Adult Basic Education between economics and human rights – A Network Diffusion Model

As a policy field, Adult Basic Education (ABE) is situated between education policy and active labor market policy as well as being ingrained in human rights discourses. Strong global, rights-centered discourse on ABE has accelerated in the 1970s; neo-liberal justifications for the upskilling of individuals followed suit. In particular, concerning the vast diversity of countries’ educational, economic and political systems the observation of accelerating isomorphism concerning education policy is striking (Meyer et al. 1997). However, empirical research has scarcely focused on ABE, not to mention its global spreading. In this paper, I use a network diffusion model to test which interrelations of countries prove influential in the policy spread. The focus lies specifically on networks of cultural similarity, trade, colonial legacies, and spatial proximity. The networks cover a time frame from 1900 until 2010 and 174 distinct countries. I will show the merits of introducing neo-institutionalist arguments into a relationally oriented diffusion study using social network analysis and complement the wider array of diffusion studies which currently lack either a network oriented and/or a cultural approach. Indeed, following neo-institutionalist theory, global discourse in the world society proves very influential in the diffusion process. Nevertheless, possible free rider effects (Jahn 2006) request a deeper investigation. This paper examines which determinants are most influential on the adoption of policies concerning the basic education of adults. The contribution, thereby, adds to the understanding of diffusion processes of policies at the crossroads of global human rights and economic discourses.