The discourse of social justice within European education policy developments: the example of key competences and indicator development towards assuring the continuation of democracy

Abstract

Neo-liberal discourse is described by many critical education researchers as almost the
only discourse within European education policy making. However, although this discourse clearly
exists and is powerful, the author identifies an alternative discourse within European Union policy
making which incorporates narratives of social justice, solidarity and democracy, particularly citing
education as a vehicle for these narratives. This article highlights the place of this alternative discourse
in the policy process of the identification of key competences and the creation of indicators by which
the competences can be evaluated. It uses official texts and direct experience of working in the
European Commission’s Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning (CRELL) to explain this narrative
further, including the process of the development of indicators on certain key competences, such as
civic competence and learning to learn and the social justice dialogue that forms the basis for these
discussions. The article argues that the absence from critical educational researchers’ debates of this
narrative leads to an oversimplified understanding of European policy processes.

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