an alternative explanation that takes into consideration the history of the changing ‘value’ of humanities within higher education. In doing so, the legacy of postmodernism is considered and the idea of a ‘spiritual centre’ of the university and its relation to the humanities is put forth and explored. The article concludes with some contemplations on a possible way out of the current crisis in the humanities and in higher education.

  January 15, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12070   open full text
• Next Generations, Catwalks, Random Walks and Arms Races: conceptualising the development of quality assurance schemes.
  Don F. Westerheijden, Bjørn Stensaker, Maria J. Rosa, Anne Corbett.
  European Journal of Education. January 15, 2014
  The emergence and development of quality assurance schemes in European countries over the last 15–20 years has inspired many national case studies of the systems and procedures adopted. The methods, contexts, and procedures associated with this policy change are diverse. But although individual countries have set about changing policy in different ways there appear to be some common developmental patterns within the Europe of the Bologna Process. How can these developments be conceptualised? In a first step this paper advances a typology based on the quality assurance literature. In a second step, the paper applies the typology to quality assurance developments in three countries. The third part of the paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the modelling approach in the light of the empirical evidence and a political science analysis of policy change. The paper concludes with a discussion on future directions for the comparative study of policy change within the European Higher Education Area on the basis of this conceptualisation of developments in quality assurance policy.

  January 15, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12071   open full text
• Selective acquiescence, creative commitment and strategic conformity: situated national policy responses to Bologna.
  Cristina Sin, Murray Saunders.
  European Journal of Education. January 15, 2014
  The non‐binding nature of the Bologna Declaration and loose policy‐making and implementation through the open method of coordination (OMC) have led to varied national responses to the Bologna Process. The OMC has allowed countries room for manoeuvre to interpret Bologna policy and attach different degrees of importance to it. Looking at the interplay between agency and structure in policy implementation, this article aims to illustrate the localised character of Bologna policy implementation driven by national priorities and political agendas, a reflection of the ‘policy as text’ metaphor (Ball, 1994). The analysis is driven by an agentic understanding of the policy process, highlighting ‘actors’ perceptions, perspectives, preferences, actions and interactions' (Trowler, 2002). Three different country reactions are examined — England, Portugal and Denmark, described as selective acquiescence, creative commitment and strategic conformity to capture the essence of the cases in question. In analysing the countries' responses, the article considers national readings of Bologna, motivations behind responses to the Process, as well as its reception and implementation at national level.

  January 15, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12072   open full text
• The Efficiency of Public Spending on Education: an empirical comparison of EU countries.
  Tommaso Agasisti.
  European Journal of Education. January 13, 2014
  Recent policy suggestions from the European Community underlined the importance of ‘efficiency’ and ‘equity’ in the provision of education while, at the same time, the European countries are required to provide their educational services by minimizing the amount of public money devoted to them. In this article, an empirical study compares the spending efficiency on education in 20 European countries during the period 2006–2009. OECD‐PISA test scores are used as output, while the ‘expenditure per student’ is used as input. The efficiency scores are calculated via a bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). In a second stage, the efficiency scores are regressed against a set of context variables which represent the different socio‐economic settings (e.g. GDP per capita, unemployment rate, etc.) as well as some important ‘structural’ characteristics of the educational systems. Teachers' salaries and Internet use (as a proxy for technological ‘literacy’) play a positive role in affecting educational performance, while GDPpc is negatively related to efficiency. Lastly, Malmquist indexes are calculated to measure the change in efficiency in the period 2006–2009. The results showed that the average efficiency remained basically stable in the period.

  January 13, 2014   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12069   open full text
• The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework: what's academic practice got to do with it?
  Scott Fernie, Nick Pilcher, Karen L. Smith.
  European Journal of Education. November 06, 2013
  National Qualifications Frameworks (NQF) are a globally established and expanding phenomenon. They are increasingly merging and being mapped onto meta‐qualifications frameworks. One key NQF in both these roles is the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Much research categorises the different types of NQF, details their success and failure, and there is a steadily expanding body of critical research into NQF. Despite this, little research has focused on how NQF are used in day to day academic practice in the very institutions whose qualifications they frame. This article begins to redress this by focusing on the SCQF as an exemplar. It presents a synthesis between contemporary literature, a documentary analysis of SCQF literature and the data from interviews with 15 stakeholders in different educational roles. The findings show that, despite the claims of the SCQF literature and contemporary literature regarding the success of the SCQF, its diffusion and the extent of its use amongst these stakeholders are limited. Instead, it is used more as a symbolic tick box exercise and largely ignored. We discuss the implications of this and posit questions that challenge the focus of existing research into NQF and argue for a shift in the criteria by which they are judged from educational to market based ones.

  November 06, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12056   open full text
• The Impact of the Transition to HE: emotions, feelings and sensations.
  Diana Dias, Maria José Sá.
  European Journal of Education. October 30, 2013
  Transition to Higher Education (HE) is a significant life event and it is supposed to be a very agreeable experience to students. However, such impact is not linear, being mediated by students' psychosocial variables and by their own perceptions concerning the HE environment. Transition to HE encompasses many tasks to cope with changes: dealing with new kinds of responsibilities and managing emotions. A wide variety of emotions take place in the HE transition, either of a positive or negative nature, such as joy of enrolment success and fears of social rejection. This research focused on the transition to HE, approaching freshmen's personal and developmental variables. Results confirm that the impact of transition has a mostly emotional nature and that related concerns differ according to students' gender and socio‐cultural background. With greater joy or greater anxiety, HE transition may be perceived as a stage of a long process towards adulthood.

  October 30, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12058   open full text
• Assessing Quality in Early Childhood Education and Care.
  Karin Ishimine, Collette Tayler.
  European Journal of Education. September 09, 2013
  Evaluating quality in early childhood education and care (ECEC) service internationally is increasingly important. Research to date indicates that it is ‘high‐quality’ programmes that boost and sustain children's achievement outcomes over time. There is also growing interest in the accountability of public funds used for ECEC programmes and the types of measures that assess ECEC quality. This article reviews eleven existing instruments that were designed to assess global ECEC programmes and examines them in terms of their strengths and weaknesses as quality measurement tools and the adequacy of the measures to sufficiently reflect the context and purposes of the assessment. Through this process the authors identify directions for the development of new measures that are both theoretically and psychometrically sound.

  September 09, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12043   open full text
• Living Together in European Intercultural Schools: the case of the Catalan school system (Spain).
  Fidel Molina, Núria Casado.
  European Journal of Education. August 15, 2013
  There are practical difficulties in making intercultural education a substantial element of inclusion in both primary and compulsory secondary education in Europe. The Spanish education system and, in particular, the Catalan education system, have developed a series of strategies in response to the new multicultural complexity encountered in both the classroom and society as a whole. In this study, several inclusive attempts of the Catalan education system will be discussed. As a consequence of their analysis, educational models that are compatible with the framework of inclusive education will be presented as an effective means of promoting greater social integration and a peaceful coexistence in the school context.

  August 15, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12044   open full text
• Why is it Difficult to Grasp the Impacts of the Portuguese Quality Assurance System?
  Amélia Veiga, Maria João Rosa, Diana Dias, Alberto Amaral.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  This article analyses the impacts of the Portuguese quality assurance system on academic cultures, using the Cultural Theory proposed by Douglas (1970, 1982) and developed by Thompson, Ellis and Wildavsky (1990) as an explanatory framework for Portuguese academics' preference formation in relation to quality assessment. The Portuguese higher education system has been undergoing a change of paradigm by moving from traditional collegial system to a legal framework influenced by New Public Management. The former institutional context, where academic collegiality was the basis of democratic decision, promoted the egalitarian way of life, where the group dimension is stronger. However, recent legislation has promoted two different logics. On the one hand it has decreased the influence of the group dimension by favouring individualistic values and beliefs. On the other, it has reinforced the grid dimension through greater centralisation of power and separation of roles of universities and polytechnics, thus promoting the hierarchic way of life. The new legislation framework has produced changes that have strongly modified traditional governance structures and mechanisms and are likely to affect academics' perceptions of quality assurance processes and impacts as much as they influence the development of beliefs and values.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12040   open full text
• Further Education of Higher Education Graduates — the More, the Better?
  Susanne Strauss, Kathrin Leuze.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  In times of rapid technological and organisational change, it is argued that lifelong further education becomes more and more important for labour market success. Especially in labour market segments for the highly qualified, it is essential to constantly update one's qualifications. This is reflected in the finding that graduates with tertiary education are closely involved in further training measures at the beginning of their life courses. Almost all take part in at least one further training measure in the first five years after graduation. The further education strategies of higher education graduates, however, vary greatly in terms of frequency of participation, duration of measures, financing of the measure and the type of skills acquired. Using a German graduate panel which traces a sample of graduates up to five years after they obtained their degree in 1997 (HIS Absolventenpanel), we analyse which of these strategies are most successful in terms of wages. Using random effect panel models, we find — controlling for a variety of other factors — that the frequency of participation in further education only has a significant positive influence on male graduates' wages. Moreover, it is mainly measures paid exclusively by the employer and courses directed at personality development, i.e. management skills, which have substantial wage premiums.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12039   open full text
• Inclusive Pedagogy in Light of Social Justice. Special Educational Rights and Inclusive Classrooms: on whose terms? A Field Study in Stockholm Suburbs.
  Nilani Ljunggren De Silva.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  The question of inclusive education is not straightforward. Despite all its good intentions, inclusive education, in practice faces numerous challenges today. This study analyses these challenges in the Swedish special education context. The author explores special educators’ experiences, possibilities and challenges when applying inclusive education. Findings reveal positive attitudes to the concept of inclusive classrooms. Nevertheless, teachers face more than a few grey areas that need to be put in place in order to achieve socially and cognitively inclusive classrooms.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12032   open full text
• Problematising Early School Leaving.
  Alistair Ross, Carole Leathwood.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  Early school leaving has been identified as a key policy priority across Europe. In this article, we critically discuss the underpinning assumptions and rationale for this policy focus, challenging the association that is made between early school leaving, economic growth and employment. We suggest that ESL is important, not because it is inhibiting growth or that it is responsible for high levels of youth unemployment, but because it helps to sustain and reproduce inequalities. We problematise the utilitarian conceptualisation of education and linear models of educational pathways that are embedded in this policy framework and critically discuss strategies that are proposed to address early school leaving. We argue that the key criteria for assessing such strategies should be the extent to which they meet social equity and social inclusion goals.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12038   open full text
• Early School Leavers and Social Disadvantage in Spain: from books to bricks and vice‐versa.
  Claudia Vallejo, Melinda Dooly.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  It can be argued that in Spain there is a relationship between the high rates of early school leaving (ESL) and inactive or unemployed young people, as is evidenced by the current situation in which over half the working population aged 25 or younger is unemployed, many having completed compulsory education only. ESL and its social and economic consequences must be considered within the parameters and expectations of the Spanish labour market and how these expectations are/were linked to demands (or not) for continued education. This article considers the monumental social, political and economic changes that have occurred in Spain during a short span of time (including the real estate crash of 2008 and subsequent economic crisis), and how these issues intersect with measures that directly concern the educational system. It also considers a variety of endogenous and exogenous factors related to the Spanish educational system, and the impact these have on rates of ESL. The article ends with a discussion of policies and practices that may reduce ESL rates and help transform the Spanish general perception of early school leavers from a ‘lost generation’ to a generation of young people with potential for helping Spain move out of its current economic crisis.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12037   open full text
• Some Aspects of Early School Leaving in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.
  Margareta Cederberg, Nanny Hartsmar.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  This article describes early school leaving in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, using examples to show a complex representation of early school leaving and its consequences for young people's subsequent access to the labour market. We show how measures taken by governments and school authorities in the respective countries have resulted in improvements for students in their transition from school to work. However, we also show that an educational system per se can create problems for both individuals and groups. Early school leaving increases the risk of unemployment, and if when permanent, about two years are spent out of school unemployed between the ages 16 and ‐20 this, increases the risk of the young person being marginalised and having health and social problems later in life.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12036   open full text
• Is There Anything Specific about Early School Leaving in Southeast Europe? A Review of Research and Policy.
  Ivana Jugović, Karin Doolan.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  Studies on early school leaving (ESL) from countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia have been missing from the international early school leaving research map. As a contribution to remedying this, the article reviews research papers and strategic documents from these countries, guided by the general question whether there is anything specific about ESL in this region in comparison to the wider European research and policy context. The aspects of ESL examined include definitional similarities and differences, extent of ESL, dominant theoretical and methodological approaches, factors identified as impacting ESL as well as policy solutions. We find that Croatia and Slovenia are among the countries which have the lowest ESL rates in Europe. The findings of the reviewed research studies correspond to international research papers in terms of the following frequent risk factors for ESL: low economic and cultural family background, ethnic minority and migration status, type of school enrolled and motivation and academic achievement. There is a strong focus on Roma children early school leavers in all of the countries examined and Bosnia and Herzegovina stands out in the broader European context with the finding that girls from large, low socio‐economic status families, who live more than three kilometres away from school, are at particular risk of ESL. In discussing ESL, the reviewed studies tend to emphasise individual and family characteristics rather than also broader social constraints as ESL determinants, a practice also reflected in policy documents which do not mention the role of broader social and economic conditions shaping early school leaving.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12041   open full text
• Developing a Framework and Agenda for Students' Voices in the School System across Europe: from diametric to concentric relational spaces for early school leaving prevention.
  Paul Downes.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  There are significant lacunae in the otherwise highly progressive documents on early school leaving prevention from the European Commission and Council in 2011, as part of the EU2020 headline target of 10% early school leavers across the EU. These documents offer no explicit account or analysis of the voices of children and young people, nor vision of systemic accountability of schools to students’ needs. This article argues that key problems of early school leaving can be interpreted as system level blockages in communication, including blockage in communication of children's voices. It seeks to develop a conceptual framework for understanding relational systems by reinterpreting a particular dimension of the structuralist anthropology of Lévi‐Strauss’ cross‐cultural examination of systems of relation, namely, the interplay between diametric oppositional and concentric relational spaces. The theoretical framework proposed in this article will also seek to translate structural features of system change into structural indicators for system scrutiny and accountability. Identification of key structural indicators is to facilitate change beyond blocked, diametric school space and towards concentric relational spaces in the school system — based on diverse accounts of students’ voices and needs in specific European contexts, as part of a potential strategy at European level to prevent early school leaving. Emerging issues highlighted as an agenda for reform include authoritarian teaching, alternatives to suspension, splits in communication, emotional supports, teacher conflict resolution skills and substantive structures and processes for active student voices in school.

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12035   open full text
• The Impact of Institutional Context, Education and Labour Market Policies on Early School Leaving: a comparative analysis of EU countries.
  Kristof De Witte, Ides Nicaise, Jeroen Lavrijsen, Georges Van Landeghem, Carl Lamote, Jan Van Damme.
  European Journal of Education. August 12, 2013
  This article presents a comparative analysis of the determinants of early school leaving (ESL) at the country level. We decompose ESL rates into two components: a ‘primary’ rate reflecting unqualified school leaving from initial education, and a second component accounting for early school leavers who participate in training programmes. Both may be influenced by structural and policy determinants. We examine how the ESL rate is affected by macro‐economic and social context variables such as GDP/capita, growth, poverty, and youth unemployment, as well as system characteristics of the education system (such as legal school leaving age, grade retention, early tracking, and size of vocational education) and the labour market and social protection systems (minimum wages, unemployment insurance).

  August 12, 2013   doi: 10.1111/ejed.12034   open full text