The Dynamics and Social Outcomes of Education Systems

by Janmaat, Jan Germen; Duru-Bellat, Marie; Méhaut, Philippe; Green, Andy

• ISBN13: 9781137025685
• ISBN10: 1137025689
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-08-30
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Some scholars argue that education systems across the western world are becoming increasingly similar due to the influence of transnational discourses and organizations. Others believe that education is the panacea for all problems of social cohesion. After all, aren't the well-educated usually more tolerant, civically engaged and trusting than the poorly educated? This book critically examines both claims. It finds that western countries still differ markedly on key aspects of their education systems and that these differences reflect distinct political traditions and different responses to a set of competing normative and political principles. The findings further suggest that raising the average education level is unlikely to be an effective strategy for promoting social cohesion. Instead, more promising are policies targeting the opposite ends of the lifelong learning continuum: universalizing pre-school education and care and promoting adult education with a pronounced second chance character.

Author Biography

Jan Germen Janmaat is Senior Lecturer of Comparative Social Science at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK. His latest book is Regimes of Social Cohesion: Societies and the Crisis of Globalization (co-author).

Marie Duru-Bellat is Professor of Sociology at Sciences Po-Paris, France. She has written numerous books and articles on gender and social inequalities in education and their ideological justification (meritocracy), and on the links between education and jobs; she has also led many comparative studies on educational systems and reforms.

Andy Green is Professor of Comparative Social Science at the Institute of Education, University of London, UK and Director of the ERSC Research Centre on Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES). His main field of research is the comparative study of education and training systems, their origins and socio-economic consequences.

Philippe Méhaut is Senior Researcher at the Institute of Labour Economics and Industrial Sociology (Lest), Aix Marseille University and CNRS, Aix en Provence, France. He has widely published on comparative analyses of labour markets and educational policies.

Table of Contents

Introduction; Jan Germen Janmaat, Marie Duru Bellat, Andy Green and Philippe Méhaut
PART I: THE VARIATION AND DYNAMICS OF EDUCATION SYSTEMS
1. Convergent and Divergent Trends in Education Systems, 1990 to 2010; Andy Green and Tarek Mostafa
2. From Upper Secondary to Further Education; Audrey Dumas, Philippe Mehaut, Noemie Olympio
3. Lifelong Learning Regimes Versus VET Systems in Europe; Eric Verdier
4. Formal or Actual Convergence? Three Cases of Hybridisation; Philippe Méhaut
5. Curriculum Patterns in Citizenship Education; Christine Han, Jan Germen Janmaat, Tom May and Paul Morris
PART II: THE SOCIAL OUTCOMES OF EDUCATION SYSTEMS
6. Social Cohesion as Paradigm; Francois Dubet
7. Pre-School Education and Care: A 'Win-Win' Policy? Tarek Mostafa and Andy Green
8. Educational Models and their Impact on Student Attitudes; Nathalie Mons, Marie Duru Bellat, and Yvonne Savina
9. Educational Differentiation and Inequalities of Civic Engagement; Jan Germen Janmaat
10. Lifelong Learning and Social Cohesion; Audrey Dumas, Philippe Méhaut, Noémie Olympio and Isabelle DiMeglio
11. Education and Social Cohesion in a Comparative Perspective; Marie Duru-Bellat, Antoine Vérétout and Francois Dubet
12. The Mismatch between Level of Education and Job Requirements; Vanessa di Paola and Stéphanie Moullet
13. Trends in Civic Competences; Bryony Hoskins and Rebecca Ridley
Conclusion; Jan Germen Janmaat, Marie Duru Bellat, Andy Green and Philippe Mehaut