Did the "Bologna Process" Achieve its Goals? 20 Years of Empirical Evidence on Student Enrolment, Study Success and Labour Market Outcomes

Kroher, Martina; Leuze, Kathrin; Thomsen, Stephan L.; Trunzer, Johannes

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4114283

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Even though more than 20 years of Bologna reforms in Europe were the reason for some recent publications and reviews (Broucker et al, 2019; Dienel, 2019; Kroher et al, 2021; Vögtle, 2019), there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the ‘ social dimension ’ of the Bologna Process . While our results highlighted how the reforms created a new transition and hence new inequalities in German higher education, there is still need for a coherent definition of ‘ disadvantaged groups ’ when monitoring the Bologna Process (Vögtle, 2019: 3).…”

Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A range of reforms were introduced to foster student mobility, employability and comparability of qualifications by ‘harmonising’ (Sorbonne Declaration, 1998) the structure of higher education (Bologna Declaration, 1999). However, this harmonisation process had different implications for the various participating countries – depending on the structure of the tertiary system before the Bologna Process (Kroher et al, 2021; Witte, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In terms of student population, Germany was the largest participating country to implement fundamental changes to the structure of higher education from a single-cycle to a two-cycle system (Kroher et al, 2021: 27; Neugebauer et al, 2016: 51). Therefore, it is not surprising that introducing a consecutive degree structure was a controversial topic at the national level (Liebeskind, 2019: 603; Münch, 2010; Schick, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a lack of monitoring longterm developments of social inequality at the transition to master degree programmes for the whole implementation process. In contrast to smaller and more centrally governed countries, the implementation of the two-cycle degree structure stretched over a period of almost two decades in Germany (Kroher et al, 2021; also see Figure 2). Moreover, it occurred at the same time as a significant increase in the number of students enrolled in German higher education (Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis), 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

Reimer

Schwabe

2022

European Educational Research Journal

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For German higher education, the introduction of a two-cycle study structure resulted in a new transition stage after the completion of the bachelor’s degree. In contrast to some other countries, this structural change was stretched over a relatively long period. At the same time, the number of students enrolled in higher education has increased substantially. Existing empirical evidence indicates that starting a master’s degree programme is socially selective – in favour of students with tertiary qualified parents. Against this backdrop, we analyse how the level of social inequality at the new transition from the bachelor’s to the master’s level has developed over the course of the past two decades. Drawing on data from large-scale DZHW graduate surveys (graduate cohorts from the years 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017), we are able to replicate previous findings showing considerable social inequality at the transition to the master’s level. However, this inequality could not be detected for the 2005 graduate cohort, the ‘early adopters’. It seems that after an initial period of turmoil and uncertainty in the early stages of the implementation process, established patterns of inequality had re-emerged by the 2009 graduate cohort. We discuss the implications of our results for further research and policy-making.

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Section: Summary and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

Reimer

Schwabe

2022

European Educational Research Journal

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“…In the last few decades, more students with a lower preference for education at a university may have entered universities and this type of self-selection may have, in turn, contributed to the stagnation of U wage differentials (e.g., Carneiro and Lee 2011;Kroher et al 2021;Ordemann 2021). However, the incentive to enter university may also have been fostered by expectations about a higher future demand for graduates driven by technological change.…”

Section: Summary and Open Questionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of educational wage differentials for women and men in Germany, from 1996 to 2019

Ordemann

Pfeiffer

2022

J Labour Market Res

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This paper studies the evolution of three higher education wage differentials from 1996 to 2019 in Germany. We distinguish between degrees from academic universities, degrees from universities of applied sciences, and the master craftsman\craftswoman certificate. The educational reference category is a standard degree within the German vocational education and training system. Based on samples of male and female workers from the Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), regression methods show that all three educational wage differentials in 2019 exceeded the ones in 1996. However, workers graduating from universities experienced an inverse u-shape pattern with a maximum of about 0.5 log points around 2012. Since then, their wage differential decreased by nearly ten percent (about 0.045 log points). Although the decrease is not statistically significant at conventional levels, we think that nearly ten percent can be regarded as economically meaningful. We argue that this pattern is related to university expansion and changes in graduates’ subject-choice composition during that expansion. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible alternative explanations.

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Graduates’ early wages in Germany: Does a university’s status of excellence make the difference?

Lang

Schwabe

2023

Research in Social Stratification and Mobility

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Did the "Bologna Process" Achieve its Goals? 20 Years of Empirical Evidence on Student Enrolment, Study Success and Labour Market Outcomes

Cited by 12 publications

References 39 publications

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

Stability or change? Social inequality at the transition from bachelor’s to master’s degree programmes in Germany. Empirical evidence from four graduate cohorts

The evolution of educational wage differentials for women and men in Germany, from 1996 to 2019

Graduates’ early wages in Germany: Does a university’s status of excellence make the difference?

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