Widening Access to Higher Education in Spain: The Unexpected Effects of Two Policy Changes

Abstract

This article describes two policy changes in Spain, which were not designed as part of an access policy: regional decentralisation (following the approval of the Spanish Constitution in 1978) and the reform of university curricula that has taken place since 1989. It is shown that these policy changes have had some unexpected effects on access to higher education by different groups of individuals. The analysis pays special attention to the rates of participation of students in different regions, as well as to the probability of access according to socio-economic origin. Economic determinants of educational investments are emphasised. The article shows that the Spanish university system does not offer many opportunities for mature students to access and finance higher education.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alba

Segundo

San M

(1995) ‘The returns to education in Spain,’ Economics of Education Review, vol 14(2), pp 155–66.

Albert

(2000) ‘Higher education demand in Spain. The influence of labour market signals and family background,’ Higher Education, vol 40(2), pp 147–62.

Cohn

Addison

(1998) ‘The economic returns to lifelong learning,’ Education Economics, vol 6(3), pp 253–307.

Eurostat (2000) Key Data on Education in Europe, Luxembourg: COM.

Guin

(1990) ‘The reawakening of higher education in France,’ European Journal of Education, vol 25(2), pp. 123–145.

Halsey

(1993) ‘Trends in access and equity in higher education: Britain in international perspective,’ Oxford Review of Education, vol 19(2), pp. 129–140.

McMahon

(1998) ‘Conceptual framework for the analysis of the social benefits of lifelong learning,’ Education Economics, vol 6(3), pp 309–46.

Ministerio de Educación (MEC) (2000) Las cifras de la educatión en España, Madrid: Ministerio de Educación.

OECD (1990) Financing higher education: Current patterns, Paris: OECD.

10.

OECD (1998a) ‘Paying for tertiary education: The learner perspective,’ in Education Policy Analysis, Paris: OECD, pp. 57–72.

11.

OECD (1998b) Education at a Glance, Paris: OECD.

12.

OECD (1998c) Redefining Tertiary Education, Paris: OECD.

13.

OECD (2001) Education at a Glance, Paris: OECD.

14.

Osborne

(1995) “Spain”, in Davies

(ed), Adults in Higher Education – International Perspectives in Access and Participation, London: Jessica Kingsley, pp 252–77.

15.

Parry

(1997) ‘Patterns of participation in higher education in England: A statistical summary and commentary’, Higher Education Quarterly, vol 51(6), pp 6–28.

16.

Petrongolo

Segundo

San M

(2002) ‘Staying-on at school at sixteen. The impact of labour market conditions in Spain’, Economics of Education Review, vol 21(4), pp 353–65.

17.

Segundo

San M

(1997) ‘Decentralisation and diversification in Spain’, Higher Education Management, vol 9(3), pp 89–100.

18.

Segundo

San M

(2001) ‘Access in the OECD: The unfinished business of the 20th century’, in Thomas

Cooper

(eds), Access to Higher Education: The Unfinished Business, Staffordshire University Press.

19.

Segundo

San M

Valiente

(2002, forthcoming) ‘Family background and returns to schooling in Spain’, Education Economics.