Hard and Soft Governance of Educational Transitions. Instruments of Self-Governance to (Re-)Direct Student Flows.

In Switzerland, research on educational transitions has predominantly focused on individual trajectories and influencing factors, while the role of educational policy in governing these transitions has received limited attention. This paper addresses this research gap by focusing on the governance mechanisms and instruments that shape the distribution of students among upper-secondary programs, particularly the politically contested vocationally oriented middle schools (VOMSs). Adopting a case study approach, the study employs document analysis, expert interviews, and the Sociology of Conventions (SC) framework to investigate how actors use hard and soft modes of governance to regulate enrolment in specific programs and (re-)direct student flows to meet policy objectives. The findings show that governance instruments, combining hard regulations with soft modes of self-governance, are used to align individual decisions during the transition to upper-secondary education with the respective policy objectives. By highlighting the interplay between policy, modes of governance, and individual agency, the study underscores the potential of SC to enrich educational governance research beyond traditional frameworks.