How Does the Bologna Process Challenge the National Traditions of Higher Education Institutions?

Abstract

In the European Union, the dispersion of authority away from the central government resulting from reallocation of power upwards (to the EU), downwards (to the regions, local authorities) and sideways (to public/private networks) (Hooghe and Marks 2001) has led to the development of the notion of multi-level governance and to the use of soft law to coordinate the implementation of European policies. The implementation of the Bologna Process also uses soft law procedures to coordinate what are complex, multi-level and functionally interdependent governance systems (Borras and Jacobsson 2004). This makes it difficult to understand the change processes taking place at the local level (e.g., higher education institutions) as the Bologna Process moves into the implementation phase. In this chapter an attempt is made to use the grid/group Cultural Theory to better understand the course of those local level changes using the implementation of the Bologna Process in Portugal as a case study. This chapter also refers to the cultural dimension that is becoming embedded in the implementation of the Bologna Process. The lens of the Cultural Theory is used to better understand both the course of the changes at the local level and the web of interactions that take place in the pays reel (Neave 2005) trying to capture the cultural bias of different arguments emerging within the course of Bologna. At the European level (e.g., the Ministers responsible for higher education, the Bologna Follow-up Group) the implementation of the Bologna Process has been presented as a success story: “We take note of the significant progress made towards our goals, as set out in the General Report 2003–2005” (Bergen Communique 2005, p. 254), and: The key message is that the Bologna Process is working. Almost all participating countries have embarked upon the reform process along the lines articulated by Ministers in Bologna in 1999. The great majority of countries fall within the categories of “Excellent Performance” or “Very Good Performance”. (Bologna Follow-up Group 2005, p. 26)