Rethinking educational federalism: Using assemblage theory to analyse policy travel and transformation in Argentina

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Romualdo, Vanesa and Wilkins, Andrew. 2025. Rethinking educational federalism: Using assemblage theory to analyse policy travel and transformation in Argentina. Journal of Education Policy, ISSN 0268-0939 [Article] (In Press)

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Official URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02680...

Abstract or Description

The subnational level is significant for understanding how education policies travel, are enacted and reassembled in federal countries. This paper documents how three subnational states in Argentina (Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires City and Neuquén Province) responded to, and in some cases sought to influence, federal state policies for compulsory secondary education between 2006 and 2019. Our focus concerns two federal governments of opposite political orientations and conceptions of educational federalism that were elected in Argentina during this period: Frente para la Victoria and Alianza Cambiemos. Using assemblage theory, we draw on evidence collected through document analysis, secondary data and interviews with 46 policymakers and civil servants to explore how various subnational states were active (and successful) in negotiating and revising education policy directives flowing from federal governments. The resulting formations and entanglements, what we term provincial assemblages, point to adapted proposals of educational change and alternative packages of education reform distinct from federal government prescriptions. To assist others in their analyses of education policy in federal and other contexts, we provide a useful typology for distinguishing the actions and orientations of subnational states through their relationship to federal governments: ‘negotiator’, ‘pioneer’ and ‘outsider’.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2025.2537170

Additional Information:

"This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Education Policy on 5 August 2025, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2025.2537170. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited."

Keywords:

Educational federalism; subnational scale; provincial assemblage; education policy; assemblage theory; Argentina

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Educational Studies

Dates: