Matias Gardin

Transnational skills development in post-industrial knowledge economies: the case of Luxembourg and the Greater Region

Abstract Luxembourg exhibits strong transnational traits within its skills regime, defying any neat fit with existing educational typologies. It is characterised by its high-skill economy, cross-cultural characteristics, and central location within the European Union. As such, Luxembourg has developed a hybrid strategy of responding to labour market challenges, and by that, to skills development. Our institutionalist analysis finds that Luxembourg is involved in transnational skills development in three complementary ways: (a) employers in Luxembourg extensively recruit skilled workers at the European and global levels, but also (b) heavily rely on the distinct skills sets of cross-border commuters from the neighbouring regions of Belgium, France, and Germany (the Greater Region). Furthermore, (c) Luxembourg combines institutional elements of these neighbouring countries – representing distinct models of capitalism and welfare – within its own education system. In combining the specific strengths of different national skills regimes, institutional bricolage represents a core feature of Luxembourg’s highly stratified system of skill formation. Our analytical framework refers to two major comparative political economy perspectives, namely the welfare state and varieties of capitalism approaches, to analyse how Luxembourg has responded to deindustrialisation by creating a domestic transnational labour market.

Fabricating National Unity in Torn Contexts: World War I in the Multilingual Countries of Switzerland and Luxembourg

This edited volume examines World War I comparatively in both small nations and colonial peripheries. Chapters address subject nations within Europe such as Ireland and Poland; neutral states, such as Sweden and Spain; and colonies like German East Africa.This edited volume examines World War I comparatively in both small nations and colonial peripheries. Chapters address subject nations within Europe such as Ireland and Poland; neutral states, such as Sweden and Spain; and colonies like German East Africa.

Educating future citizens in between Mischkultur nationalism and authorities: traces from teachers’ journals

By analysing teachers’ journals in Luxembourg from 1892 to 1939, this paper argues that the teaching press played an active role in the promotion of Luxembourg’s forthcoming cultural identification. Set amid the growing importance of their professionalisation and self- understanding, teachers became recognised as an essential force for the national coherence of the young multilingual nation-state. By identifying common themes in these discussions – the role of state, patriotism, and the hegemony of the church in particular – this paper asks the following question: Given the linguistic and cultural diversity of the country, what markers were used in education to construct national identity and which other identities were promoted alongside or at the expense of national identity? This study concludes by suggesting that Luxembourgish teachers went to great lengths to contribute towards and shape the concept of ‘mixed culture’ (Mischkultur), which was to become the foundation of the country’s image of cosmopolitanism.

Fortschritt Und Verantwortung! Education as a Rallying Cry in Luxembourg's General Elections of 1974.

Abstract Education became a rallying cry in Luxembourg’s general elections of 1974. For the first time in the country’s post-war history, the Socialists and Democrats entered the government, with new plans for education. The unbroken rule of almost 30 years by the Christian Democrats was over. New ‘global’ educational concepts were employed to introduce changes in the national curriculum, the aim being a transformation from an elite to a mass system of participation. One of these changes was the idea of the comprehensive school, which divided the electorates, parties and press respectively. Yet, this fundamental change has received little attention in the academic literature. What were the differences between the parties when it came to education policy? By intersecting politics, globalisation and education, this paper examines the impact of the election events of 1974 on Luxembourg’s political discourse. The conclusion points to the central role the parties played in the proliferation of new educational norms.