Page 33 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 33
esl in the eu: policy overview and development
monitoring, evaluation and peer review organised as mutual learning pro-
cesses (see Figure 1).
In addition to the main OMC elements, the Strategy stated that “A ful-
ly decentralised approach will be applied in line with the principle of sub-
sidiarity in which the Union, member states, the regional and local levels,
as well as the social partners and civil society, will be actively involved, us-
ing variable forms of partnership” (European Council, 2000). The White
Paper on Governance (European Commission, 2001) recognised that these
OMC characteristics hold great potential for respecting the principles of
openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness, coherence and there-
fore contributing to good governance in the EU.
Soon after the formal introduction of the OMC, early school leaving
(ESL) was identified as one of five concrete strategic objectives of common
EU cooperation in the education field (European Commission, 2002) and
even today it still represents a priority area of EU cooperation in education
and one of the five targets of the overall EU 2020 Strategy. In the mean-
time, a comprehensive framework for cooperation on the basis of the OMC
has been developing, assisting member states in their search for solutions
to this pressing problem of EU society.
The main aim of the article is to provide a review of the normative pol-
icy framework for common EU cooperation in the ESL field since 2000 on-
wards. The review is provided in line with the four elements of the OMC
as defined in the Lisbon conclusions. Each OMC element is introduced in
terms of: a) basic theoretical dispositions and scientific insights into its nor-
mative functions; b) concrete examples/definitions from policy documents
on ESL accepted at the EU level; and c) practical insights into its implemen-
tation at the EU level and at the level of selected TITA participating states
(France, Luxembourg, Spain and Slovenia).1 As such, the article does not
provide a review of in-depth theoretical conceptualisations of the OMC
(e.g. Alexiadou, Fink-Hafner, & Lange, 2010; Borrás & Radaelli, 2010) or
its analytical critics and problematisation (e.g. Hatzopoulos, 2007; Büchs,
2008). It aims to raise basic awareness and understanding of the normative
1 Since Switzerland is not formally an EU member state, its involvement in the OMC
processes is quite limited. According to different agreements, Switzerland is involved
in various comparative studies and is an eligible country to receive financial support
from various EU financial initiatives contributing to the development of education-
al policies and practices at the national level. Due to its constrained role in the OMC
processes, practical insights into the reception of EU agendas in Switzerland in this
article are very limited.
33
monitoring, evaluation and peer review organised as mutual learning pro-
cesses (see Figure 1).
In addition to the main OMC elements, the Strategy stated that “A ful-
ly decentralised approach will be applied in line with the principle of sub-
sidiarity in which the Union, member states, the regional and local levels,
as well as the social partners and civil society, will be actively involved, us-
ing variable forms of partnership” (European Council, 2000). The White
Paper on Governance (European Commission, 2001) recognised that these
OMC characteristics hold great potential for respecting the principles of
openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness, coherence and there-
fore contributing to good governance in the EU.
Soon after the formal introduction of the OMC, early school leaving
(ESL) was identified as one of five concrete strategic objectives of common
EU cooperation in the education field (European Commission, 2002) and
even today it still represents a priority area of EU cooperation in education
and one of the five targets of the overall EU 2020 Strategy. In the mean-
time, a comprehensive framework for cooperation on the basis of the OMC
has been developing, assisting member states in their search for solutions
to this pressing problem of EU society.
The main aim of the article is to provide a review of the normative pol-
icy framework for common EU cooperation in the ESL field since 2000 on-
wards. The review is provided in line with the four elements of the OMC
as defined in the Lisbon conclusions. Each OMC element is introduced in
terms of: a) basic theoretical dispositions and scientific insights into its nor-
mative functions; b) concrete examples/definitions from policy documents
on ESL accepted at the EU level; and c) practical insights into its implemen-
tation at the EU level and at the level of selected TITA participating states
(France, Luxembourg, Spain and Slovenia).1 As such, the article does not
provide a review of in-depth theoretical conceptualisations of the OMC
(e.g. Alexiadou, Fink-Hafner, & Lange, 2010; Borrás & Radaelli, 2010) or
its analytical critics and problematisation (e.g. Hatzopoulos, 2007; Büchs,
2008). It aims to raise basic awareness and understanding of the normative
1 Since Switzerland is not formally an EU member state, its involvement in the OMC
processes is quite limited. According to different agreements, Switzerland is involved
in various comparative studies and is an eligible country to receive financial support
from various EU financial initiatives contributing to the development of education-
al policies and practices at the national level. Due to its constrained role in the OMC
processes, practical insights into the reception of EU agendas in Switzerland in this
article are very limited.
33
