Governing education without reform: the power of the example

Abstract

There is an increasing emphasis today on different forms of evidence-based policy in education. Several authors address the related emergence of new patterns of governing and describe forms of governing by numbers and related practices of governing by comparison. There is, however, less focus on the governmental use of soft evidence such as examples of good practice. Drawing on the analysis of governing practices in Belgium (Flanders) and Europe, this article attempts to examine in detail how soft evidence, among other elements, constitutes the current governing configuration. It is argued that this configuration includes several mechanisms that appear as evident but have far-reaching consequences: imposing spaces of meaning and discussion, deciding on what is within one's control and what is not, making people believe there is no longer something beyond themselves that is an excuse for actual self-improvement. What takes shape as part of techniques of contextualization, personalization, and permanent monitoring is ‘the power of the example’: learning from examples in view of increased performance. The conclusion expresses some concerns about the tendencies toward a manipulative society.

Keywords:

• governing
• evidence-based policy
• power
• globalization
• Europe
• education

Notes

1. All citations from Dutch and French documents, articles and books are translated by the author.

2. PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is a worldwide study by the OECD testing 15 year olds’ skills and knowledge.

3. For a more detailed discussion of personalization in the field of education, although stressing more specific pedagogical issues, see, for instance, Hartley, 2008.

4. Several issues need further study including the exact relation between current synoptical power and the (re-)introduction of forms of sovereignty, and how ‘the power of the example’ differs from and relates to new modalities of the exercise of power such as ‘the power of feedback’: see Simons (2014) for a more detailed elaboration.

5. For the online tool, see: http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/progress_en.htm.