Partisan configurations and the provision of continuing vocational education and training by German public adult education centres: An organisational perspective on local governance

Adult learning and education (ALE) is deeply embedded in local governance, yet the influence of political parties on education policy outputs remains underexplored. This study investigates how partisan configurations in German county councils shape continuing vocational education and training (CVET) provision by public adult education centres (Volkshochschulen – vhs). Following partisan theory, the study expects left-wing party strength to expand, and right-wing party strength to reduce, CVET course provision. The analysis combines panel data from the German vhs statistics with panel data on partisan configurations in German county councils from 2008 to 2022, resulting in an analytical sample of n = 812 vhs and N = 10,416 observations. Two-way fixed-effects models are employed to estimate the effects of partisan strength on the number of CVET courses per 1000 inhabitants. The results reveal a positive, statistically significant effect of increasing left-wing party strength, while right-wing strength is not significantly associated with CVET course provision, indicating an asymmetric pattern of partisan influence. The study contributes to research on the political economy and governance of ALE in multi-level systems by linking local partisan configurations to organisational-level policy outputs in public CVET provision.