Lessons from the Expansion of the Upper Secondary Education for the Expansion of the Tertiary Education

NEUJOBS Working Paper No. 4.4.1

39 Pages Posted: 17 Mar 2014

See all articles by Miroslav Beblavy

Miroslav Beblavy

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

Marcela Veselkova

Slovak Governance Institute

Nicola Pensiero

European University Institute

Elin Peterson

Stockholm University - Department of Social Work

Anna‐Elisabeth Thum

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS); European University Institute

Simon Toubeau

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)

Date Written: 2012

Abstract

In this paper, we present the historical time series of enrollment rates in upper secondary schooling in five European countries. The presented data were examined in light of reform attempts aimed at expansions of schooling with the aim to derive lessons for the expansion of the tertiary sector. We were particularly interested in the speed and the differentiation of the expansion. We find that the expansion happened at different speed. It took 9 to 26 years for a country to massify its upper secondary education and further 11 to 41 years to universalize it, with gross enrollment rates reaching 80%. The expansion was slower in the leaders of expansion, such as the United Kingdom or Sweden. In contrast, laggards were able to catch up relatively fast, once the limiting conditions of expansion were removed. Although there has been a general trend towards expansion of the general upper secondary education, the popularity of vocational tracks has been diverse across examined countries.

Suggested Citation

Beblavy, Miroslav and Veselkova, Marcela and Pensiero, Nicola and Peterson, Elin and Thum, Anna-Elisabeth and Toubeau, Simon, Lessons from the Expansion of the Upper Secondary Education for the Expansion of the Tertiary Education (2012). NEUJOBS Working Paper No. 4.4.1, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2402738 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2402738

Miroslav Beblavy (Contact Author)

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) ( email )

1 Place du Congres
Brussels, 1000
Belgium

Marcela Veselkova

Slovak Governance Institute ( email )

Kalinciakova 27
Bratislava, 83104
Slovakia

Nicola Pensiero

European University Institute ( email )

Villa Schifanoia
133 via Bocaccio
Firenze (Florence), Tuscany 50014
Italy

Elin Peterson

Stockholm University - Department of Social Work ( email )

Stockholm
Sweden

Anna-Elisabeth Thum

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) ( email )

1 Place du Congres
Brussels, 1000
Belgium

European University Institute

Villa Schifanoia
133 via Bocaccio
Firenze (Florence), Tuscany 50014
Italy

Simon Toubeau

Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) ( email )

1 Place du Congres, 1000
Brussels, 1000
Belgium

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