Policy borrowing and policy learning in the initial VET reforms of Lithuania after 1990

• Winterton, Jonathan
• Tūtlys, Vidmantas
• Kaminskienė, Lina

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Policy learning; VET policy; National VET system.

ENThis chapter describes patterns of application of policy borrowing and policy learning approaches in the design and implementation of the initial VET (further IVET) policy and instruments in Lithuania from 1990 to the date at the time of writing (October 2015). This aim is achieved by: (1) identifying the main factors that have defined the application of policy borrowing and policy learning approaches; (2) disclosing the balance between policy borrowing and policy learning in the different periods of IVET reform and VET policy design; (3) analyzing implications of policy borrowing and policy learning for the development of the VET system institutional model. The analysis demonstrates that the usage of policy borrowing and policy learning in the reforms of IVET and the development of the national qualification system of Lithuania was strongly influenced by the characteristics of institutional changes in the VET system. Radical post-soviet reforms of VET defined wider applications of policy borrowing, while the later adjustment of IVET and lifelong learning policies to the requirements of EU accession and integration, as well as the challenges of implementing new measures and instruments (Lithuanian Qualifications Framework, sectoral occupational standards), opened more possibilities for the application and development of policy learning. [eLABa]