An Improbable Identification? The Netherlands as a “Reference Society” within the Chilean Educational Policy-Making Debate (2014–2015)

Abstract

This paper investigated a policy-making debate in Chile, by examining the construction of the Netherlands as a new “reference society”. It focused on a reform agenda that aimed at a transformation of the neo-liberal school governance model. Based on the analysis of government documents, parliamentary debates, and media materials, the paper concludes that in addition to the consideration of PISA results the identification with the Netherlands served fundamentally as a political compromise solution.