Changing Skill Formation in Greece and Italy – Crisis-Induced Reforms in Light of Common Institutional Legacies

Context: After the Eurozone crisis unfolded a decade ago, comparative political economy has investigated reforms of public administration, labour market, welfare state and economic policy particularly in Southern European nations which were hit hardest by the crisis. However, analyses of skill formation reform, particularly vocational education and training (VET), have been scant, despite a common problem pressure for reforms emanating from stubbornly high rates of youth unemployment and similar legacies of statist VET. Approach: We investigate VET reforms brought underway in Greece and Italy during and in the aftermath of the crisis, asking how far apprenticeship-like forms of learning within their VET systems were strengthened. Empirically, we base our analysis on primary and secondary sources, having conducted semi-structured expert interviews in Greece and Italy in 2019. Results: We find that both countries attempted to strengthen the role of apprenticeship and work-based learning, but that politics differed across the two cases in the context of the Eurozone crisis. While in Italy, reforms were 'internalised' and shaped by domestic politics, Greek reforms were largely driven exogenously by the negotiations with the Troika. Conclusion: Although Italy and Greece have undertaken reforms to reduce the dominance of the state in VET provision by expanding apprenticeships and work-based learning, these do not amount to large scale changes to the dominant logic of school-based VET provision. In order to boost their potential in terms of practical learning both countries would need to continue on their reform pathways.

Changing skill formation in Greece and Italy - crisis-induced reforms in light of common institutional legacies

Context: After the Eurozone crisis unfolded a decade ago, comparative political economy has investigated reforms of public administration, labour market, welfare state and economic policy particularly in Southern European nations which were hit hardest by the crisis. However, analyses of skill formation reform, particularly vocational education and training (VET), have been scant, despite a common problem pressure for reforms emanating from stubbornly high rates of youth unemployment and similar legacies of statist VET. Approach: We investigate VET reforms brought underway in Greece and Italy during and in the aftermath of the crisis, asking how far apprenticeship-like forms of learning within their VET systems were strengthened. Empirically, we base our analysis on primary and secondary sources, having conducted semi-structured expert interviews in Greece and Italy in 2019. Results: We find that both countries attempted to strengthen the role of apprenticeship and work-based learning, but that politics differed across the two cases in the context of the Eurozone crisis. While in Italy, reforms were \u27internalised\u27 and shaped by domestic politics, Greek reforms were largely driven exogenously by the negotiations with the Troika. Conclusion: Although Italy and Greece have undertaken reforms to reduce the dominance of the state in VET provision by expanding apprenticeships and work-based learning, these do not amount to large scale changes to the dominant logic of school-based VET provision. In order to boost their potential in terms of practical learning both countries would need to continue on their reform pathways. (DIPF/Orig.

Get Organised: The 'Do's' Preceding Successful Field Research

There is no shortage in the political science literature on field research regarding issues of research design, methodology, and data evaluation. Yet, the practical and organisational intricacies that precede successful fieldwork are frequently overlooked. This lack of methodical advice may be due to the impression that field research is highly contextual, and so case-specific that general guidelines, which apply to all field research endeavours alike, are inconceivable. While we acknowledge the organisational complexity of field research, we disagree with the notion that the preparatory dimension of fieldwork is by necessity unique for every undertaking. Rather, recommendations for common challenges that occur during the preparation and organisation phase of a field trip can be identified and formulated. Consequently, we present and discuss ten organisational ?do's? preceding successful field research. Current graduate students and future field researchers will regard these ten pointers as useful hints in the organisation of their own endeavour. While the list is by no means exhaustive, the ten recommendations will lower the organisational entry costs of aspiring field researchers, and enable them to hit the ground running when arriving in the field

Between conflict and cooperation : Apprenticeship reforms in Britain, Ireland and Australia during economic crises

Português brasileiro:Até que ponto as reformas que promoveram a formação dual foram bem sucedidas em países que não possuem tradições tão sólidas de parceria social nas relações industriais, a saber: Austrália, Irlanda e Reino Unido. Com base nestes três estudos de caso, demonstra-se que o aparato governamental é um fator importante e que molda os resultados das reformas da aprendizagem; os governos progressistas promoveram abordagens cooperativas que reuniram sindicatos e empregadores nas reformas da aprendizagem, enquanto que o governo, neoliberal, de Tatcher, reduziu a influência dos sindicatos e impulsionou a sua mercantilização.publishe

Conflito e cooperação: reformas da formação profissional no Reino Unido, na Irlanda e na Austrália durante as crises econômicas

In this article, I discuss to what extent reforms promoting dual training are successful in countries, which lack well-established traditions of social partnership in industrial relations, namely Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. On the basis of three condensed case studies, I show that government partisanship is an important factor that shapes apprenticeship reform outcomes: Left and centrist governments promoted cooperative approaches that brought together unions and employers in apprenticeship reforms, whereas the neoliberal, right Thatcher government curtailed union influence in training and pursued a course of marketization.En qué medida las reformas que promovieron la formación dual han tenido éxito en países que no cuentan con fuertes tradiciones de la colaboración social en las relaciones laborales, a saber: Australia, Irlanda y el Reino Unido. Sobre la base de estos tres estudios de caso, se muestra que el aparato de gobierno es un factor importante que da forma a los resultados de las reformas de aprendizaje; los gobiernos progresistas han promovido los enfoques de cooperación que reunieron los sindicatos y los empleadores en las reformas de aprendizaje, mientras que el gobierno, neoliberal, de Thatcher, reduce la influencia de los sindicatos y aumentó su mercantilización.Dans quelle mesure les réformes qui ont favorisé la formation en alternance ont été couronnés de succès dans les pays qui ne disposent pas de telles fortes traditions de partenariat social dans les relations industrielles, à savoir: l'Australie, l'Irlande et le Royaume-Uni. Sur la base de ces trois études de cas, il montre que l'appareil gouvernemental est un facteur important qui façonne les résultats des réformes d'apprentissage; les gouvernements progressistes ont favorisé des approches coopératives qui ont réuni les syndicats et les employeurs dans les réformes d'apprentissage, alors que le gouvernement, néolibérale, de Thatcher, a réduit l'influence des syndicats et stimulé leur marchandisation.Até que ponto as reformas que promoveram a formação dual foram bem sucedidas em países que não possuem tradições tão sólidas de parceria social nas relações industriais, a saber: Austrália, Irlanda e Reino Unido. Com base nesses três estudos de caso, demonstra-se que o aparato governamental é um fator importante e que molda os resultados das reformas da aprendizagem. Além disso, os governos progressistas promoveram abordagens cooperativas que reuniram sindicatos e empregadores nas reformas da aprendizagem, enquanto o governo neoliberal de Tatcher reduziu a influência dos sindicatos e impulsionou a sua mercantilização

"Mission impossible"? : Aufbau dualer Berufsausbildung in England und Irland

Die Weiterverbreitung des Modells der dualen Ausbildung gilt vielen als probates Mittel zur Bekämpfung der Jugendarbeitslosigkeit in Europa. Der Artikel untersucht, inwiefern Versuche des Aufbaus dualer Ausbildungsstrukturen auch in Ländern erfolgreich sein können, die über keine sozialpartnerschaftliche Tradition in der Berufsbildungspolitik verfügen. Wir zeigen anhand von Fallstudien zur Berufsbildungspolitik in England und Irland, dass der Aufbau dualer Berufsbildungsstrukturen durchaus möglich ist. Jedoch sind nationale politische Interessen, insbesondere von Regierungsparteien, relevant für deren Entstehung. Die konservativen Thatcher-Regierungen haben im Laufe der 1980er Jahre den Einfluss der Gewerkschaften auf die Berufsbildung in England nachhaltig geschwächt. Infolgedessen ist der Aufbau einer dualen Berufsbildung regelmäßig gescheitert. Hingegen zeigt der irische Fall, dass die Etablierung solcher Strukturen in liberalen Marktwirtschaften möglich ist. Hier verfolgten Koalitionsregierungen einen sozialpartnerschaftlichen Ansatz und legten somit die Grundlagen für die Kooperation zwischen Gewerkschaften und Arbeitgebern in der dualen Ausbildung.publishe

Reforming Education Governance Through Local Capacity-building : A Case Study of the “Learning Locally” Programme in Germany

This report is an assessment of the programme "Lernen vor Ort" [LvO – "Learning Locally"] initiated by the German federal government in order to support the development of local governance structures in education. LvO ran between 2009 and 2014 in about 40 participating local governments, which were chosen in a competitive process. It aimed at promoting cooperation between local governments and civil society stakeholders, creating sustainable structures in educational monitoring, management and consulting as well as improving local capacities in knowledge management. Besides providing important background information on the German education system and the design of the LvO programme, this study engages in five detailed case studies of the implementation of the LvO programme in different local authorities. These studies are mainly based on approximately 90 interviews with local and national experts, and stakeholders. The main findings are that LvO can be regarded as a success due to the fact that it had a lasting and probably sustainable impact in the cases studied in this report, in particular with regard to those structures that produce concrete and visible outputs, such as educational monitoring. The case studies also reveal a number of local factors that influence the relative effectiveness of the implementation of the programme. Political leadership and support from the head of the local government are crucial, in particular during critical situations during the implementation. Furthermore, the impact of the programme was particularly positive, when the process of local implementation was characterised by clear communication strategies, broad stakeholder involvement in governing bodies and the implementation of concrete goals and projects. However, relative success also depended on important background factors such as local socio-economic conditions as well as financial and administrative capacities, which could not be adressed directly by the programme’s goals. The report concludes with some general recommendations and lessons learned of relevance for other countries