Page 365 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Contemporary European Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
P. 365
why is esl a problem for contemporary (eu) society?
When taking the critical representations of policy problems formation
presented above into consideration, it is important to see how the social
and economic consequences of ESL are presented as a rationale for under-
standing ESL as a problem for contemporary (EU) society. Gillies & Mifsud
(2016) from a Foucauldian perspective, Grimaldi (2012) by analysing ne-
oliberalism influences and Macedo, Araújo, Magalhães and Rocha (2015)
through the lenses of sociology of education define ESL as a political con-
cept, pursuing a specific solution by providing a specific (economic) vision
of the problem and their prevalence over social goals.5 Similarly, Ross and
Leathwood (2013, p. 415) refer to the need to evaluate the success of ESL
measures according to their contribution to addressing social exclusion,
division and inequalities and not solely how they contribute to the overall
economic prosperity of society, as is the existing practice.
Conclusion
The perception of ESL holding negative consequences for individuals and
society and bringing positive benefits via increased educational attainment
sensitises and induces policymakers to design policies in an attempt to take
corrective action and address the ESL problem (Brunello & De Paola, 2013;
Psacharopoulos, 2007).
The paper overviewed a broad range of academic research and EU poli-
cy documents discussing the long-term macro-economic and macro-social
consequences of ESL (economic growth and development, social cohesion
and development). The overview shows that in identifying education exter-
nalities, the output, typically measured in national accounts, most com-
monly includes economic (market-recognised) effects of education since it
is hard or even impossible to quantify the social effects (Psacharopoulos,
2007). ESL is thus generally presented as huge obstacle to further national
left unproblematic in this problem representation? Where are the silences? Can the
‘problem’ be thought about differently? 5) What effects are produced by this rep-
resentation of the ‘problem’? 6) How/where has this representation of the ‘problem’
been produced, disseminated and defended? How has it been (or could it be) ques-
tioned, disrupted and replaced?
5 The inferior position of the social dimension of education in general is also evident
from selected OECD and EU policy documents. The OECD (2011, p. 58) claims that
social inclusion is both a desirable end in itself and a means to achieve development
outcomes like growth, and question whether social cohesion, beyond its intrinsic
desirability, actually has a use, e.g. an economic pay-off. The European Commission
(2006) explains that investing in education and training in order to raise efficiency
and quality produces social benefits which, in turn, feed economic growth.
365
When taking the critical representations of policy problems formation
presented above into consideration, it is important to see how the social
and economic consequences of ESL are presented as a rationale for under-
standing ESL as a problem for contemporary (EU) society. Gillies & Mifsud
(2016) from a Foucauldian perspective, Grimaldi (2012) by analysing ne-
oliberalism influences and Macedo, Araújo, Magalhães and Rocha (2015)
through the lenses of sociology of education define ESL as a political con-
cept, pursuing a specific solution by providing a specific (economic) vision
of the problem and their prevalence over social goals.5 Similarly, Ross and
Leathwood (2013, p. 415) refer to the need to evaluate the success of ESL
measures according to their contribution to addressing social exclusion,
division and inequalities and not solely how they contribute to the overall
economic prosperity of society, as is the existing practice.
Conclusion
The perception of ESL holding negative consequences for individuals and
society and bringing positive benefits via increased educational attainment
sensitises and induces policymakers to design policies in an attempt to take
corrective action and address the ESL problem (Brunello & De Paola, 2013;
Psacharopoulos, 2007).
The paper overviewed a broad range of academic research and EU poli-
cy documents discussing the long-term macro-economic and macro-social
consequences of ESL (economic growth and development, social cohesion
and development). The overview shows that in identifying education exter-
nalities, the output, typically measured in national accounts, most com-
monly includes economic (market-recognised) effects of education since it
is hard or even impossible to quantify the social effects (Psacharopoulos,
2007). ESL is thus generally presented as huge obstacle to further national
left unproblematic in this problem representation? Where are the silences? Can the
‘problem’ be thought about differently? 5) What effects are produced by this rep-
resentation of the ‘problem’? 6) How/where has this representation of the ‘problem’
been produced, disseminated and defended? How has it been (or could it be) ques-
tioned, disrupted and replaced?
5 The inferior position of the social dimension of education in general is also evident
from selected OECD and EU policy documents. The OECD (2011, p. 58) claims that
social inclusion is both a desirable end in itself and a means to achieve development
outcomes like growth, and question whether social cohesion, beyond its intrinsic
desirability, actually has a use, e.g. an economic pay-off. The European Commission
(2006) explains that investing in education and training in order to raise efficiency
and quality produces social benefits which, in turn, feed economic growth.
365
