Equity and the Social Dimension: An Overview [Overview Paper]

Abstract

Despite the fact that improving equity in higher education is a major policy priority of many European governments, the topic of the social dimension within the Bologna process has been described as an agenda that yet to find a means of implementation. This paper briefly reviews the global evidence on improving equity outcomes, and then looks at the possibilities for moving the social dimension agenda forward both in terms of creating public reporting systems and in improving peer learning. The suggests that to the extent the social dimension can be portrayed as an exercise in peer learning it will succeed, and to the extent it is seen as an “accountability tool” for national governments it will fail.