Who gets a degree? Access to tertiary education in Europe 1950-2009

Presentation by: Aleš Bartušek, of the Education Policy Centre, Faculty of Education, at the Charles University, Czech Republic.

Abstract

The study Who gets a degree? Access to tertiary education in Europe 1950-2009 (both in Czech and English) is the output of the fourth stage of the project Inequality in Access to Higher and Tertiary Education in the Czech Republic and other European countries, carried out since 2007 by the Education Policy Centre (EPC) at the Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague and supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic.

The objective of the first stage of the project in 2007 was to find out whether, to what extent and how it is possible to use databases of the first two rounds of the European Social Survey conducted in 2002/2003 (ESS-1) and 2004/2005 (ESS-2) for the purpose of examining and analysing the degree of inequality in access to tertiary education in the Czech Republic and other European countries. Another aim was to develop, on the basis of analyses of the combined set of data from the first two ESS rounds, indicators and a model (models) of inter-generational transmission of inequalities in access to tertiary education, and to interpret the outcomes. Finally, the third objective was to propose implementation of the project in the following stages.

The output of the first stage of the project was an analytical study Inequality and Access to Tertiary Education: European Countries 1950-2005, published as an EPC working paper in 2007. The study contained a definition of basic theoretical and conceptual contexts, a proposal for methodological approaches and the actual analysis of 22 European countries (the analysed overall set of data included 72 694 respondents). The study was developed in both Czech and English versions to be used as part of the OECD project Tertiary Education Review; in the final report (OECD 2008) the outcomes of the study were indeed used and quoted. The English version of the study was sent to some thirty international experts for comments. The comments received were used by the authors during the second stage of project implementation.

The objective of the second stage of the project in 2008 was to develop a more extensive comparative analysis of inequality in access to tertiary education in 23 European countries. In order to achieve it, authors were building on the theoretical basis prepared, tested and commented upon during the first stage as well as, and most importantly, the methodological approach which, however, had to be both upgraded and updated on the basis of the comments and other innovation proposed. The empirical data from the ESS database were expanded to include the relevant data from the third stage of ESS-3 of 2006/2007 and complemented by data from a special Czech national survey conducted at the turn of 2007/2008. The new data made it possible not only to update but also to expand considerably the analysed sets of respondents in most European countries (the analysed set of data included 115 695 respondents), which, understandably, brought a number of major benefits.

The main output of the second stage of the project was the analytical study Who Is More Equal? Access to Tertiary Education in Europe, published by the EPC in 2009. The study was first presented during a major UNESCO conference “Forum on Higher Education: Access, Values, Quality and Competitiveness” in Bucharest in May 2009. It was also presented at some events organised by the Czech and Swedish Presidencies of the Council of the EU in 2009 (for example at the meeting of Directors General for Higher Education and Presidents of Rectors´ Conferences, at the meeting of the Standing Group for Indicators and Benchmarks of the European Commission, or at the meeting of the Bologna Follow-up Group). Because the EPC is participating in a European project EQUALSOC, the study was discussed at the Tallinn workshop, and made available on the EQUALSOC website.

The aim of the third stage of the project in 2009 was to develop a Czech national study (only in Czech) that would describe and explain in more detail the situation and development trends as regards access to tertiary education in the Czech Republic. The study drew on the Czech data from ESS and, most importantly, from the aforementioned special Czech national survey of 2007/2008. The Czech national study, of course, made use of the analytical procedures already developed and the available results of comparisons with other European countries. Moreover, it showed other conceptual, methodological and empirical approaches and new directions in analysing access to tertiary education.

The project has continued in 2010 by the fourth stage introducing several major developments. The EPC has made use of the comments to the previous studies, and has used new data from the fourth stage of ESS-4 of 2008/2009. These data, again, has made it possible to update and further expand the database, to extend the sets of respondents and also to increase the number of countries included in the study. The analysed set of data created by combining national sets for 25 European countries includes a total of 160 685 respondents. The size the individual country sets normally ranges from 4 to 8 thousand respondents.

The study Who gets a degree? Access to tertiary education in Europe 1950-2009 that is now presented is the output of the fourth stage of the project. The study will be presented at the international conference “The Social Dimension and Responsibility of Universities” organised by the Spanish presidency of the EU in Malaga, May 2010, and at the final conference concluding the project EQUALSOC in Amsterdam, June 2010.

The project will continue in 2010/2011 by the fifth stage. Its most important contribution will be in changing the focus, and not limiting it only on access to, and outcomes of, tertiary education. Instead new analyses will try to provide a comprehensive picture of the relationships between family background, access to education, the position of graduates on the labour market and their social status that is they will include also effects of tertiary education. The fifth stage of the project will be completed by an extensive comparative study the working title of which is Tertiary Education Between Origin and Destination.

About the study

The initial chapter places the study within a broader context. The first part of this chapter explains what economic, political and social reasons resulted in expanding higher – or more precisely tertiary – education, and describes how the enlarging of access to this education changed its roles and functions. It is concerned with key concepts, as equal opportunities, inequalities in access to tertiary education and a gradual establishment of the equity principle as one of the main objectives of current education policies. The next part then deals with expansion of tertiary education, which not only facilitates a much higher participation rate, but also necessarily results in diversification of tertiary institutions and changes in their structure. It discusses some interpretations of the impact of expansion on the development of inequalities in access to tertiary education. The final part is dedicated to the Bologna Process and explains the focus of this study.

The second chapter presents the empirical sources of analyses and explains, always using specific examples of two countries, the main methodological approaches developed. It describes the analysed set of ESS data and the variables used, and it explains the method of defining the age cohorts representing the individual historical periods. Moreover, the chapter describes the model used to analyse inequalities in access to tertiary education and the resulting indicator – the Inequality index. Finally, it describes the principle of revising the Inequality index values for the youngest age cohort in the most recent period.

The third, and the longest chapter presents the main results of the analysis of the level of inequalities in access to tertiary education in 25 countries over the last sixty years, and also the results of other subsequent analyses. It assesses the overall level of inequalities in access to tertiary education according to the Inequality index, and documents the development of inequalities in Europe as a whole and in various countries. The chapter tracks the development of the family background structure for various generations of young people, the changing education and occupational profile and social status of their parents and the changes in the impact of various family background factors. Finally, the chapter analyses the influence of expansion of tertiary education on the level of inequality.

The annex to the study presents the results of the analyses carried out for Europe as a whole and for each of the 25 countries examined. The short (one-page) profiles of all countries have been developed using a uniform approach and style. They contain the same indicators which makes them comparable. Before studying individual countries it is advisable to study the profile of Europe which, in addition to providing the results of the analysis, refers to the terms and concepts used, and describes how the indicators have been identified, what they mean and how they can be interpreted.

Author Biography

Aleš Bartušek is a junior researcher in the Education Policy Centre (Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague). His main field of interest are expansion and diversification of tertiary education and equity issues. He holds a master‘s degree in statistics (University of Economics in Prague).