Suchergebnisse

Chapter 1: Introduction: The Puzzle of the Transformations of European Education Policy -- Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework: A Three-Stage Model to Trace the Role of Ideas -- Chapter 3: The Emergence of the Problem Definition (1973–1985) -- Chapter 4: The Development of the Problem Definition (I): Discourse of Crisis and the Construction of the 'Europe of Knowledge' (1985–1997) -- Chapter 5: The Development of the Problem Definition (II): Working Plans, Institutional Innovations and Policy Initiatives (1985–1997) -- Chapter 6: The Institutionalisation of the Problem Definition as Policy Solution: The 'Europe of Knowledge' (1997–2010) -- Chapter 7: The Resilience of the Problem Definition Between Continuity and Change (2010–2020) -- Chapter 8: Conclusion.

Education policy, traditionally a fortress of state-building processes, is now being challenged by the emergence of a new dimension at the European level. The Lisbon Strategy of 2000 has not only redefined education as a tool for improving Europe's competitiveness within the knowledge economy, but it has also significantly expanded the role of the European Commission as a legitimate actor intervening in education. Although the increasing involvement of the EU in education has been empirically covered by the existing literature, less attention has been devoted to elucidating these changes from a theoretical point of view. This article contends that these transformations raise a theoretical puzzle in terms of the understanding of the two mainstream theories of European integration. This argument is developed in three steps. First, the article examines the historical developments of EU competences in education. It then critically engages with the main theoretical explanations of European integration theories in relation to these changes, namely supranationalism and liberal intergovernmentalism, asserting that these approaches do not fully account for a comprehensive explanation of the drivers behind these transformations. By contrast, the article suggests that broadening the analytical lens to include a more ideas-centred approach provides a more in-depth understanding of European education policy.

AbstractIn the literature on the role of agency in the policy process, relatively little attention has been devoted to how agents define policy problems. This article helps to address this gap by asking when and how policy entrepreneurs are successful in defining problems. The article rests on a framework that shows how policy entrepreneurs holding specific ideas and given a propitious socioeconomic context are able to define problems, translate those problems into new frames, and draw on those frames, while using their personal skills and political and institutional resources, to help build supportive coalitions in favor of policy change. Illustrated by a puzzling case in the field of European mobility policy, the article offers a new perspective on the role of ideas at the problem definition stage of the policy process, while providing a richer understanding of the policy entrepreneur as a driver of policy change.