In Shofer & Meyer’s article, the authors highlight the expansion of higher education in the 20th century as a global phenomenon for both the developing and the developed countries. In the 1960s, most of the developing countries were facing decolonization. For example, Algeria
gained independence from France in 1962; Kenya was decolonized in 1964, and Cameroon in 1969. Before the independence, most of the developing countries were not allowed to receive education that would encourage self-sustaining socio-political and scientific development. My country case about Kenya on my Blogpost 2 illustrates this situation very well. After the
independence in the 60s, these developing countries experienced a surge in graduation rate from the secondary schools and this expanded the higher education programs in these countries. Similarly, the developed countries like the United States and major European countries like France, and England, also experienced growth in graduation rates, especially after World War 2 (Meyer et al. 1977).
The end of World War 2 established a new way of life that focused on democracy and human rights which led to the explosion in higher education enrollment. After the primary needs are achieved within a society such as providing food and medical care, a government will start to think about functional needs and the immediately establish a relationship between
higher education and its economic sustainability missions.missions. In other words, there is a strong relationship between the higher education growth and the economy of the country. It is also clear that economic viability affects enrollment for both the private universities and public
ones. For example, if the economy of a country is weak, then there will be not enough public for the universities. The weak economy will also create financial challenges for private universities where the prospective students won’t be able to pay the tuition fees for their education. The significance of Higher Education is evident in the ways developed countries take initiatives to bolster its scientific, economic, and medical communities. Higher education is used as a strategy to attract talented people to immigrate and add to the human capital of developed countries. For example, Canada offers higher education opportunities to attract
immigrants in order to add more people in its workforce. The United States, offers Diversity Visa lottery (DV) to highly educated people to immigrate in hope that they will integrate and add value to the US national capabilities that include the scientific, military, academic, and business frontiers.
However, Higher Education may also be used as a way to restrain population. The United States illustrates this in its defunding initiatives where federal and state governments make significant budget cuts that negatively affect its citizens. This includes cutting down budget for Arts and Science programs the help students from developing their intellectual
capabilities, especially in low-income communities. The US also does not actively provide Financial education in its school systems that would make its students become aware of how to be financially responsible and be independent as they navigate their way in the capitalist economy.
Human rights and democratization also influenced the expansion of Higher Education. The United Nations considers education as both a human right and a means to realize other human rights (Sharon E. Lee). Driven by UN initiatives to help developing nations achieve economic sustainability, higher education fosters the environment to build tolerance for multiethnic economic force. Also, gender equality has become an important issue that is being highlighted in many countries as more and more women graduate with postsecondary degrees. There is a lot of research that points out that the increase of female enrollment within university systems is a main factor for the expansion of higher education.