Trends in Higher Education Attainment in the Bologna Process

The objective for higher education attainment complements the progression of democratic politics in the region of Europe over recent decades. Higher education attainment has become embraced, as national and supranational policy, while a defining element of the 21st century knowledge economy. As today’s economy based on information exchange values these advances, in the historical context since World War II, this research focuses on higher education attainment trends among the 28 countries in the European Union. The case studies in this research are the Iberian countries, Portugal and Spain. Portugal has demonstrated notable progress in higher education attainment increase across its population in the recent decades. A specific goal for higher education attainment, for forty percent of the population (30 to 34 year olds), was established with the Europe 2020 economic growth strategy in 2010. The European Commission’s objective with Europe 2020 has been exemplary for many of the countries beyond the EU that are part of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).Since the Bologna Process was launched in 1999 the internationalization of higher education has driven higher education attainment as part of policy reform. The 48countries that have become members of the EHEA have the ultimate goal for recognition of academic degrees across countries. This academic recognition is facilitated by assimilating degree structure and national quality assurance. Theoretically, historical institutionalism bridges the rational and sociological explanations for policy reforms at the national and supranational levels (Hall 2010, Pierson 2004). The harmonization objectives in higher education policy are part of reforms that build upon the regional integration put in motion after World War II. While higher education became more inclusive in Europe and the U.S. in the mid-20th century, this objective was not embraced by the Iberian countries until the transitions to democracy in the late 1970s. There is a mixed methodological approach in this research. Qualitative analysis of the Iberian countries considers two dimensions of higher education policy: 1) higher education governance at (national and supranational levels) and 2) the role of stakeholders in policy implementation (academic, public, and private sectors). Quantitative analysis assesses data and reports by Eurostat on higher education attainment, with this being the dependent variable of interest. Considering policies at the national and supranational levels, respects national and Europe 2020 objectives, which ideally are complementary. National attitudes captured by Eurobarometer surveys, provide greater context to consider the objectives for higher education attainment. As higher education attainment has become an accepted national and supranational goal, this supports the premises of the knowledge economy. As the number of graduates increases, a greater proportion of the population demonstrates readiness for employment and productivity. Reconciling the objectives for higher education attainment with opportunities for participation in the economy remains among the greatest challenges in the knowledge economy.