Abstract:

This paper traces the development of the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education since its launch in 2010 and situates it within the context of European Union (EU) governance. The paper adopts a public policy perspective and Ashley Jochim and Peter May’s framework for analysing boundary-spanning policy regimes. Based on critical discourse analysis of social dialogue documents and interviews, we argue that the European Sectoral Social Dialogue in Education, as a distinctive institution, has been profoundly shaped by EU’s boundary-spanning policy regime of education and employment and at the same time has contributed to its reinforcement. In particular, we demonstrate that the sectoral social dialogue committee since its creation has been embedded in wider institutional arrangements, that it seeks to mobilise education employers and workers on a large scale across Europe, and that it aligns with central issue framings and ideas of EU’s boundary-spanning policy regime of education and employment. Thereby, the paper contributes to understanding how institutions, by mobilising interests and channelling attention towards specific issues and ideas, play a central role in structuring and legitimising contemporary EU governance.

In Journal of Education and Work, Volume 36, 2023 – Issue 7-8

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