ABSTRACT

The development of the modern nation-state was an inherently centralising process. Education policy and the institutionalisation of mass public schooling played a key role in this process, facilitating industrialisation and the generation of mass loyalty toward the state. In almost all federal systems, however, education policy remained an exclusive jurisdiction of the sub-federal level, with important long-term implications. Adopting a most dissimilar case design by using two contrasting cases – Canada and Germany – this paper argues that boundary control has been an effective mechanism for sub-federal governments to consolidate and retain authority over education policy, despite recurring pressures for more harmonisation or even uniformity. Although both federations differ profoundly in terms of their institutional characteristics and macro-sociological contexts, boundary control strategies variously allowed sub-federal actors in both federations to thwart efforts of the federal level to assume a greater role in education policy over time.

摘要

现代民族国家的发展本质上是一个集权的过程。教育政策和大众公立学校的制度化在这一过程中发挥了关键作用，促进了工业化和大众对国家的忠诚度。然而，在几乎所有的联邦体系中，教育政策仍然是次联邦级的专属管辖权，具有重要的长期影响。通过使用两个截然不同的案例——加拿大和德国——采用最不同的案例设计——本文认为边界控制一直是次联邦政府巩固和保留教育政策权力的有效机制，尽管反复出现要求更加协调甚至统一的压力.