European Educational Governance Processes as a Catalyst for Permeability in Germany: Opening of Windows of Opportunity for New Discourses and Reforms

Abstract:

Education systems are increasingly interlinked with the inter-/trans-/supranational environment. This chapter demonstrates the extent to which the European educational governance processes of Bologna and Copenhagen have influenced the development of institutional permeability structures between higher education (HE) and vocational education and training (VET) in Germany. Theoretically, this chapter combines sociological neo-institutionalism and the sociology of knowledge approach to discourse with political and educational theories on Europeanization. Methodologically, the chapter is based on a discourse analysis of education policy documents related. The discourse analysis is supplemented by document analyses, expert interviews, and a content analysis of the declarations and communiqués of the Bologna and Copenhagen processes. The results show that before 1999 the German education system was strongly incongruent with the European permeability demands. However, Europeanization processes have created a window of opportunity for reforms that increased the institutional permeability in Germany and induced new subjects for the permeability policies. Moreover, the governance of permeability changed with the actors of the usually divided spheres of VET and HE cooperating, with an increase of influence of nonnational actors and the usage of European benchmarks against which the national educational policy is marked.