Europe à la Carte? Swiss Convergence towards European Policy Models in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training

Abstract

In the last decade, European education has experienced far-reaching transformation through the international initiatives of the Bologna process in higher education (HE) and the Copenhagen process in vocational education and training (VET) for enhancing European cooperation. This study investigates the mostly underresearched effects of these initiatives on Switzerland to discern whether Swiss HE and VET policies have converged towards European models, and which mechanisms were influential. It combines research on Europeanization and convergence and uses process-tracing based on expert interviews and document analysis. Results reveal that Swiss HE policy strongly converged towards the Bologna model, while the development of a partial convergence of VET policy towards the model of the Copenhagen process can be observed.The study demonstrates the impact of domestic politics on shaping Europeanization effects and reconstructs the processes through which the initiatives took effect through transnational communication.

Towards an education approach à lafinlandaise? French education policy after PISA

“…Recently, PISA and -to a lesser extent -the other mentioned evaluations have triggered diverse reactions and reform measures in education systems around the globe. This applies both to countries with far-above-average results such as New Zealand (see Dobbins 2010) and Finland (Grek 2009) as well as those with less satisfactory results such as Germany (see Niemann 2010) and Switzerland (Bieber 2010), which have taken various measures to address issues such as performance disparities, equality and school autonomy.…”

The Europeanisation of Vocational Education and Training

“…The only countries with CME VET systems that do not belong to the EU are Switzerland and Norway. However, studies show that the EU has significant effects on both countries (Haverland 2006: 140; for effects on the Swiss VET system see Bieber 2010 andTrampusch 2010a). In sum, for this research project both methods bear more problems than process tracing.…”

“…Moreover, Swiss employers fear ECVET could undermine the occupational principle (Berufsprinzip) (Bieber 2010). 69 To sum up, the take-up of ECVET differs remarkably across countries, and there has been a considerable disagreement on the instrument.…”

The Hybridization of Vocational Training and Higher Education in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland

“…Switzerland currently only holds observer status in this process (BBT, 2012). It is taking part in only some of the initiatives linked to the Copenhagen process (see Stalder, 2006;Bieber, 2010). Out of the package of instruments that make up the Copenhagen process (see Section 5.2.2), the Federal Office for Professional Education and Technology decided to prioritize the development of a National Qualification Framework (NQF) (see BBT, 2009b: 11-12).…”