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

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).     

Varieties of hybrid systemic governance in European Higher Education

Over the last 30 years, governments have continuously adjusted their Higher Education policies to make universities more efficient (achieving more by spending less) and more effective (by increasing the percentage of graduates, by reducing the number of university dropouts and by focusing more on the third mission). At the core of governmental endeavours to reform Higher Education lies the redesign of the actual governance mode: governments have not only changed the general principles of Higher Education governance but also continuously changed the mix of those policy instruments they have chosen to adopt. The steering at a distance/supervisory/supermarket model appears to be unable to cover these differentiated trends; in fact, scholars have underlined that each country has designed its own hybrid interpretation of the common template. This paper focuses on this issue, describing how governance has been hybridised at the systemic level and detailing the content of these changes, operationalised with regards to policy instruments together with two financial dimensions. It emerges that three types of hybrid systemic governance modes are actually present in Europe: a performance‐based mode, a re‐regulated mode and a systemic goal‐oriented mode.     

Higher Education institutional governance reforms in the Netherlands,Portugal and Italy: A policy translation perspective addressing the homogeneous/heterogeneous dilemma

This paper addresses the homogeneous/heterogeneous dilemma regarding formal arrangements of university central governance structures. Most topical studies argue that these structures are becoming homogeneous across countries and prove it by adopting purposive sampling techniques. Yet, other scholars stress heterogeneity within countries. This paper aims to clarify this dilemma through a multi‐level analysis that simultaneously considers three levels of embeddedness (i.e., supranational, national and institutional), by employing a policy translation perspective, which can accommodate both homogeneity and heterogeneity. The national sample comprises three countries (the Netherlands, Portugal and Italy). The institutional sample is comprehensive and encompasses all public universities within each country. The study discloses heterogeneity in how countries responded to supranational policy pressures as well as heterogeneous responses at the institutional level even when unitary laws are applied. Relying on these findings, we stress the importance of adopting comprehensive (rather than purposive) sampling to infer about international and/or national homogeneity because studies that generalise results based on one/few case studies per country could be biased by the sample selection criteria. In addition, the research implications of our analysis on steering‐at‐a‐distance and on the relation between the grade of cogency of the national laws and homogeneous/heterogeneous reform outcomes are discussed.     

Policy learning and governance of education policy in the EU

Open methods for coordinating (OMC) education policies in the EU rely on a number of techniques, one of which is policy learning. This article examines how policy learning and governance transform each other. More specifically, policy‐learning in the education OMC becomes differentiated into four distinct learning styles: mutual, competitive, surface and imperialistic learning. While they overlap with some forms of policy learning discussed in the literature, they are also different by focusing upon interactions and political dynamics between the European Commission and the member states. In seeking to understand how governing through learning occurs, we argue that any ‘impact’ of EU‐level policy‐learning is co‐constructed by both the European Commission and the member states. The analysis of this article is grounded in a discourse analytical and institutionalist perspective. It draws on qualitative data derived from semi‐structured interviews with officials from the Directorate General for Education and Culture in the European Commission and on EU documents generated during policy‐learning activities.     

Colleges and the Governance of Higher Education

The governance of higher education in colleges and college sectors that offer other types of education and training is distinctive in four main respects. First, governance structures are frequently separate and different for higher education and for other segments of tertiary education. Second, the size and scope of the higher‐level education taught by individual institutions will bear on the extent to which the management and governance arrangements in colleges are joint or divided. Third, the growth of small and distributed forms of higher‐level education has created specific problems and dilemmas for national and sub‐national governance. Fourth, the multiple missions of many colleges continue to pose questions about their educational and organisational coherence and governability. It is only in recent years that a base of evidence has been available to comprehend these developments, although definitional difficulties and data deficiencies remain.     

Governing the governors: A case study of college governance in English further education

This paper addresses the nature of governors in the governance of further education colleges in an English context. It explores the complex relationship between governors (people/agency), government (policy/structure) and governance (practice), in a college environment. While recent research has focused on the governance of schooling and higher education there has been little attention paid to the role of governors in the lifelong learning sector. The objective of the paper is to contribute to the debate about the purpose of college governance at a time when the Learning and Skills Council commissioning era ends and new government bodies responsible for further education and training, including local authorities, arrive. The paper analyses the nature of FE governance through the perspectives and experiences of governors, as colleges respond to calls from government for greater improvement and accountability in the sector. What constitutes creative governance is complex and controversial in the wider framework of regulation and public policy reform. As with other tricky concepts such as leadership, professionalism and learning, college governance is best defined in the contexts, cultures and situations in which it is located. College governance does not operate in a vacuum. It involves governors, chairs, principals, professionals, senior managers, clerks, community, business and wider agencies, including external audit and inspection regimes. Governance also acts as a prism through which national education and training reforms are mediated, at local level. While governing bodies are traditionally associated with the business of FE—steering, setting the tone and style, dealing with finance, funding, audit and procedural matters—they are increasingly being challenged to be more creative and responsive to the wider society. Drawing on a recent case study of six colleges, involving governors and key policy stakeholders, this paper explores FE governance in a fast changing policy environment.     

The rule of mimetic desire in higher education: governing through naming,shaming and faming

The initiation of the Bologna Process was accompanied by a radical transition of governance in higher education throughout Europe from government to governance. This article argues that this shift in the design of governing was connected to the need to subtly bypass the European Union (EU) subsidiarity principle that kept education out of the EU’s legislative reach. The new mode of governing is orchestrated through the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), which constitutes the policy ontology of the Bologna Process. The OMC presents the ambition to harmonise education systems through standardisation as a main technology to govern performance. This article argues that the Bologna mode of governance is powered through the follow-up mechanisms that work as a material-affective infrastructure of the policy ontology. These monitoring techniques are affectively wired. They produce an affective politics of naming, shaming and faming that ignites a competitive, mimetic desire making the Bologna mode of governance feasible.     

社会主义国家治理的实践及其启示

不同历史形态的国家在不同发展阶段都会遇到治理困境,其采用的治理方式有其历史文化继承性,中苏俄国家治理的启示在于,对于国家治理应该看到其内在的自然属性和阶级属性,自然属性是代表了不同形态国家实现善治的共同治理方式,而阶级属性则与国家历史形态紧密相连,社会主义国家作为优于资本主义社会的国家历史形态,实现善治依然需要以马克思主义的思想作为统领。     

Steering Dynamics in Complex Education Systems. An Agenda for Empirical Research

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.     

Do Changing State Steering Mechanisms have an Impact on Academic Leadership at Universities

Universities have been forced to change their internal management and leadership procedures along with the changing state steering. In Finland, changes in financial steering during last ten years have had the strongest effective impact on internal university management.Budget allocation is a policy instrument that can be used by governments to influence the behaviour of universities. The same applies to the situation within institutions. The way budgets are allocated depends on the relationships between the central university administration and faculties.Finnish universities have started to use the same fund allocation models as are in use at the national level, although the amount of funds to be allocated differs markedly from the national level funding. The increase in external funds, and the increase of state funds to be competed for, create new management procedures inside the university and its faculties. Universities have started to implement entrepreneurial activity models in their management processes.Universities have to find a new way for management to take into account the changing state steering and the increasing external funds, as well as the nature of the academic community. This is a growing challenge for university management and leadership.     

Selective acquiescence,creative commitment and strategic conformity: situated national policy responses to Bologna

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.     

Swedish universities towards self‐regulation: A new look at institutional autonomy

Abstract

Swedish universities are required to change towards more effective self‐regulation as the government has recently reduced state steering and devolved further responsibilities to them. In this paper, ‘self‐regulation’ is related to the concept of ‘autonomy’, a concept which is analysed on the two dimensions of ‘purpose’ and ‘authority’, resulting in four models of state governance and consequently in a different ‘space of action’ for the institutions. However, in order to develop self‐regulation, the space granted must also be used effectively to realise autonomy. Six Swedish higher education institutions are analysed concerning how they have used their new space of action and what restrictions they have met in their efforts for self‐regulation.     

财税服务国家治理的新定位、新方向与新路径--兼析习近平关于新时代财税工作的重要论述

习近平总书记关于新时代财税工作的重要论述,是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的重要组成部分,体现了党对财税工作规律性认识的新高度。为解决现行财税体制中还存在的与完善国家治理"不完全适应"的若干缺陷,实现"建立现代财政制度"的改革目标及其任务,财税制度在国家治理中得到创新性发展,发挥基础性、制度性、保障性作用。这种创新的核心内涵在于:在国家治理新平台上赋予财税功能作用新定位;为服务国家治理的财税体制改革指明新方向;为服务国家治理现代化的财税改革明确新路径。     

Arresting Decline in Shared Governance: Towards a Flexible Model for Academic Participation

This paper considers tensions between ‘corporate’ models of governance focused on the governing body and more traditional, ‘consensual’ academic approaches. It argues that despite these tensions, a decline in the role of the academic community in matters of institutional governance (‘shared governance’) is neither desirable nor inevitable, and that successful academic participation is possible through a combination of the corporate and consensual modes. Tracing a decline in academic participation from its height in the 1970s, the paper evaluates the problematic nature of more recent corporate approaches to university governance and the work of Dearlove (1997), (2002) and Deem is used to reflect on ‘tensions between the logic of managerial control and the conventions of professional autonomy’ ( Deem, 1998 , p. 52). The paper ends by offering a broad and flexible model for successful shared governance, drawing on the role of academic departments and Clark’s strengthened steering core (1998).     

When marketization encounters centralized governance: Private Higher education in Egypt

The growing presence of private higher education institutions, including international branch campuses (IBCs), can potentially lead to transformations in governance and evaluation modes in contexts of state-centric steering. This paper addresses these transformations in the context of Egypt. The paper shows a hybrid progression in the legal and discursive practices governing private institutions, and a shift towards more procedural autonomy specifically in relation to IBCs. The system, however, continues to rely on a centralized a priori evaluation mode and strict controls. This reflects the inherent tensions within systems of centralized governance and weak institutional autonomy to shift into a posteriori evaluation modes, despite the forces of marketization.     

Training of specialists and the labour market in Russia

Abstract

In this paper the authors argue that the use of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the implementation of the Bologna process presents coordination problems that do not allow for the full coherence of the results. As the process is quite complex, involving three different levels (European, national and local) and as the final actors in the implementation process higher education institutions (HEIs) have considerable degree of autonomy, assuming that the implementation of Bologna is a top‐down linear policy implementation process does not account for the developments taking place, which produce implementation difficulties at several different levels. Constraints resulting from economic concerns at European and national levels may be an obstacle for the Bologna's contribution to a social Europe.     

公民代理问题研究

伴随着社会转型期法律监管制度的缺失及法律服务市场的混乱,以牟利为目的的公民代理人大量出现在各类诉讼活动中,不仅扰乱了正常的法律服务市场,而且威胁着社会的和谐与稳定。尽管缺乏国家的统一立法,但各地为了对其进行有效管理,纷纷进行了制度创新。通过考察当前各地典型的管理实践,不断总结对职业公民代理行为的管理经验,最终建立完善的公民代理管理机制。     

增强高等教育第三方评估组织合法性的审思

高等教育第三方评估组织作为独立于高校和政府的社会第三方,对于推进管办评分离,构建政府、高校和社会协同的高等教育治理新格局具有重要意义,其通过满足国家宏观治理的需 求、高校对办学自主权的诉求以及社会参与高等教育治理的期望来获得合法性。但现实中高等教 育第三方评估组织由于宏观层面缺乏立法保障、中观层面缺乏认证维护、微观层面缺乏专业团队,导致其独立性和中介性缺乏,专业性、业务水平和合法性基础受到质疑。为此,需通过落实法律身份、建立健全认证机制、打造专业化的团队构建高等教育第三方评估组织的合法性。     

Complex Education Systems: from steering change to governance

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’.     

Education policy and the ‘inter’‐regnum

In the UK, the vocabulary of public services is becoming infused with the prefixes ‘inter’‐, ‘multi‐’ and ‘co‐’. Public‐sector agencies are being encouraged to adopt ‘multi’‐ or ‘inter‐agency’ configurations; ‘workforce reform’ seeks to dissolve once‐impermeable professional boundaries; leadership is to be ‘distributed’. This tendency is referred to as the ‘inter’‐regnum in education policy. (This does not mean that we are dealing with an ‘interregnum’ in the sense that we are somehow between modes of governance.) The term ‘regnum’ is used to emphasise that this propensity for the ‘inter’ is asserting itself as a new ‘reigning philosophy’. Examples of the ‘inter’‐regnum are presented from the UK (mainly England), and these are located conceptually within an analysis of hierarchies, markets and networks. Thereafter the cultural, intellectual and economic contexts which allow for the ‘inter’‐regnum to emerge as policy are explored. The ‘inter’‐regnum draws its legitimacy from a number of sources. First, it resonates with the culture of consumerism, and it takes further that earlier market‐based regime of governance which was associated with the new public management. Second, it is functional for the ‘new capitalism’ as a new work order of affinity‐ and solution‐spaces. Third, it has important intellectual supports: that is, in addition to its association with recent marketing theory, it can appeal to emerging theory and research in organisational learning.