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In the context of globalising higher education (HE) policies, there is an increasing interest among scholars in detecting patterns of policy change, including the rate and magnitude of policy change and the direction of change (convergence or divergence) This paper adds to that literature by comparing the pattern of policy change and by providing theory-based explanations for HE policy change. The national quality assurance (QA) policies for universities in England and the Netherlands were compared (1985–2005) based on an analytical framework drawing on new institutionalism. Key findings were that both QA systems moved in the direction of an extrinsic QA orientation, but the differences between the two systems were larger in 2005 and in 1985. The degree of policy change in England was more incremental, the Dutch case showing rather radical change in 2002. These dissimilarities can be ascribed to the different policy change mechanism: bricolage and translation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports some of the findings from a four-year funded comparative research project into state policy on separate schools for religious minorities in England and the Netherlands. The project focuses on two religious groups—evangelical Christians and Muslims. In both countries there has been a recent growth in the number of schools run by both religious groups. In the Netherlands there are now more than 30 Muslim schools fully-funded by the state, while in England there is a larger number, but only four are state-funded. The majority are fee paying private schools. Similarly, in both countries there has been a recent growth in the number of schools run by evangelical Christians. In the Netherlands these schools are again fully funded by the state while, in England, none of about 60 evangelical Christian schools is funded. This paper presents a framework for the comparison and evaluation of policies on separate religious schools, and discusses some of the wider implications of the differences between the policies of the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]