Lost in Translation: Discursive Obstacles in Educational Policy Transfers

Discourse on a knowledge based society and its connection with the concept of lifelong learning is among the dominant debates within European education circles today. The term knowledge society can be explained as a policy construction which seeks to present things as they are, as they were, and as they should be. This paper deals with the various discourses on lifelong learning, especially where they present difficulties for educational policy transfers in the European Union. In the EU, lifelong learning connects educational and social policies, which today are mostly defined by member states. The European Union has complementary and supporting competences in education and shared competences for social policy (defined in the yet-to-be ratified Lisbon Treaty). But is there one policy that can connect the ideas of 27 different member states? The author argues that the idea of lifelong learning has until now only occurred within a specific epistemic community of international experts and leading persons of international organizations. Changes in Croatia’s educational policy, however, have occurred as a continuation of transition, under the influence of global changes, and as a part of the accession process to the European Union. The changes in definition of European educational initiatives can be attributed to the implementation processes, where a community in practice tends to adapt European meanings to the national environment, specifically the position of its own organization and abilities. It is argued that the difference between national and European discourse is not necessarily an obstacle to the development of national educational policies