Different policies, distinct processes: Three case studies of international infl uence in education policy formation in El Salvador

In this chapter, we analyze and compare three cases of education policy formation in El Salvador, a country affected by civil war from 1980 to 1992. The three cases presented here relate, fi rst, to the “Education with Community Participation” (EDUCO) program, second, to the policy for gender equality in education, and, third, to the policy to include the teaching of values in Salvadoran education. These policies began to develop in the early 1990s and would all be incorporated during the 1990s into policy of the Ministry of Education through the Ten Year Plan and, later, the National Women's Policy. In the three cases, we address contextual aspects as well as the influence of international conferences, international trends, and a range of actors from the local, national, and international levels. In so doing, we explain how and why certain policy formation processes refl ect “imposition,” “negotiation,” or “hybridization.” From our fi ndings, we also: suggest factors that determine the dynamics of education policymaking, refl ect on the ways in which policy formation can be more symbolic than meaningful, and, fi nally, emphasize that globalization is diminishing the predominance of traditional state channels with regard to the formulation of education policy.