Educational Systems Heterogeneity and the Model of International Cooperation in the Field of Higher Education: European Perspective

Abstract

The present paper addresses the effectiveness of inter-regional and inter-governmental model of international cooperation in the field of higher education between European and Asian countries from the perspective of European educational system homogeneity. The critical argument pursued in the paper asserts that intra-regional homogeneity is key prerequisite for the inter-regional model of cooperation. By applying clustering algorithm, we prove that European countries feature four distinct educational systems, thus demonstrating a high degree of dissimilarity regarding educational system design. Consequently, we suggest that integration in the field of higher education between the European and Asian countries should take place between economies constituting these regions, not between the regional blocks.