On the Way to Bucharest: The Bologna Process in Need of a New Sex Appeal?

Transcription

1 On the Way to Bucharest: The Bologna Process in Need of a New Sex Appeal? Contribution to the ACA-Seminar What s New in Brussels? Recent Developments in European Policies and Programmes Brussels, 20 January 2012 Ulrich Teichler International Centre for Higher Education Research Kassel (INCHER-Kassel) University of Kassel, Germany teichler@incher.uni-kassel.de

2 2 Rapid Sequence of Priority Themes in Higher Education Policy o Major examples: Expansion of higher education and economic growth, HE and equality, nonuniversity higher education, practice-orientation, mobility and internationalisation, evaluation and quality improvement, the managerial university, global competition and world-class university, Bologna Process o At least nine major policy campaigns in five decades o Themes tend to be 5-7 years in the forefront of public attention, but the underlying issues persist

3 3 Higher Education Policy Campaigns in Europe Lead by Supra-National Policy Actors o Cooperation, mobility and recognition: Starting in the 1950s; led by Council of Europe, subsequently in cooperation with UNESCO o o o Modernization of the HE system: Starting in the 1960s, led by OECD Student mobility: Getting momentum in the 1980, led by European Commission (DG Education etc.) Cycle system of study programmes and degree; Starting in late 1990s, led by cooperating national ministers o Investment in research and economic success: Starting in 2000, led by European Commission (DG Science)

4 4 The Bologna Process Great Expectations and Mixed Performance o Book on the European higher education reforms of the 1970s: L. Cerych and P. Sabatier. Great Expectations and Mixed Performance (1986). o This title might be an appropriate title for the assessment of most major HE reform policies o The only exception: The ERASMUS success story. Why?

5 5 The Bologna Process an Account after More than a Decade o Enormously lively, though controversial debate o Enormously powerful impact in operational terms: Cycle-system of study programmes and degrees o Mixed results in terms of core aim: contribution to increase number of incoming students from other regions of the world; no evidence of contribution to growth of intra-european student mobility o Mixed feelings about the introduction of the bachelor: What does that mean in terms of curricula and in terms of employment and work of bachelor graduates?

6 6 Developments of Student Mobility (I) o Foreign students from outside Europe: 2.4 % (1999), 3.7 % (2007) o Foreign students from other European countries: 3.0 % (1999), 3.3 % (2007) (each: country means for 32 European countries) Source: U. Teichler, I. Ferencz & B. Wächter (Eds.) Mapping Mobility in European Higher Education. 2 vols. Bonn: DAAD 2011.

7 7 Developments of Student Mobility (II) Ratio of Students with Home Nationality Enrolled Abroad to Resident Students with Home Nationality (%) Ratio Change* Country 1998/ 2002/ 2006/ of absolute of ratio numbers AT Austria CZ Czech Republic DE Germany (+39)** (+ 69) FR France HU Hungary IT Italy NL The Netherlands NO Norway PL Poland UK United Kingdom * Increase/decrease from 1998/99 to 2006/07 ** Change 2002/ /07 Source: Based on Mapping Mobility in Higher Education in Europe, 2011 (not yet published)

8 8 Developments of Student Mobility (III) Periods Abroad During the Course of Study of Graduates from Selected European Countries (%) Bachelor graduates Master graduates Single-cycle/ traditional degrees Country Univ. Other HEIs All Univ. Other HEIs All Univ. Other HEIs All AT Study Various act CZ Study 6 18 Work 6 15 DE Study Various act FR Study Various act IT Study NL Study NO Study PL Study UK Study 4 Source: Schomburg/Teichler, eds. Employability and Mobility of Bachelor Graduates in Europe. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2011.

9 9 Development of Employment and Work of Bachelors (I) Whereabouts of Bachelor Graduates from Selected European Countries (%) Total Solely Employment Solely Total Country Employment Employment + Study Study Study AT University Fachhochschule CZ Czech Republic DE University Fachhochschule HU Hungary IT Italy NL HBO NO University UK Full-time study Part-time study Source: Schomburg/Teichler, eds. Employability and Mobility of Bachelor Graduates in Europe. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2011.

10 10 Development of Employment and Work of Bachelors (II) Bachelor graduates Master graduates Single-cycle/ traditional degrees Univ. Other HEIs All Univ. Other HEIs All Univ. Other HEIs All CZ Managerial/Prof. Position Associate Prof. Position FR Managerial/Prof. Position Associate Prof. Position HU Managerial/Prof. Position Associate Prof. Position NL Managerial/Prof. Position Associate Prof. Position NO Managerial/Prof. Position Associate Prof. Position UK Managerial/Prof. Position Associate Prof. Position Prof. = Professional / Univ. = University Other HEIs = Other Higher Education Institutions (e.g. Fachhochschulen, Grandes Écoles etc.) Source: Schomburg/Teichler, eds. Employability and Mobility of Bachelor Graduates in Europe. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2011.

11 11 Development of Employment and Work of Bachelors (III) Gross Income of Graduates from Selected European Countries (in Euro; arithmetic mean of employed graduates) Bachelor graduates Master graduates Single-cycle/ traditional degrees Univ. Other HEIs All Univ. Other HEIs All Univ. Other HEIs All AT Austria 2,358 2,748 2,532 2,641 2,888 2,705 (monthly) DE Germany 2,448 2,817 2,718 3,012 3,743 3,346 3,070 3,037 3,053 (monthly) FR France1,368 1,575 1,904 2,313 2,383 (net monthly) HU Hungary 8,884 11,958 9,327 (annual) IT Italy1,109 1,109 1,057 1,057 1,110 1,110 (net monthly) NL The Netherlands 2,589 2,040 2,439 2,439 2,476 1,938 NO Norway 38,259 45,228 46,012 (annual) PL Poland (net hourly) Univ. = University; Other HEIs = Other Higher Education Institutions (e.g. Fachhochschulen, Grandes Écoles etc.) Source: Schomburg/Teichler, eds. Employability and Mobility of Bachelor Graduates in Europe. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2011.

12 12 Development of Employment and Work of Bachelors (IV) Strong Vertical Link between Level of Educational Attainment and Position among Graduates from Selected European Countries (% of employed graduates) Bachelor graduates Master graduates Single-cycle/ traditional degrees Univ. Other All Univ. Other All Univ. Other All HEIs HEIs HEIs AT Austria CZ Czech Republic DE Germany FR France IT Italy NL The Netherlands NO Norway PL Poland 60. Source: Schomburg/Teichler, eds. Employability and Mobility of Bachelor Graduates in Europe. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2011.

13 13 Development of Employment and Work of Bachelors (V) Strong Horizontal Link between Level of Educational Attainment and Position among Graduates from Selected European Countries (% of employed graduates) Bachelor graduates Master graduates Single-cycle/ traditional degrees Univ. Other All Univ. Other All Univ. Other All HEIs HEIs HEIs AT Austria CZ Czech Republic DE Germany HU Hungary IT Italy NL The Netherlands NO Norway PL Poland Source: Schomburg/Teichler, eds. Employability and Mobility of Bachelor Graduates in Europe. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers 2011.

14 14 New Policies for 2020 Dominance of Quantitative Targets Somewhat related policies of EU and national ministers o o o 40% Overall enrolment rate in tertiary education Continuation of ERASMUS with larger numbers of mobile students 20% event of student mobility during the course of study

15 15 Critique of Future Policies o Long perpetuation of policy labels does not work; need for a new sex appeal o Average growth targets can only mobilize the middle ground (some have already achieved the targets; others have no chance of reaching the target) o Quantitative policies are not convincing if not linked to substantive aims (futile virtue of substantive neutrality )

16 16 The Future of Student Mobility o Mixed signal of continuation and extension of ERASMUS 1. On the one hand: Continued appreciation of mobility 2. On the other hand: notion that the mobilisation logic of ERASMUS has not worked (in contrast to the mobilisation programme TEMPUS which could be discontinued regarding many Central/Eastern European countries) o The value of mobility declines in the wake of the general internationalisation trend, if the qualitative character does not change o What could be the future substantive objectives of student mobility?

17 17 The Future of Bachelors (I) o The introduction of bachelor programmes and bachelor degrees was not convincingly explained in the Bologna Declaration (prime objective: Mobility) o The rationale of bachelor programmes and degrees also remained vague in the subsequent debates on employability and qualification frameworks o Hidden rationale: Expansion and increased attraction of short-cycle higher education in the wake of continued overall growth of enrolment rate?

18 18 Retrospect of OECD Scenario Published in the 1990s OECD. Redefining Tertiary Education (1997) o Enrolment rate will grow up to about 75% in economically advanced countries o The majority of graduates will not be employed any more in the management/profession sector of the occupation systems, but rather in middle-level positions o It is not assured anymore at such stages of massification that educational investments will yield respective return. What does this mean for motivating youth to learn?

19 19 The Future of Bachelors (II) o There is a need to have a minimum common understanding of the curricular thrusts of bachelor programmes beyond the general calls of the qualification framework and beyond the controversial employability debates. o Curricular visions for bachelor programmes have to be linked with visions of the future of graduate employment and work: Will further enrolment growth be linked with growing vertical stratification of graduates or by a flattening of the occupational hierarchy ( Wisdom of the Many )?

20 20 Conclusion o The Bologna policies have been characterized by a dominance of quantitative and structural objectives and a concurrent avoidance of clear value judgements (academic vs. economic values, elitist vs. egalitarian goals, etc.) (cf. Pavel Zgaga at the Bologna conference of higher education researchers in October 2011). o The only exception is mobility and internationalisation which is widely used as having a consensual support. o Can Bologna policies become sexy again or can they be substituted by successor policies without getting involved into value judgements which had been avoided in the past?