We are very delighted to announce that our new chapter: Ilieva-Trichkova, P., Boyadjieva, P. (2024). Indexes as an Instrument for Measuring Inequalities in Higher Education. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Problems. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, which was partly prepared within the JustEdu project, is already published: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_575-1
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is threefold: (1) to explore the potential of indexes as an instrument for measuring inequalities in higher education; (2) to discuss challenges related to the use of these indexes; and (3) to highlight how indexes could be used in policy-making for inequality reduction. Building on previous research and on the view that higher education is a complex and multidimensional phenomenon, this chapter presents three indexes related to higher education: index for inclusion in higher education, index of fairness in higher education, and index for higher education as a common good. The empirical basis used for their calculation is drawn from large-scale representative and cross-national surveys, such as EUROSTUDENT and the European Social Survey, and from official statistics. This chapter demonstrates the advantages of indexes, such as allowing comparison over time and across countries. A special focus is put on the challenges stemming from lack of data for certain dimensions or for some countries, or related to the fact that surveys used to calculate complex indexes rely on self-reporting data, a fact that may raise doubts as to their correctness. Other challenges are the nonequivalence of the cross-national survey data and the need to deal with the so-called “imperialism” of international surveys, which may “impose” concrete definitions and ways of thinking in the surveys’ core questionnaires. Taking into account both their heuristic potential and the arising challenges, this chapter discusses how indexes can be used as a tool for evidence-based policy-making targeted at reducing inequalities in higher education.