Background on Higher Education Policy in Europe

Abstract

The political economy explanations for institutional change at the national level in Europe are addressed in this book. European higher education policy is directly relevant to the disciplines of International Education, Political Economy, and European Studies. The concept of a “Europe of Knowledge” was presented by the European Commission in 1997. The pursuit of global competitiveness in the knowledge economy was the impetus for the intergovernmental initiative of the Bologna Process, which has created the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The influences of globalization and Europeanization are presented, as are the content and organization of the book. Growing from the 29 original participating countries to 48 in the EHEA, the objective is to converge upon national higher education governance and administration criteria in the region of Europe.