Center-Right Parties and Post-War Secondary Education
Journal
Comparative Politics
ISSN
0010-4159
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2023-01-01
Author(s)
Abstract
<jats:p>The massification of secondary schooling constitutes the key educational project of the first post-war period. However, the resulting educational structures differed in terms of streaming and standardization. Despite their historical opposition to such expansion, center-right parties
contributed to shaping these reforms. They generally opposed standardization because their distributive strategy rested on support from elites and middle classes. However, their stance on streaming varied. Centre-right parties supported streaming when they were linked to teachers and private
providers who opposed comprehensive reforms, but supported de-streaming where such groups aligned with the left. This article shows how center-right parties in Bavaria, France, and Italy, with common partisan distributive aims, introduced varied public service reforms following from their
links to different vested producers. It argues that theorizing such reforms requires considering both distributive and productive environments.</jats:p>
contributed to shaping these reforms. They generally opposed standardization because their distributive strategy rested on support from elites and middle classes. However, their stance on streaming varied. Centre-right parties supported streaming when they were linked to teachers and private
providers who opposed comprehensive reforms, but supported de-streaming where such groups aligned with the left. This article shows how center-right parties in Bavaria, France, and Italy, with common partisan distributive aims, introduced varied public service reforms following from their
links to different vested producers. It argues that theorizing such reforms requires considering both distributive and productive environments.</jats:p>
Keywords
education policy
partisan politics
organized interests
process tracing
Volume
55
Number
2