International Cooperation, a Strategy to Guarantee the Quality and Continuity of Education Policy

Abstract

Education policies set the main guidelines that frame the education system of a nation. However, the time required to achieve its consolidation is not equivalent to that of a political cycle. If a reform begins at the start of an administration, at its end the implementation of the reform will only be in its initial stages and the results will not show its effect. For a policy to be successful, it is necessary to seek its permanence in time and firmly establish it. Even though the transition between an outgoing and incoming administration is key to the continuity of any policy, it is difficult to achieve reconciliation due to the conflict of interests and political alignments. The presence of an impartial entity that acts as an intermediary becomes necessary, so that the actions to follow can be jointly decided upon. This entity cannot, and must not, be a part of the government’s structure. Therefore, international cooperation represents a highly valuable strategy to guarantee the quality and continuity of projects that comprise the public education policy, without regard to social and political changes.