Tertiary Education Outcomes in Canada and Denmark: A Comparative Study (original) (raw)
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HIGHER EDUCATION IN SCANDINAVIA
Higher education systems around the world have been undergoing fundamental changes through the last 50 years from more narrow self-sustaining universities for the elite and into mass universities, where new groups of students have been recruited and the number of students enrolled has increased dramatically. As the general level of education in society is growing, universities are adjusting to the role of being a mass educational institution. Universities have been challenged on how to cope with various external pressures, such as forces of globalization and international markets, increased national and international competition for students and research grants, increased pressure to become more efficient economically and regarding students’ length of studies. These various pressures can be seen as expressions of national policy changes from more democratic governance towards new public management principles. In this chapter we will examine how higher education systems in Scandinavia are developing in relation to these challenges. To what extent has the democratic tradition had an impact on the educational systems, and what possible futures can be envisioned? In the development of higher education in Scandinavia, there are different perspectives on education at play. One perspective sees education as a “public good” that benefits society and therefore should be free and accessible for all students who qualify to be admitted. According to this perspective, one of the main purposes of higher education is to add value to all students, so they can contribute to society. Within the framework of the Scandinavian welfare state, this model has prevailed in the organization of education, health care, and social services. Another perspective sees education as mainly an “individual investment”, and therefore students should pay for attending their education. According to this perspective, one of the main purposes of higher education is instead to select the best among the students, in order to sharpen their market value. The notions of competitiveness and individualism play an important role here. In some of the recent reforms in Scandinavia, as well as in the recommendations of the Danish Productivity Commission (2013), we see this second perspective prevailing. Even though the current reforms seem to point towards this second perspective and towards principles of new public management, the Scandinavian countries still have educational systems where higher education as a basis is free of tuition fees, students are supported with study grants, and people generally have access to education. The massive diversification of educational institutions during the 20th century, which also provided local access to education, is currently replaced by a process of centralization of higher education and fusions of existing institutions. The rate of participation in higher education is however still growing, supporting the possibility of social mobility, when students from families without traditions of education enter the higher education system. It remains to be seen, in the light of the possible new reforms, whether this development will continue.
Higher Education in the Nordic Countries
2015
This report concludes the project Evaluation of the Nordic agreement on admission to higher education, which NIFU was awarded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project started in March 2014, and was finalized in December the same year. The aim of the evaluation was to provide a description and a mapping of Nordic student mobility in a European context, as well as conducting an evaluation of how appropriate and effect the Nordic agreement on admission to higher education is. The Nordic Institute of Studies in Innovation, Research and Education (NIFU) has carried out the evaluation and is responsible for the overall conclusions and recommendations. Dr. Elisabeth Hovdhaugen, senior researcher at NIFU, has led the evaluation. Dr. Jannecke Wiers-Jenssen has had the main responsibility for analyzing the qualitative data, while Ms. Mari Elken has had the main responsibility for the qualitative analyses and writing up the report. Together these three NIFU-researchers has written the report. Dr. Agnete Vabø, also senior researcher at NIFU, has contributed in the starting phase of the project, and as quality assurance in the final stages of the project. As part of NIFU quality management, the Director, Sveinung Skule, and the Head of Research for Higher Education, Nicoline Frølich, have also read the report. NIFU would like to thank all respondents that have contributed with their thoughts and reflections on the agreement through the interviews. The research team also wants to thank Aina Alvsvåg and Inger Henaug for help to write up and edit the Norweigan summary of the report.
Access to Higher Education in Canada
Canadian Journal of Higher Education
This paper examines changes in access to higher education in Canada for individuals born in the first half of this century. The data show variations in attendance at, or graduation from, university or non-university postsecondary educational programmes by gender, language group, and socioeconomic background. The statistical analysis uses information from a large, nationally representative sample of Canadians. Results show a process of democratization at the postsecondary non- university level, but only a modest reduction in disparities at the university level.
Less State, More Market: University Reform in Canada and Abroad
Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 2004
Political, economic, and social explanations of higher education reform, and the very definition of "reform," are the main departure points of this volume. The introduction uses the examples of Canada, Austria, Germany, and Japan to show that in all these countries, reform has meant reduced state funding and control and increased reliance on market mechanisms, private sources of funding, and new forms of university governance and management. RÉSUMÉ Pour expliquer la réforme universitaire, les auteurs adoptent comme points de départ des analyses politique, économique, et sociologique. Se référant aux cas canadien, autrichien, allemand, et japonais, les recherches présentées démontrent à quel point la réforme dans tous ces pays envisage une subvention publique réduite, avec moins dʼintervention étatique dans
2012
By examining the different methods and processes by which national data gathering agencies compile and submit their findings to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the authors (1) assess the methodological challenges of accurately reporting tertiary completion and graduation rates cross-nationally; (2) to examine the incongruence of existing internationally comparative data on tertiary completion, particularly within the OECD; and (3) to offer policy recommendations for increasing the congruence and comparability of U.S. higher education data with that of other OECD countries (and the rest of the world).