The Disintegration of Higher Education in Europe, 1970–2010: A Post-Humboldtian Essay

Abstract

This chapter discusses larger trends in European higher education since the early 1960s, bearing particularly on the issues that concerned Clark Kerr. A Swedish or Scandinavian and to a lesser degree a German context form the backbone of the discussion. There are special reasons why a relatively small European nation like Sweden should attract readers of this volume. First, between 1955 and 1975 Sweden was often referred to as “the most progressive and modern nation in the western world,” and certainly with regard to education policy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) considered Sweden to be something of a model pupil. Second, Clark Kerr himself was keenly interested in Swedish/Scandinavian policy-making and reform proposals. Although Kerr was well-known in Europe, and particularly in Sweden, neither his achievements nor American experiences in general played even a secondary role in the comprehensive higher education reforms undertaken in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s. This obvious neglect is one of the reasons why most European higher education systems have experienced varying degrees of structural and institutional problems for the last 25 years.