The Bologna Process: the Reform of the European Higher Education Systems

The Bologna process is the comprehensive reform initiative of the European higher education systems, with an unprecedented political support and commitment for changes. In Central and Eastern European countries the Bologna process is not only strongly connected to the overall political transformat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Éva Szolár
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Institute of Romania 2011-03-01
Series:Romanian Journal of European Affairs
Subjects:
Online Access:https://rjea.ier.gov.ro/wp-content/uploads/revista/RJEA_2011_vol11_no1_artic_6_THE_BOLOGNA_PROCESS_THE_REFORM_OF_THE_EUROPEAN_HIGHER_EDUCATION_SYSTEMS.pdf
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Summary:The Bologna process is the comprehensive reform initiative of the European higher education systems, with an unprecedented political support and commitment for changes. In Central and Eastern European countries the Bologna process is not only strongly connected to the overall political transformation, but provides for the higher education policy makers an opportunity for the Europeanization of the sector. The implementation of the three-cycle system (the reform of organizational dimensions) creates a demand for other reforms, and under this agenda have been released a numerous fundamental questions and debates on higher education systems. In a narrow concept, the Bologna process at the present implies systemic (e.g. core functions and role of different higher education institutions, the future of university and non-university sector), programmatic (e.g. at different program levels different curricular emphasis, arrangements and functions; vocationalization of the academic curriculum), procedural (e.g. new modes and arrangements of teaching) changes, and shift from accent on horizontal to vertical differences (e.g. the set up of stratified and hierarchical national systems based on reputation and prestige, especially in research quality), and from input to output oriented higher education. In a broad sense, and on the basis of national implementation experiences, we can also conceptualize the Bologna process as governance or recently finance reform. As the concepts behind these reform initiatives suggests, the original objectives of the Bologna process is reinterpreted and overwrote, by the Lisbon Strategy and several national higher educational policy objectives.
ISSN:1582-8271
1841-4273