Higher Education Reform in Germany: Advocacy and Discourse

Welsh, Helga A.

doi:10.3167/gps.2009.270101

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In Hesse, student protesters, student movement organizations, and political parties led the tuition fees debate (FAZ, 2006b(FAZ, , 2006c. The DGB raised concerns that the introduction of tuition fees would increase the pressure on vocational training (FAZ,2006a), but its protest efforts focused on the general public budget cuts rather than the higher education-specific concerns surrounding tuition fees (Welsh, 2009).…”

Section: Scholars Consider the Institutional Embeddedness Of German Umentioning

confidence: 99%

Student protests and organised labour: Developing a research agenda for mobilisation in late neoliberalism

Türkoğlu

2019

Current Sociology

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Students have a long history of protesting the introduction or rise of tuition fees. However, political parties do not often endorse their demands. Even the centre-left, which is known for its redistributive policies, does not necessarily ally itself with the student opposition to fees. In this article, the author focuses on the impact of social movement–organised labour alliances on the opposition of political parties to government policy. The author argues that such alliances have a unique impact on centre-left parties, especially in relation to non-labour issues. Two examples of this alliance are presented, emerging from the quite different political contexts of Germany and Turkey. In Germany, student movements failed to block the introduction of tuition fees in 2006. However, in 2008–2011, after students established a deeper alliance with organised labour, tuition fees were scrapped. In Turkey, student movements had been protesting tuition fees for a quarter of a century before an alliance with labour gained the support of social democrats in 2011. These case studies suggest that labour–movement alliances are effective in shifting social democratic politics in higher education policy because of labour’s experience and know-how in alliance building with centre-left parties and the student mobilisation’s potential to make tuition fees an electoral issue cross-cutting party allegiances. This finding suggests that scholars need to take the degree of engagement in opposition alliances into account, in addition to union density, in order to more accurately measure the political power of organised labour. This point has implications for analysing a variety of policy outcomes in policy areas exposed to permanent austerity measures.

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Section: Scholars Consider the Institutional Embeddedness Of German Umentioning

confidence: 99%

Student protests and organised labour: Developing a research agenda for mobilisation in late neoliberalism

Türkoğlu

2019

Current Sociology

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“…As a result of these changing assumptions about higher education and, in particular, the increasing dominance of a neo-liberal agenda, mechanisms for funding universities have changed significantly. The proportion of higher education costs covered by the state, through general taxation, has declined, and increasing reliance has come to be placed on contributions from students and, in some cases, their parents (Ertl, 2005;Johnstone, 2007;Li, 2007;Lunt, 2010;McMullen, 2004;Welsh, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fees, Funding and Overseas Study: Mobile UK Students and Educational Inequalities

Brooks

Waters

2011

Sociological Research Online

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An article in The Guardian in 2006 claimed that: ‘some bright students have found an answer to the fees nightmare: in Europe’. It went on to argue that the introduction of variable fees in the UK in 2006 had encouraged some UK students to consider moving overseas for their degrees and, in particular, to European countries such as Sweden and the Netherlands, which charged low fees or no fees at all. While there have been a small number of further press reports which have indicated that changes to the funding of higher education in the UK have encouraged more young people to consider seriously the possibility of studying abroad, we still know relatively little about the impact of financial factors on a decision to pursue a degree overseas. Although many researchers have explored the economic rewards which often accrue in the medium- or long-term as a result of overseas study, the academic literature has much less to say about both the impact of fee differentials on young people's decision-making, and the resources upon which they draw to fund a period of study overseas. In an attempt to redress this gap, this paper draws on data from a qualitative study of young UK citizens who had either completed a degree abroad, or were seriously considering moving overseas for this purpose, to explore the impact of short-term economic calculations on their decisions, and the sources of funding upon which they drew. In doing so, we argue, firstly, that there are important differences between mobile students: those who moved abroad for an undergraduate degree tended to be from more privileged backgrounds than those who moved for postgraduate studies and, as a result, considerably less sensitive to price differentials. Secondly, we suggest that, despite important differences in economic capital, both undergraduates and postgraduates were able to draw on significant cultural resources. This raises questions about the extent to which overseas opportunities can be opened up more widely, to include a greater cross-section of young people.

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“…36 Cultural, language, and immigration barriers also contribute to the halting progress in attracting foreign scholars.…”

Section: Internationalization and Europeanizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher Education in Germany: Fragmented Change Amid Paradigm Shifts

Welsh¹

2010

German Politics and Society

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After the two German states unified in 1990, the tendency to transplant West German practices to the former East Germany was particularly pronounced in areas where systemic differences and perceived inefficiency met ideological reservations. The higher education system was among them. Comprehensive institutional, policy, and personnel transfer from West to East ensued. Starting in the mid 1990s after many failed initiatives, however, new policies were launched in the unified Germany. Reinforced by feedback from institutional and policy transfer to the East, factors such as Europeanization and globalization empowered newly formed advocacy coalitions to advance a reform agenda. Competition and performance seeded other ideas, prominent among them diversification, internationalization, autonomy, and accountability. Existing institutions and firmly rooted traditions still condition and limit change, and reforming the reforms has become commonplace. Differentiation among Länder and higher education institutions has become more pronounced, adding to the variety of outcomes. In ways unforeseen in 1990, some areas of the German higher education system have seen paradigmatic change, while others have survived relatively unscathed. The recalibration of the system continues, and reform pressure persists.

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Higher Education Reform in Germany: Advocacy and Discourse

Cited by 7 publications

References 7 publications

Student protests and organised labour: Developing a research agenda for mobilisation in late neoliberalism

Student protests and organised labour: Developing a research agenda for mobilisation in late neoliberalism

Fees, Funding and Overseas Study: Mobile UK Students and Educational Inequalities

Higher Education in Germany: Fragmented Change Amid Paradigm Shifts

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