The Reform of Higher Education Systems and the Concept of Lifelong Learning A comparative study of German and Armenian universities in the Bologna Process Dissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.) vorgelegt dem Rat der Fakult¨at f¨ur Sozial- und Verhaltenswissenschaften der Friedrich-Schiller-Universit¨at Jena von Hasmik Hunanyan geboren am 21.04.1977 in Jerewan, Armenien Gutachter 1. Prof. Dr. Martha Friedenthal-Haase 2. Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Meilhammer Tag des Kolloquiums: 12.11.2010 Contents TitlePage.................................... i TableofContents................................ iii ListofFigures.................................. vii Acknowledgments................................ viii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 ResearchTopic .............................. 1 1.2 ResearchApproach ............................ 11 1.3 RelevancetoResearchandPractice . 13 1.4 StructureoftheThesis .......................... 16 2 Methodology 18 2.1 ResearchDesign.............................. 18 2.2 Cross-CountryComparison. 19 2.3 Selection of Cases for the Cross-Country Comparison . .. 25 2.4 Interview as a Method of Qualitative Research . 28 2.4.1 Purposesofinterviews . .. .. 28 2.4.2 The type of the interviews conducted . 30 2.4.3 Selection of interviewees . 34 2.4.4 Reflexions on the limitations of interviews as research method 35 2.5 The Case-Oriented Comparative Research Scheme . 36 3 The Bologna Process 40 3.1 Introduction................................ 40 iii Contents iv 3.2 MagnaChartaUniversitatum . 41 3.3 SorbonneDeclaration(1998). 43 3.4 BolognaDeclaration(1999) . 49 3.5 Lisbon, Salamanca, G¨oteborg, or other cities that matter . .... 53 3.6 PragueCommuniqu´e(2001) . 60 3.7 BerlinCommuniqu´e(2003). 62 3.8 BergenCommuniqu´e(2005) . 68 3.9 LondonCommuniqu´e(2007) . 73 3.10 Leuven/Louvain–la–Neuve Communiqu´e(2009) . 76 3.11Conclusions ................................ 80 4 The German System of Higher Education 85 4.1 HistoricalContext ............................ 85 4.1.1 TheappearanceofEuropeanuniversities . 85 4.1.2 The early modern times and the Enlightenment . 88 4.1.3 The Humboldtian idea of the university and the development ofGermanuniversitiesbefore1945 . 91 4.1.4 Development of the higher education system in the Federal Re- publicofGermany ........................ 99 4.1.5 Development of the higher education system in the German DemocraticRepublic . 104 4.1.6 Germanunificationandtheaftermath . 107 4.1.7 Ahistoricalretrospect . 111 4.2 The Structure of the Higher Education System in Germany . 112 4.2.1 Legislative basis and general objectives of higher education in Germany.............................. 112 4.2.2 Highereducationgovernance. 116 4.2.3 Types of higher education institutions . 118 4.2.4 Accesstohighereducation . 120 4.2.5 Degreestructureandstudyorganization . 122 Contents v 4.2.6 Thegradingsystem. .. .. 130 4.3 The “Bologna” and Germany: Beginning, Progress and Ongoing De- bates.................................... 130 5 The Armenian System of Higher Education 141 5.1 HistoricalContext ............................ 141 5.1.1 Sourcesandstudies. .. .. 141 5.1.2 Early times and the Golden Age of Armenian literature . 142 5.1.3 MiddleAges............................ 145 5.1.4 Developments between seventeenth and twentieth centuries . 150 5.1.5 Foundation of modern universities . 154 5.2 The Structure of the Higher Education System in Armenia . 157 5.2.1 Legislative basis and general objectives of higher education in Armenia.............................. 157 5.2.2 Highereducationgovernance. 159 5.2.3 Types of higher education institutions . 162 5.2.4 Accesstohighereducation . 165 5.2.5 Degreestructureandstudyorganization . 166 5.2.6 Thegradingsystem. .. .. 168 5.3 The “Bologna” and Armenia: Beginning, Progress and Ongoing Debates168 6 The German Academic Community and the Ongoing Reforms 174 6.1 Appreciation and Critique of the Bologna Process . 174 6.1.1 Theargumentsproetcontra. 178 6.1.2 Shortcomings and difficulties . 190 6.2 Lifelong Learning and the German University . 195 6.3 ConcludingRemarks ........................... 197 7 The Armenian Academic Community and the Ongoing Reforms 203 7.1 Appreciation and Critique of the Bologna Process . 203 7.1.1 Theargumentsproetcontra. 208 Contents vi 7.1.2 Factors promoting and hindering the reforms . 212 7.2 Lifelong Learning and the Armenian University . 219 7.3 ConcludingRemarks ........................... 224 8 Comparative analysis 226 8.1 Preamble ................................. 226 8.2 Bologna Process: Appreciation and Criticism . 227 8.2.1 Similarities . 227 8.2.2 Differences............................. 234 8.3 Fostering Lifelong Learning—the Same Formula for Both Cases? Simi- laritiesandDifferences . .. .. 237 8.3.1 Lifelong learning structures . 237 8.3.2 The role of the university . 238 8.3.3 Adultlearners........................... 239 8.3.4 Family-supportive education . 240 8.4 ConcludingRemarks ........................... 240 9 Conclusions 242 Bibliography 250 A Abbreviations 293 B Interviewees 295 B.1 Germany.................................. 295 B.2 Armenia.................................. 296 C Interview Guidelines 298 Summary .................................... ix Zusammenfassung................................ xii Ehrenw¨ortlicheErkl¨arung . xvi Lebenslauf.................................... xvii List of Figures 2.1 Examples of Open, Theory-Driven and Confrontational Questions from the Interviews Conducted in the Present Study. 32 2.2 TheComparativeStudyDesign. 39 3.1 The Bologna Timeline and Priority Table. 84 4.1 The Basic Structure of German Educational System. Source: KMK, 2009a. ................................... 121 4.2 Growth of Bachelor and Master Programmes in the Period from Winter Semester 1999/2000 to Summer Semester 2009. Source: HRK,2009a:8. .............................. 125 4.3 Bachelor and Master Titles. Source: KMK, 2003:8. 128 4.4 Qualifications at German Universities: Traditional and New Consecu- tiveDegrees. ............................... 137 5.1 Coordination of Armenian Higher Education. 162 5.2 The Basic Structure of Armenian Educational System. 164 vii Acknowledgments It is a pleasure to take this opportunity to thank a lot of people who, directly or indirectly, supported me towards the end of this thesis. First and the foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my super- visor, Prof. Dr. Martha Friedenthal-Haase. I have been undoubtedly privileged to have the most supportive adviser anyone could ask for. This work would not have been possible without her kind guidance, valuable criticism and inspiring mentor- ship, without her encouragements in face of any problem or difficulty; nor would my experience of the years spent in Jena have been as enriching and rewarding. I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Meilham- mer, who always found time in her overloaded schedule to discuss my project and contributed greatly towards shaping this dissertation with her critical comments and keen observations. I am grateful to all the people at the Chair of Adult Education I had the pleasure to work and share a life with during my stay in Germany: Dr. Helmut Stauche, whose ability to communicate in many languages created an internationally warm atmosphere at the Chair; Tetyana Kloubert, who combined the best attributes of a friend and a colleague; and our secretary Frau Karin Liebl, who was always so kind and so ready to help with all the questions of organizational character. I wish to express many thanks to Prof. Dr. Jost Reischmann from Bamberg University, who contributed greatly with criticism when I was writing my first article for an ISCAE publication. His criticism helped me to look at many issues differently and I am sure impacted my further writing. My gratitude also extends to Yerevan— to Professor Yuri Sargsyan, whose expertise and knowledge of the Armenian higher education system helped me considerably to get an insight into the system and create an objective picture of the situation in Armenia. He was always there to assist and support with all questions I had. Another thanks in Yerevan goes to my friend Ara Egibyan for his support and valuable comments on my work. I am grateful to my dear friends Inez Chai, who helped me to find the proofreader for my thesis, and Katrin Etzrodt for assisting me in all matters related to the translations from and into German, as well as for consulting me extensively during the transcription of my German interviews. And I am thankful to the proofreader Catherine Delos Santos, for her accuracy and thorough work. I am deeply indebted to all the interviewees of this study, in Germany and in Armenia, for devoting their precious time to my research. It was always a pleasure viii Acknowledgments ix and at the same time an amazing learning experience to discuss the topic with them and to listen to their expert opinions. Last, but not least, I am greatful to my family: to my husband for his constant support during all these years; to my mother for her encouragement and belief in me; and to my two little ones, for their existence that has provided the greatest motivation ever. Chapter 1 Introduction “Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world.” Nelson Mandela “Education is the best economic policy we have.” Tony Blair 1.1 Research Topic The past decade was marked by extensive transformations in the European higher education landscape. A decisive European process, named after the city of Bologna,