Fortschritt und Verantwortung! Education as a rallying cry in Luxembourg’s general elections of 1974

in History of Education (2016), 45(5), 638-652

Education became a rallying cry in Luxembourg’s general elections of 1974. For the first time in the country’s post-war history, the Socialists and Democrats entered the government, with new plans for ... [more ▼]

Education became a rallying cry in Luxembourg’s general elections of 1974. For the first time in the country’s post-war history, the Socialists and Democrats entered the government, with new plans for education. The unbroken rule of almost 30 years by the Christian Democrats was over. New ‘global’ educational concepts were employed to introduce changes in the national curriculum, the aim being a transformation from an elite to a mass system of participation. One of these changes was the idea of the comprehensive school, which divided the electorates, parties and press respectively. Yet, this fundamental change has received little attention in the academic literature. What were the differences between the parties when it came to education policy? By intersecting politics, globalisation and education, this paper examines the impact of the election events of 1974 on Luxembourg’s political discourse. The conclusion points to the central role the parties played in the proliferation of new educational norms. [less ▲]

Le spectre du tronc commun

Article for general public (2016)

Pourquoi le Luxembourg s'inquiète-t-il toujours de l'école polyvalente, une réforme adoptée par le Parlement national en 1979, et qui ne fut jamais été appliquée comme prévu dans les années 1980 ? Plus de ... [more ▼]

Pourquoi le Luxembourg s'inquiète-t-il toujours de l'école polyvalente, une réforme adoptée par le Parlement national en 1979, et qui ne fut jamais été appliquée comme prévu dans les années 1980 ? Plus de trois décennies se sont écoulées et, pour un certain nombre de raisons, le spectre de l'école polyvalente continue à hanter les acteurs de l'éducation publique au Luxembourg. Cette inquiétude se manifeste notamment par un désir constant de la part des gouvernements luxembourgeois successifs d'augmenter le nombre d'élèves étudiant au lycée classique et d’autre part d'abaisser le nombre d'élèves qui poursuivent leurs études en régime préparatoire. Le ministre de l'Éducation Claude Meisch et le secrétaire d'État à l'Éducation Marc Hansen ont fait savoir qu'ils étaient prêts à aborder la question très prochainement. [less ▲]

Fabricating National Unity in Torn Contexts: World War I in the Multilingual Countries of Switzerland and Luxembourg

in Gearóid, Barry; Dal Lago, Enrico; Healy, Róisín (Eds.) Small Nations and Colonial Peripheries in World War I (2016)

Switzerland and Luxembourg are both multilingual countries whose national raison d’être does not refer to one language or culture. During the First World War, both countries experienced inner political ... [more ▼]

Switzerland and Luxembourg are both multilingual countries whose national raison d’être does not refer to one language or culture. During the First World War, both countries experienced inner political conflicts; consequently, the effects of the war on the education of national citizens are of crucial interest. In this article, we analyse teacher journals to highlight the ideas and principles of the 1910s and relate them to the topics of civics, war and peace. In this way, we examine how these two countries interpreted neutrality, shared a commitment to and addressed multilingualism, and sought to educate national citizens. In Switzerland, two major teacher journals immediately reacted to the new circumstance of war with articles and lessons for schools about war and peace, whereas in Luxembourg similar articles appeared only after 1916. Both countries experienced similar discussions about WWI and national unity, peace, and daily difficulties in economic, social and political life. Additionally, some aspects of neutrality were addressed similarly but fostered different aims regarding the military or solidarity. Thus, although the First World War challenged schools – and therefore teachers – and led to different arguments in the two countries on the way that national citizens were to be educated, the proclamations of patriotism, virtues and morals were similar. [less ▲]

Educating future citizens in between Mischkultur nationalism and authorities: traces from teachers’ journals

in History of Education (2015), 44(5), 537-552

By analysing teachers’ journals in Luxembourg from 1892 to 1939, this paper argues that the teaching press played an active role in the promotion of Luxembourg’s forthcoming cultural identification. Set ... [more ▼]

By analysing teachers’ journals in Luxembourg from 1892 to 1939, this paper argues that the teaching press played an active role in the promotion of Luxembourg’s forthcoming cultural identification. Set amid the growing importance of their professionalisation and self-understanding, teachers became recognised as an essential force for the national coherence of the young multilingual nation-state. By identifying common themes in these discussions – the role of state, patriotism, and the hegemony of the church in particular – this paper asks the following question: Given the linguistic and cultural diversity of the country, what markers were used in education to construct national identity and which other identities were promoted alongside or at the expense of national identity? This study concludes by suggesting that Luxembourgish teachers went to great lengths to contribute towards and shape the concept of ‘mixed culture’ (Mischkultur), which was to become the foundation of the country’s image of cosmopolitanism. [less ▲]

Globalization in Finnish and West German Educational Rhetoric, 1960-1970

in Tröhler, Daniel; Lenz, Thomas (Eds.) Trajectories in the Development of Modern School Systems: Between the National and the Global (2015)

By using Finland and West Germany as case studies from the 1960s and 1970s, this chapter argues that global actors have been crucial in the development of national education systems and their curricula ... [more ▼]

By using Finland and West Germany as case studies from the 1960s and 1970s, this chapter argues that global actors have been crucial in the development of national education systems and their curricula. At a rhetorical level, new education policies were rendered nationally in a way that was meant to encourage increased social mobilization and equality amongst the Finnish and West German publics, but they also brought everything back to transnational questions on how to rationalize the educational sector as part of the welfare state, optimize economic growth and international competitiveness, and improve the usefulness of individuals. Then, how did Finland—a European hinterland and socio-economically backward nation-state in 1945—develop into a paragon of egalitarian education state? How did West Germany—a European laggard in public education until the mid-1960s, shaken by its immediate past and destitute in 1945—became again known as a respectable education society? These questions have implications for future research in this study field, which has previously been surprisingly silent about globalized realms. [less ▲]

States of Education: Reflections on the Relationship between Welfare State and Education in Finland and the Federal Republic of Germany

Doctoral thesis (2013)

This PhD thesis examines the impact of political ideologies on the welfare state developments of the Republic of Finland and Federal Republic of Germany. It explores the issue by asking whether different ... [more ▼]

This PhD thesis examines the impact of political ideologies on the welfare state developments of the Republic of Finland and Federal Republic of Germany. It explores the issue by asking whether different ideas of ruling parties mattered in these developments or were there other factors, such as the level of economic strength, which became more influential in explaining cross-national welfare variations. Whereas mainstream analysts of comparative social policy since the early 1990s have taken for granted that politics mattered in the immediate post-war era reflecting the more pronounced left-right, catholic-protestant and other historical cleavages, this research moves beyond the oversimplified traditional welfare regime typologies and instead considers how welfare systems became intertwined with other more control-focused aspects of state development: in effect, whether and how they became instruments of discipline through educating citizens. Drawing on the Foucauldian idea of power of normalisation – and using educational expansion of the 1960s as a case study – it is suggested that there are aspects of the development of Finnish and West German policing which had a direct bearing on the emergence of the welfare state. [less ▲]