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Social Perceptions versus Economic Returns of the Higher Education: The Bologna Process in Poland

Soziale Wahrnehmung versus wirtschaftliche Erträge der Hochschulbildung: der Bologna-Prozess in Polen

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The Bologna Process in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

In the present study, the Bologna process is viewed through the lenses of the end product of reform initiatives it has been promoting in the last decade: in this case, a coherent system of three degrees – the bachelor, the master, and the doctorate. And in particular, it is focused on the changing social perceptions and labor market perceptions of the bachelor degree. The increasing acceptance of the bachelor degree in the Polish labor market seems to be an indirect product of the Bologna process: in the 1990s the bachelor degree both had low social prestige and was refused as appropriate higher education credentials by the labor market. But recent national data tend to suggest that while the social prestige of the bachelor degree is still low, its market value is quite high. Consequently, the bachelor degree may have much higher acceptance among students and graduates in the near future. The role of the Bologna process in this transformation has been substantial. There seems to be a combination of national and international forces at work which has managed to transform the national labor market position of the bachelor degree. The study is divided into the following sections: introduction; the degree structure in Poland in an European comparative context; the bachelor degree in Poland from a historical comparative perspective: legal changes and institutional transformations; the degree structure and the labor market response: review of recent empirical evidence; the bachelor degree and private higher education; and conclusions.

Zusammenfassung

Der Bologna-Prozess in Polen wird hier in Bezug auf sein Ergebnis als Reforminitiative des letzten Jahrzehnts analysiert: Es handelt sich um ein kohärentes System von drei akademischen Graden: Bachelor, Master und PhD (Doktorgrad). Die Studie konzentriert sich dabei auf die veränderte gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Wahrnehmung des Bachelor-Abschlusses. Die zunehmende Akzeptanz des Bachelor-Abschlusses auf dem polnischen Arbeitsmarkt scheint ein indirektes Produkt des Bologna-Prozesses zu sein: In den 1990er Jahren hatte er noch ein niedriges soziales Ansehen und wurde auf dem Arbeitsmarkt als nicht angemessene Hochschulbildung abgelehnt. Aber die jüngsten Daten scheinen darauf hinzudeuten, dass – während das soziale Prestige des Bachelor-Abschlusses immer noch gering blieb – sein Marktwert bereits recht hoch ist. Das heißt: der Bachelor-Abschluss wird in der nahen Zukunft wahrscheinlich eine viel höhere Akzeptanz bei den Studierenden und den Absolventen erreichen. Der Bologna-Prozess spielte bei diesen Umwandlungen eine wesentliche Rolle. Nationale und internationale Kräfte trugen gleichermaßen dazu bei, die Position des Bachelor-Abschlusses auf dem nationalen Arbeitsmarkt zu festigen. Der Aufsatz gliedert sich in die folgenden Abschnitte: Einführung, die Struktur des polnischen Bildungssystems im vergleichenden europäischen Kontext sowie der Bachelor-Abschluss in Polen aus der historisch-vergleichenden Perspektive: Gesetzesänderungen und institutionelle Veränderungen, die neue Studienstruktur und der Arbeitsmarkt: die jüngsten empirischen Daten, der Bachelor-Abschluss und die private Hochschulbildung sowie Ausblick und Schlussfolgerungen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Poznan, Poland

    Marek Kwiek

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  1. Marek Kwiek
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  1. University of Debrecen, Hungary

    Tamás Kozma

  2. University of Debrecen, Hungary

    Magdolna Rébay

  3. University of Magdeburg, Germany

    Andrea Óhidy

  4. Partium Christian University, Romania

    Éva Szolár

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Kwiek, M. (2014). Social Perceptions versus Economic Returns of the Higher Education: The Bologna Process in Poland. In: Kozma, T., Rébay, M., Óhidy, A., Szolár, É. (eds) The Bologna Process in Central and Eastern Europe. Studien zur international vergleichenden Erziehungswissenschaft. Schwerpunkt Europa - Studies in International Comparative Educational Science. Focus: Europe.. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-02333-1_7

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