The scientific framework of the paper is provided by contemporary discussions on EU governance by means of which the European Commission leads, steers and supervises member states with the aim of the states achieving their goals through collective problem solving. The central focus of the (OECD and the EU's) governance is on students' achievements, which member states – based on a culture of performativity – compare by means of international comparative achievement studies and rankings (e.g. Ball, 2003). International organisations, such as the European Commission and OECD, use these rankings and (simplified) analyses of data to recommend content based measures for (supposed) improvements of the efficiency of countries’ education systems (in terms of achievements) and their economic competitiveness. The European Commission (2006) emphasises that both, the principle of efficiency and the principle of equity, are important for the national education systems, and consequently also for reaching the European educational goals. However, many authors (e.g. Rizvi and Lingard, 2009) point out that these recommendations to member states founded on the ideas of neoliberalism base improvement measures primarily on the principle of efficiency, while other important education related principles, such as the principle of equity, are left aside. Such interference of the international organisations with the traditional principles of (not only post-socialist) national education systems is at the forefront of current educational (as well as philosophy, political science, sociology, anthropology and psychology related) discussions. At least two scientifically questions are relevant and unquestioned in these scientific debates: a) the relationship between efficiency and equity of national educational policies and practices in following EU educational goals; b) the question of their (non) complementarity (Baye and Demeuse, 2008; Woessmann, 2008; Forssbaeck and Oxelheim, 2014). In addition, two (political science) premises are considered to be relevant for researching the EU (neoliberal) governance in education, namely that: c) in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the EU member states autonomously decide on the content of national education policies (e.g. Walkenhorst, 2008); d) the member states are not passive recipients of the EU's initiatives and recommendations and may develop unique means (adapted to their respective cultural, administrative and political traditions) of achieving the common goals of the EU (e.g. Heritier et al., 1996).

Findings of studies examining impact of EU educational governance on the process ofdevelopment and implementation of education policies in Slovenia (e.g. Štremfel, 2013)pointed out that, in the Slovenian educational space, European agendas have been judged uncritically and adopted passively. The main problem of their uncritical adoption, addressed in this paper, is lack of in depth analyses of international comparative data, that serve as instrument of the new mode of EU governance, needed to clarify and critically verify under what conditions these data can or cannot constitute the basis for national strategic policies (including observing the principles of equity) (White Paper, 2011) and an autonomous development of the national education system.

The main aim of the paper is to contribute to the aforementioned discussions and filling the research gap by clarifying and critically assessing:

a)      Whether it is – based on the existing simplified analyses of international comparative data – legitimate to make conclusions about the (in)equity and (in)efficiency of the Slovenian education system;

b)      Which (in international comparative assessments) previously disregarded factors of equality are significantly linked with the efficiency of education systems at an international level and, specifically, at the level of the Slovenian education system;

c)       Whether high performance in international comparative assessments, and thus European benchmarks, can in the field of education in Slovenia be effectively achieved if the principle of equity of education policies and practices is observed to a larger degree.

The paper originates within the national basic research project »Neoliberalism in the European educational space: between the efficiency and equity of Slovenian education policies and practices«. Project's methodological framework is based on a) innovative selection and combination of complex education theories and concepts combined with philosophical, political, anthropological, feminist and psychological theories; b) a critical discourse analysis of formal and legal sources that steer actors’ activities at transnational, national and school levels through content and principles; c) three case studies in which new indicators are being developed, focused not only on the efficiency (student’s achievements in international comparative assessment studies (e.g. PISA) but also on the significance of background factors as indicators of equity of the educational system (the socioeconomic gradient, actual gender equality and wellbeing). In the case studies framework an interdisciplinary epistemological and methodological framework are being developed for in depth secondary analyses of the existing data of international comparative assessment studies. Their aim is to demonstrate the inadequacy of following simplified presentations of students' performance in international comparative achievement rankings which (1) fail to shed light on all important aspects of – in terms of the data – overly complex studies, and which (2) may be based on the non-modernised conceptions of genders, and neglect the non-cognitive background factors related to equity (wellbeing, social and emotional skills). We will also show the importance of further independent case studies, which examine the data in detail qualitatively in terms of the various educational issues and quantitatively through statistically more complex methods. In the paper the framework, which presents the combination of policy analysis theoretical postulates of a new mode of EU governance and its declared influence on the Slovenian educational space will be presented as well the results of three empirical studies will be introduced.

The main expected result of the paper is to explicate the (changing) perception of efficiency and equity of the national educational system in the European educational space on the case study of Slovenia. Slovenia presents an interesting case of studying interference between traditional post-socialist values of equity and western EU (neoliberal) model of efficiency in education. By means of theoretical discussions and introduction to the case studies, the paper examine the (non) complementarity between efficiency and equity of education policies and practices, whereby going beyond the narrowness and simplification of some prevailing interpretations and providing a platform for the more critical reception of the EU neoliberal agendas as a precondition for more sovereign development of national educational policies and practices (not only in Slovenia but also across the EU).

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