Historical Institutionalism in Education and Globalization

Abstract

Abstract Historical new institutionalism (HI) emphasizes the relevance of temporal sequences, path dependencies, and critical junctures in the study of institutional change. Through this lens, globalization is typically analyzed in terms of how it is related to distinct national trajectories of institutional development. This chapter first presents key concepts of HI and its contributions linked to the study of education, training, and globalization. It then outlines how the historical-institutional analysis of globalization pressures is linked to different modes of change. Next, the chapter offers a case study of recent reforms in the German vocational education and training sector related to global educational expansion and academization. Findings include that in this sector the main pattern of gradual institutional change is layering, implying that new institutions are added on top of existing ones. The conclusion discusses the proposed sectoral HI perspective as well as prospects for further research at the nexus of HI, education, and globalization.