A multiple streams framework analysis of language testing in integration policy

The actors and decision-making processes that shape integration language testing policies remain under-explored. To help address this research gap, the present study draws on elite interviews with top-level bureaucrats and politicians to examine policy changes introducing a compulsory language test for integration in Flanders. Using the Multiple Streams Framework for analysis we highlight how the newly elected Minister of Integration succeeded in elevating language tests on the policy agenda as a solution that would address bureaucratic inconsistencies and the integration of migrants in the labor market. The analysis highlights how the solution was valued for its symbolic function as a motivational tool as well as for its practical utility. We also demonstrate how the approved policy received opposition that threatened to derail the policy implementation process. This study contributes to research on language integration policies by providing a rare look at a full policy cycle and policy dynamics across actors and stages.