Monographs and edited volumes

Because retrospective collection of life history data requires respondents to retrieve and provide complex information, the process is highly demanding for respondents and prone to error. While a standard questionnaire does not align well with the structure of autobiographical memory, the use of a life history calendar (LHC) may facilitate cognitive processes and reduce response burden. It is unclear, however, whether LHCs yield favourable effects in self-administered mixed-device surveys. To clarify the effects of LHCs, we developed a survey on educational and occupational trajectories in a highly educated population. The survey included an experimental variation using a responsive LHC.

The EUROSTUDENT VII – Synopsis of Indicators is the central publication of the EUROSTUDENT project and the result of the collaboration of a European-wide network. It comprises data from student surveys conducted in 25 countries in the European Higher Education Area during the seventh round of the EUROSTUDENT project. Adopting a broad, comparative perspective, the EUROSTUDENT VII – Synopsis of Indicators provides information on students’ socio-economic and study-related backgrounds, their study conditions and experiences, including international mobility, and their living conditions. It aims to inspire policy debates on the topic of the social dimension and lay the ground for further research.

This edited volume addresses critical issues surrounding higher education access for students of refugee backgrounds. It combines a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives on the challenges, opportunities, experiences and expectations of refugee students, as well as some of the institutional frameworks that facilitate their access to higher education. Following a critical discussion of the notion of ‘integration’, the team of authors who are made up of academics and refugee students critically investigate higher education as an objective of as well as a means to greater inclusion and integration.

What does a university degree lead to? How mobile are graduates? What skills do they have? How high is their affinity for research? Are Bachelor graduates successful in the labour market? What are non-traditional study formats? How heterogeneous are their graduates? Who goes on to further studies or the labour market after graduation? Who earns well? These are just some of the questions addressed in this volume. The data basis of the Nationwide Graduate Panel 2017 (ap2017) was made possible by the cooperation of several research institutes. The numerous results of the joint project are presented in this volume.

This edition of the Bologna Process Implementation Report charts important progress made over two decades when it comes to mobility, quality assurance and recognition, but also points to the work needed in the future. The report shows how European higher education systems advanced with concerted national reforms. This in itself is a remarkable achievement. Nevertheless, the process was not all plain sailing. Some countries moved faster than others, and some embedded reforms more deeply. As a result of reaching different levels of implementation, the foundations of the European Higher Education Area are not yet stable enough. Students, researchers and higher education institutions may still face unnecessary obstacles in their work together.