Cohort Approaches Using Educational Data of the Czech Republic: Massification of Tertiary Education and Its Impact on Education Attainment

Abstract

In modern societies, education is one of the key factors for individuals; it is related to personal successes in the labor market, in salary, in health, and in well-being). Education is also very important for society itself, in terms of social cohesion, innovation, racial and religious tolerance, and so on. Human capital as the most important prerequisite for the success of the knowledge-based economy is coming to the forefront of public policies. The European Council adopted the Lisbon Strategy as a complex economic and social strategy in 2000 to respond to the changing global conditions (European Council 2000). The Lisbon Strategy has been followed by the EU 2020 Strategy which emphasized the importance of education as a priority for smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. One of the headline targets focuses directly on outputs from education—the share of early school leavers and the share of the younger generation with tertiary education (EC 2010).