Session Information
23 SES 07 A, Knowledge and Policy in the Education Sector in Europe (Part 1)
Symposium, to be continued in Session 23 SES 07.5 A
Time:
2009-09-29
15:30-17:00
Room:
HG, HS 28
Chair:
Eric Mangez
Discussant:
Maarten Simons
Contribution
The literature on education policy in Europe suggests a trend towards new post-bureaucratic modes of governance (Maroy 2006) that put evaluation and steering at the centre of their operative principles. Knowledge then becomes a key for governing and the new figure of the State becomes that of the “Evaluation State”. This paper examines whether and how this trend actually penetrates the Belgian context by focussing on its interrelation with institutional features inherited from the past. Belgium has long been described as a consociational democracy, ruled by a rather weak state and organized around distinct integrated pillars, each providing a range of services to their people (education, health,…). We argue that this specific politico-institutional arrangement – though it has evolved - has deep implications for knowledge use and understanding in the policy sphere (Mangez 2008). Discretion and trust have historically been central for the Belgian consociative arrangement as they formed an implicit peace-keeping agreement between communities ensuring their autonomy. In such a context, new emphasizes on quality, evaluation, performance, steering and benchmarking appear rather disruptive. This interrelation between the past (discretion, trust) and a possible future (evaluation, accountability) helps us understand the rather hybrid form and shape of the Belgian “Evaluation State” and explains why its emerging evaluation strategies remain under-developed (Varone and De Visscher, 2001).
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
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