What happened to universal education? In the West and in Asia

Abstract

Higher education once viewed as an elite privilege has become more widely experienced. The early leader it its expansion was the US where by the late 70s about 80 % of the high school graduating class was entering some form of tertiary institution. In Asia, Japan was the leader with about 45 % of the late 70s high school cohort entering a tertiary institution, and nearly all who entered completed their degree program. Martin Trow (Reflections on the transition from elite to mass to universal access: forms and phases of higher education in modern societies since WWII. In: Forest JJF, Altbach PG (eds) International handbook of higher education. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 243-280, 2005) predicted that the US and Japan would continue to provide the lead towards Advanced Massification or even Universal Higher education. This study will review what has happened since then, why, and what are the implications for the academy and for youth? Special attention will be devoted to the Asian experience.