Political Parties and the Institutionalization of Education: A Comparative Analysis of Party Manifestos

Education has been featured prominently in recent election campaigns in different countries. This article explains this observation by the idea of a world culture and the global institutionalization of education. It compares party manifestors of 25 OECD countries from 1946 onward, analyzing how education developed in election campaigns over time and across the political spectrum. The results show that education represents a very consensual issue compared with other policy fields. It also has become increasingly important in campagns over time. Also, although right- and left-wing parties still show differences in their support for education, these have become less pronounced.