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Is Britain a Western European Country? A Multivariate Analysis of Western Higher Education Systems
Author(s) -
Tight Malcolm
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
higher education quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.976
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1468-2273
pISSN - 0951-5224
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2273.1993.tb01625.x
Subject(s) - multivariate analysis , higher education , multivariate statistics , geography , western europe , political science , economic growth , demographic economics , trend analysis , development economics , european union , economics , international trade , machine learning , computer science , statistics , mathematics
Using data collected by the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD), a multivariate analysis of 13 measures for 16 countries is carried out with the aim of identifying similarities and differences between national systems of higher education. The results support the view that the North American systems of higher education are distinctive in terms of their high participation rates. They suggest that there are significant variations within Europe, particularly in terms of demographic structures, participation and expenditure rates. Three possible sub‐groups are identified, focused on (i) Austria, Ireland, Italy and Spain; (ii) Belgium, France, Germany and the United Kingdom; and (iii) Denmark, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Japan, the only Asian country included in the analysis, appears to be more similar to Finland than any other country.