A new mode of European union governance and its implications for adult education policy in Slovenia

Abstract

The article deals with the open method of coordination (OMC) in the field of education policies. The OMC is presented as a specific form of political governance and not solely a neutral method as declared in its original definitions. Some basic insights into the assumptions of its operation are presented within the theoretical and conceptual framework of a new form of governance, Europeanisation, policy learning theory and the concept of evidence-based policymaking. The theoretical assumptions are highlighted by analysing the concrete mechanisms of OMC functioning (adopted formal public policy and other informal documents and implemented activities) in the European and Slovenian educational space. The article demonstrates how European cooperation in the field of adult education has intensified since 2000 using elements of the OMC, and analyses the implications of these processes on the content of and processes of formulating adult education policies in Slovenia from 2000 onwards. These findings provide an alternative understanding of what has been identified as uncritical reception of the EU agenda in the field of adult education in Slovenia.ł