Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Higher education and its contribution to a diverse regional supply of human capital: does the binary/unitary divide matters?

  • Published:
Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Diversity has been an important topic of research for some time in higher education, though the purposes underlying this attention have varied across national and regional contexts. In many parts of the world, the term diversity has been emphasized with regard to variety among the programs or services provided by academic institutions, and differences among the types of institutions themselves. It is particularly important to discuss whether different dimensions of diversity may influence the degree of effectiveness of higher education (HE) in fulfilling its contribution and relevance to economic and social development. We are particularly interested in analyzing whether unitary or binary systems present significant differences in different dimensions of diversity that may be relevant to enhance higher education institutions’ (HEIs) contribution to territorial cohesion, notably by enhancing the local stock of human capital and contributing to the social and cultural development of their regions. Therefore, we propose the following research questions: *Are there relevant patterns regarding different dimensions of diversity between unitary and binary HE systems? *In the case of binary systems, is it possible to find relevant differences in different dimensions of diversity between universities and more vocational HEIs? By looking at these questions, we aim at contributing both to the literature on HE institutional diversity and to the study of the role played by HEIs on regional development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Nomenclature of territorial units for statistics (NUTS) constitutes a hierarchical system created in order to divide the economic territory of the EU. This division is carried out for harmonization purposes, namely, regarding the production of European regional statisticsand what concerns the analysis and design of European regional socio-economic policies. Within this framework, NUTS 1 constitutes the largest economic regions (being sometimes coincident with the countries themselves), while NUTS 2 corresponds, generally, to the division of NUTS 1 into smaller territorial units (regions) that are used for the application of regional policies. Finally, NUTS 3 constitutes even smaller territorial units (regions) used for specific diagnoses.

  2. Number of students concerns the number of individuals enrolled in each HEI at the beginning of the academic year (i.e., the last day of the first month of the winter semester academic year). Moreover, the total number of students is simply based on the count of students according to the previously mentioned criterion.

  3. In general, the data set excludes very small HEIs with less than 200 students and less than 30 staff members.

  4. In a nutshell, we include in our analysis data concerning all countries available in the dataset except those for which very limited information is available.

  5. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Urban-rural_typology_update

  6. According to this typology, study programs are categorized as “General” (00), “Education” (01), “Humanities and Arts” (02), “Social Sciences” (03), “Business and Law” (04), “Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics” (05), “Information and Communication Technologies” (06), “Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction (07), “Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Veterinary (08), “Health and Welfare (09), and “Services” (10).

  7. ISCED 8 courses (doctoral degrees) were not included due to the low number of enrolled students at this ISCED level. Given that Universities of Applied Sciences are not usually allowed to provide ISCED 8 programs, the analysis underestimates slightly the degree diversification level of universities when compared to UAS.

  8. Due to the number of observations (countries) in our sample, statistical inference methods were not adequate to be used to analyze the existing differences between the subsectors.

  9. In the case of HEIs that have multiple campuses in different NUTS 3, all enrolled students were counted as if they were enrolled in the headquarters of the HEI, which tends to underestimate the results obtained for the spatial diversification indexes.

References

  • Abel, J., & Deitz, R. (2012). Do colleges and universities increase their region’s human capital? Journal of Economic Geography, 12, 667–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich, H. E. (1979). Organizations and environments. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Audretsch, D., Lehmann, E., & Warning, S. (2005). University spillovers and new firm location. Research Policy, 34, 1113–1122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baptista, R., Lima, F., & Mendonça, J. (2011). Establishment of higher education institutions and new firm entry. Research Policy, 40, 751–760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastedo, M. N., & Gumport, P. J. (2003). Access to what? Mission differentiation and academic stratification in US public higher education. Higher Education, 46(3), 341-359.

  • Becher, T. and Trowler, P. (2001). Academic tribes and territories. Second Edition, The Society for Research into HE and Open University Press.

  • Birnbaum, R. (1983). Maintaining diversity in higher education. Jossey-Bass Press.

  • Chatterton, P., & Goddard, J. (2000). The response of higher education institutions to regional needs. European Journal of Education, 35(4), 475–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, B. R. (1978). Academic differentiation in national systems of higher education. Comparative Education Review, 22(2), 242–258.

  • Clark, B. R. (1983). The higher education system: academic organization in cross-national perspective. Berkeley: University of California Press.

  • Clark, B. R. (1996). Diversification of higher education: viability and change. The mockers and the mocked: comparative perspectives on differentiation, convergence and diversity in higher education, pp. 17–25. Oxford, Pergamon.

  • Coates, H., Edwards, D., Goedegebuure, L., Thakur, M., Van der Brugge, E. and Van Vught, F. (2013). Profiling diversity of Australian universities, LH Martin Institute and ACER, June 2013.

  • De Weert, E. (2006). Professional competencies and research in the non-university sector: systems convergence after Bologna?” CHER 19th Annual Conference, Kassel, Germany, 2006.

  • Dill, D. D., & Teixeira, P. (2000). Program diversity in higher education: an economic perspective. Higher Education Policy, 13(1), 99-117.

  • DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48, 147–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Franco, M., Haase, H., & Lautenschlager, A. (2010). Do universities impact regional employment? A cross-regional comparison of migration effects. Actual Problems in Economics, 7(109), 301–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fulton, O. (1996). Differentiation and diversity in a newly unitary system: the case of the UK. The mockers and the mocked: comparative perspectives on differentiation, convergence and diversity in higher education. Oxford, Pergamon.

  • Geiger, R. (1996). Diversification in US higher education: historical patterns and current trends. The mockers and the mocked: comparative perspectives on differentiation, convergence and diversity in higher education, pp. 188-205. Oxford, Pergamon

  • Goedegebuure, L., & Meek, V. L. (1997). On change and diversity: the role of governmental policy and environmental influences. Higher Education in Europe, 22(3), 309-319.

  • Gornitzka, Å. (1999). Governmental policies and organisational change in higher education. Higher Education, 38, 5–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanan, M. T., & Freeman, J. (1977). The population ecology of organizations. American Journal of Sociology, 82(5), 929-964.

  • Harper, S. and Hurtado, S. (2010) Racial and ethnic diversity in higher education (Ashe Reader); Perason Learning Solutions.

  • Horta, H., Huisman, J., & Heitor, M. (2008). Does competitive research funding encourage diversity in higher education? Science and Public Policy, 35(3), 146–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huisman, J. (1995). Differentiation, diversity and dependency in higher education. Utrecht: Lemma.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huisman, J. (1997). Institutional and programmatic diversity. A comparative analysis of national higher education systems in nine Western European countries. University of Twente: Netherlands. CHEPS (Centre for Higher Education Policies Studies)—Thematic report II.

  • Huisman, J., & Kaiser, F. (2001). Fixed and fuzzy boundaries in higher education: a comparative study of (binary) structures in nine countries (No. 19). Adviesraad voor het Wetenschaps - en Technologiebeleid. University of Twente.

  • Huisman, J., Meek, V. L., & Wood, F. (2007). Institutional diversity in higher education: a cross national and longitudinal analysis. Higher Education Quarterly, 61(4), 563–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Justman, M., & Thisse, J. (1997). Implications of the mobility of skilled labor for local public funding of higher education. Economics Letters, 55, 409–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kivinen, O., and Rinne, R. (1996). The problem of diversification in higher education: countertendencies between divergence and convergence in the Finnish higher education system since the 1950s’. In: Meek, L. et al.

  • Kyvik, S. (2004). Structural changes in higher education systems in Western Europe. Higher Education in Europe, 29, 393–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepori, B., Huisman, J., & Seeber, M. (2014). Convergence and differentiation processes in Swiss higher education. An empirical analysis. Studies in Higher Education, 39, 197–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lepori, B., Bonaccorsi, A., Daraio, A., Daraio, C., Gunnes, H., Hovdhaugen, E., Ploder, M., Scannapieco, M., Wagner-Schuster D. (2015). ETER project. Handbook for data collection, Brussels, June 2015.

  • Lindelof, P., & Lofsten, H. (2004). Proximity as a resource base for competitive advantage: university-industry links for technology transfer. Journal of Technology Transfer, 29, 311–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marginson, S. (1998). Competition and diversity in the reformed Australian higher education system. In V. L. Meek & F. Q. Wood (Eds.), Managing higher education diversity in a climate of public sector reform (pp. 81–96). Canberra: AGPS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meek, L., & Wood, F. Q. (Eds.). (1998). Managing higher education diversity in a climate of public sector reform. Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs: Canberra.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meek, V. L., Goedegebuure, L., Kivinen, O., & Rinne, R. (1996). The mockers and the mocked: comparative perspectives on differentiation, convergence and diversity in higher education. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neave, G. (2000). Diversity, differentiation and the market: the debate we never had but which we ought to have done. Higher Education Policy, 13(1), 7–21.

  • OECD. (2007). Higher education and regions: globally competitive, locally engaged. OECD Publications.

  • Parsons, T., & Platt, G. M. (1973). The american university. Harvard University Press.

  • Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. R. (1978). The external control of organizations, a resource dependence perspective. New York: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades, G. (1990). Political competition and differentiation in higher education. In J. C. Alexander & P. Colony (Eds.), Differentiation theory and social change. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossi, F. (2009). Increased competition and diversity in higher education: an empirical analysis of the Italian university system. Higher Education Policy, 22, 389–413.

  • Rossi, F. (2010). Massification, competition and organizational diversity in higher education: evidence from Italy. Studies in Higher Education, 35(3), 277–300.

  • Smith, D. (2016). The diversity imperative—moving to the next generation. In M. Bastedo, P. Altbach, & P. Gumport (Eds.), American higher education in the twentieth first century: social, political, and economic challenges (pp. 375–400). Baltimore: John Hopkins Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stahlecker, T. and Koschatzky, K. (2004). On the significance of geographical proximity for the structure and development of newly founded knowledge intensive business service firms. Working Papers Firms and Regions, No. R2/2004. Fraunhofer Institute.

  • Suedekum, J. (2005). The pitfalls of regional education policy. FinaznzArchiv, 61(3), 327–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, J., Ferreira, J., Machado, M., & Santiago, R. (2008). Non-university higher education in Europe. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Teichler, U. (1988). Changing patterns of the higher education system. The experience of three decades. Higher Education Policy Series, 5. Taylor and Francis Group.

  • Teichler, U. (2006). Changing structures of the higher education systems: the increasing complexity of underlying forces. Higher Education Policy, 19(4), 447–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teichler, U. (2008). The end of alternatives to universities or new opportunities? In J. Taylor, J. Brites-Ferreira, M. de Lourdes Machado, & R. Santiago (Eds.), Non-university higher education in Europe (pp. 1–13). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teichler, U., & Höhle, E. (Eds.). (2013). The work situation of the academic profession in Europe: findings of a survey in twelve countries. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira, P., & Amaral, A. (2001). Private higher education and diversity: an exploratory survey. Higher Education Quarterly, 55(4), 359–395.

  • Teixeira, P., Rocha, V., Biscaia, R., & Cardoso, M. F. (2012a). Competition and diversity in higher education: an empirical approach to specialization patterns of Portuguese institutions. Higher Education, 63, 337–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira, P., Rocha, V., Biscaia, R., & Cardoso, M. F. (2012b). Myths, beliefs and realities: public-private competition and higher education’s diversification. Journal of Economic Issues, 46(3), 683–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira, P., Rocha, V., Biscaia, R., & Cardoso, M. F. (2013). Competition and diversification in public and private higher education. Applied Economics, 45(35), 4949–4958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira, P., Rocha, V., Biscaia, R., & Cardoso, M. F. (2014). Policy changes, marketization trends and spatial dispersion in European higher education: comparing public and private sectors. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society , 7(2), 271–288.Special issue "Universities in Crisis"

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trow, M. (1996). Comparative reflections on diversity in British higher education. In: Higher education in the 1990s, a special report of the Quality Support Centre, Milton Keynes, The Open University Press.

  • Trow, M. (2010). Twentieth-Century Higher Education — Elite to Mass to Universal. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins Press.

  • Van Vught, F. (1996). Isomorphism in higher education? Towards a theory of differentiation and diversity in higher education systems. The mockers and mocked: comparative perspectives on differentiation, convergence and diversity in higher education, 42-58. Oxford, Pergamon.

  • Van Vught, F. (Ed.). (2009). Mapping the higher education landscape: towards a European classification of higher education. Springer Science & Business Media.

  • Westerheijden, D. F., Huisman, J., & De Boer, H. (2004). Ground force does the Dutch higher education gardens: three scenarios revisited. Policy Futures in Education, 2(2), 374-387.

  • Whitchurch, C., and Gordon, G. (Eds.). (2009). Academic and professional identities in higher education: the challenges of a diversifying workforce. Routledge.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIPES—Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies, Matosinhos, Portugal

    Artur Santoalha, Ricardo Biscaia & Pedro Teixeira

  2. Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Artur Santoalha

  3. Universidade Portucalense, Porto, Portugal

    Ricardo Biscaia

  4. FEP—Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Pedro Teixeira

Authors
  1. Artur Santoalha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ricardo Biscaia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Pedro Teixeira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pedro Teixeira.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Santoalha, A., Biscaia, R. & Teixeira, P. Higher education and its contribution to a diverse regional supply of human capital: does the binary/unitary divide matters?. High Educ 75, 209–230 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0132-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-017-0132-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation