Book contents
- A Loud but Noisy Signal?
- Cambridge Studies in the Comparative Politics of Education
- A Loud but Noisy Signal?
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Theoretical Framework
- Part I Quantitative Evidence: Attitudes, Public Opinion, and Politics
- Part II Qualitative Evidence: The Role of Public Opinion in Education Reforms in Western Europe
- 5 Germany
- 6 Sweden
- 7 England
- 8 Spain
- 9 Comparative Summary and Conclusions
- References
- Index
5 - Germany
from Part II - Qualitative Evidence: The Role of Public Opinion in Education Reforms in Western Europe
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 September 2020
- A Loud but Noisy Signal?
- Cambridge Studies in the Comparative Politics of Education
- A Loud but Noisy Signal?
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Theoretical Framework
- Part I Quantitative Evidence: Attitudes, Public Opinion, and Politics
- Part II Qualitative Evidence: The Role of Public Opinion in Education Reforms in Western Europe
- 5 Germany
- 6 Sweden
- 7 England
- 8 Spain
- 9 Comparative Summary and Conclusions
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter analyzes the role of public opinion in the politics of education reform in Germany. Being a federalist country, policy-making happens both at the federal level and the subnational (Land) level. We focus on Baden-Wurttemberg in the south and North Rhine-Westphalia in the west of Germany. We identify salient issues with coherent popular attitudes (such as the reform of upper secondary academic education), where we find a strong influence of public opinion on policy-making (“loud politics”). In the case of vocational education and training, in contrast, interest groups and “quiet politics” rule. Lastly, the domain of school reform politics, in particular the institutional setup of the secondary school system, is an area of “loud but noisy politics” with a high degree of partisan contestation. Thus, the theoretical framework developed in Chapter 2 is broadly confirmed.
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- A Loud but Noisy Signal?Public Opinion and Education Reform in Western Europe, pp. 157 - 204Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020