Page 32 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 32
ear ly school leaving: contempor ary european perspectives
review presents examples of various general directions (e.g. Council
Recommendations) as well as concrete policy and practical recom-
mendations (e.g. Toolkits) for how to tackle ESL at the individual,
school, local, regional, national and EU levels. The way EU mem-
ber states transpose these EU guidelines into national policies (e.g.
by setting national targets and publishing national strategies) is de-
scribed along with the OMC policy learning framework (e.g. the-
matic working groups and policy learning activities) within which
member states search for solutions to a commonly identified prob-
lem and share their related (good) practices. Finally, the role of reg-
ular (quantitative and qualitative) reporting in stimulating member
states to achieve the commonly agreed goal is emphasised. The arti-
cle concludes that for OMC to be an open, participative, accountable,
effective and coherent process, contributing to good governance in
the EU, all relevant actors in its process at all levels of the EU need to
be more involved. Referring to different research findings (e.g. Lajh
& Štremfel, 2011; Ecorys, 2014) this could also be ensured by better
awareness of the potential of OMC, as presented in this article.
Key words: EU, member states, ET 2020, benchmark, good govern-
ance, open method of coordination
Introduction
European cooperation in the field of education dates back over six dec-
ades, but the EU competencies in this field have remained limited until
more recently (Walkenhorst, 2008). The legal basis for this is presented in
the Maastricht Treaty (1992), specifying that: “The Union shall contribute
to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation be-
tween member states and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing
their action, while fully respecting the responsibility of the member states
for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and
their cultural and linguistic diversity …”.
In that framework, the open method of coordination (OMC) was in-
troduced as a (non-obligatory) method of EU cooperation in the field of
education. The Lisbon Strategy (European Council, 2000) stated that it
contains the following elements: a) fixing guidelines; b) establishing quan-
titative and qualitative indicators and benchmarks; c) translating these
European guidelines into national and regional policies; and d) periodic
32
review presents examples of various general directions (e.g. Council
Recommendations) as well as concrete policy and practical recom-
mendations (e.g. Toolkits) for how to tackle ESL at the individual,
school, local, regional, national and EU levels. The way EU mem-
ber states transpose these EU guidelines into national policies (e.g.
by setting national targets and publishing national strategies) is de-
scribed along with the OMC policy learning framework (e.g. the-
matic working groups and policy learning activities) within which
member states search for solutions to a commonly identified prob-
lem and share their related (good) practices. Finally, the role of reg-
ular (quantitative and qualitative) reporting in stimulating member
states to achieve the commonly agreed goal is emphasised. The arti-
cle concludes that for OMC to be an open, participative, accountable,
effective and coherent process, contributing to good governance in
the EU, all relevant actors in its process at all levels of the EU need to
be more involved. Referring to different research findings (e.g. Lajh
& Štremfel, 2011; Ecorys, 2014) this could also be ensured by better
awareness of the potential of OMC, as presented in this article.
Key words: EU, member states, ET 2020, benchmark, good govern-
ance, open method of coordination
Introduction
European cooperation in the field of education dates back over six dec-
ades, but the EU competencies in this field have remained limited until
more recently (Walkenhorst, 2008). The legal basis for this is presented in
the Maastricht Treaty (1992), specifying that: “The Union shall contribute
to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation be-
tween member states and, if necessary, by supporting and supplementing
their action, while fully respecting the responsibility of the member states
for the content of teaching and the organisation of education systems and
their cultural and linguistic diversity …”.
In that framework, the open method of coordination (OMC) was in-
troduced as a (non-obligatory) method of EU cooperation in the field of
education. The Lisbon Strategy (European Council, 2000) stated that it
contains the following elements: a) fixing guidelines; b) establishing quan-
titative and qualitative indicators and benchmarks; c) translating these
European guidelines into national and regional policies; and d) periodic
32
