Stakeholder Participation in the Implementation of Educational Policies: the case of Vocational Education and Training (VET) Transitions in Azerbaijan

Policy processes in education are shifting away from top-down structures towards horizontal interactions involving the coordination and cooperation amongst the key actors playing various roles in the organizational settings. Barriers in implementation of education policies include the coordination and cooperation challenges amongst stakeholders along with the pushback reactions against the reforms. Current linear governance systems are being challenged by pressures for more participatory policy processes. As participatory approaches become more commonly applied, policy makers use various methods to involve a range of stakeholders in the policy design and the implementation processes. This research explores the participatory approach to policymaking and implementation through application of Programmatic Action Framework (PAF) to the case about Vocational Education and Training (VET) system in the government of Azerbaijan, while primarily exploring the roles of actors in the process. The study also intends to identify the barriers and facilitators preventing and enabling this participation during VET policy implementation processes. As the study holds the qualitative research design with application of the case-study method, the possible challenge the author may face is the lack of motivation by institutional representatives to share main insights due to bureaucracy and confidentiality settings in place during semi-structured interviews. Envisioned contribution of this research is to present suggestions for more successful implementation of the VET policies by the multiple stakeholders so that the quality and performance of this field can be harmonized.