Reframing (I)liberal Education Policy in Small Western European States: Party Discourses and the Politics of Education

Abstract

In recent years, education policy in Western Europe has been increasingly reframed within broader struggles over identity, equality, and the role of the state. While much of the literature focuses on large countries such as France, Germany, or the United Kingdom, smaller Western European EU states—such as the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, and Finland—offer a distinct vantage point for examining how liberal education traditions adapt to changing political and ideological pressures. The aim of this conference presentation is to investigate how key political parties in these states have re-framed education policy over the past decade, particularly in response to challenges linked to multiculturalism, digital transformation, and the growing politicisation of “values” in schooling. Drawing on party manifestos and policy documents, the analysis explores how traditionally liberal education models—anchored in autonomy, inclusion, and equal opportunity—are being reinterpreted within different ideological projects. In the Netherlands, debates over civic education and religious schooling reveal a tension between liberal tolerance and cultural integration. In Denmark, discussions about “formation” (dannelse) and national identity have increasingly merged with welfare-state concerns and migration politics. In Ireland, party discourses reflect an emerging effort to reconcile pluralism with state oversight, as education remains a central yet under-politicised policy field. Finland’s case, finally, highlights how a long-standing consensus around equality in education is gradually being challenged by global competitiveness narratives. By comparing these small states, the paper argues that liberal education policy is not a stable or depoliticised domain but a site where political actors negotiate the boundaries between openness and control, autonomy and accountability. The findings suggest that even in countries with strong liberal and egalitarian legacies, education policy is being reframed through new ideological lenses—linking it to questions of nationhood, cohesion, and global competitiveness. The paper concludes by reflecting on what these shifts reveal about the future of liberal education in a transforming Europe.