6 International Studies in Education 9 (2008) Divergent Trends in Higher Education in the Post-Socialist Transition Cathryn Magnoa,* and Iveta Silovab a Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Southern Connecticut State University b College of Education, Lehigh University Democratic and economic ideals have driven many initiatives in the post-Soviet transition. A review of gender equity as measured by higher education participation reveals divergent trends in the region. Initial expectations that democratization through policy and participation would be associated with increased or continuing gender equity in the region have come to fruition in some but not all countries. An economic incentive of achieving high rates of enrollment in higher education institutions is increased employability of the potential work force to serve a growing economy. Two concurrent economic goals of the transition economies of Central and Southeastern Europe, Baltics, Western Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Central Asia have been to increase the standard of living (Newell & Reilly 1999) and transform toward market economies (Svejnar 2002), however work force needs and preferences have diversified in the new economies. Employment opportunities have broadened during the transition, however some young people are vulnerable to new insecurities and inequalities. There is evidence that young women, in particular, are being left out of the job market (UNICEF TransMONEE 2007a). Higher education participation reflects these changing contextual influences. This article highlights two divergent trends related to gender dynamics in higher education. The first trend reveals the increase in the number of female students in higher education in most countries of the region, especially in the countries of Southeastern/Central Europe and the Baltics. The second trend, however, documents major setbacks in terms of gender equality ____________________ *Corresponding author: Email: magnoc1@southernct.edu; Office: +1.203.392.5170; Address: 501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515, USA. " in some countries of Central Asia, where female enrollment in higher education has been decreasing throughout the transition period. A careful examination of these two trends, based on previous investigation and recent data review, reveals interesting gender dynamics during the post-socialist transition period and suggests that more research into the causes and consequences of gender inequalities in higher education is needed. Feminization of Higher Education Institutions Higher education institutions became increasingly feminized during the 1990s, particularly in Central Eastern Europe (CEE), South Eastern Europe (SEE), the Baltics, and the western CIS (Silova and Magno 2004; Magno and Silova 2007). According to World Bank Gender Statistics, percentages of female enrollment in tertiary education have increased at a higher rate than male enrollment between 1990 and 2005 in the region (see Table 1). TABLE 1 PARTICIPATION IN TERTIARY EDUCATION: EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Gross enrollment rate (% of age group) 1990 2004 Male 32 43 Female 35 52 Source: World Bank (2008). International Studies in Education 9 (2008) 7 TABLE 2 PERCENTAGE OF FEMALE STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 1990–2005 Country by Region Czech Republic Hungary Poland Slovakia Slovenia 1990 38.4 48.6 50.2 46.9 55.6 1995 38.3 0.0 56.0 47.3 56.4 2000 36.9 54.7 56.8 50.8 56.1 2005 51.9 58.2 56.5 58.3 58.5 Estonia Latvia Lithuania 49.3 54.5 55.8 52.0 57.4 59.7 60.1 61.8 59.9 61.6 - Bulgaria Romania 48.7 47.2 60.7 50.3 56.1 53.5 53.5 55.4 Albania Bosnia-Herzegovina Croatia FYR Macedonia Serbia and Montenegro 51.3 51.0 50.8 48.9 48.3 53.8 53.6 54.0 54.8 63.2 52.8 54.5 55.8 55.7 58.4 54.1 56.7 - Belarus Moldova Russia Ukraine 52.3 0.0 50.5 50.3 52.7 54.7 54.3 49.9 56.4 56.3 56.7 52.6 58.2 57.9 58.2 54.6 Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia 45.9 37.9 45.4 51.1 43.8 52.5 54.9 41.7 48.9 54.8 47.7 - Kazakhstan 60.2 Kyrgyzstan 51.2 Tajikistan 36.6 Turkmenistan 41.4 Uzbekistan 41.0 Source: UNICEF TransMONEE (2007). 66.6 50.8 26.9 36.4 38.9 54.3 50.9 23.7 31.9 37.8 57.9 55.6 26.8 40.9 For example, in countries in transition, there are nearly 130 women enrolled in higher education for every 100 men (UNESCO 2008). Female students constituted over 55 percent of all higher education students in Central/Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Romania), Southeastern Europe (Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic (FYR) of Macedonia), as well as the former Soviet Union (Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan). In the three Bal" tic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), female students constituted over 60 percent of all higher education students (see Table 2). The reasons behind this phenomenon are difficult to trace, especially because research on the gendered aspects of the school environment is still lacking.1 One explanation could rest on the high employability of young men in more capitalist economies. As a result of new opportunities (also related to the expansion of the 8 International Studies in Education 9 (2008) European Union), men are often choosing to enter the workforce rather than enroll in higher education. In fact, evidence that men are leaving to find work outside of the region is supported by high rates of remittances for some countries, especially the poorest (remittances represent 20 percent of GDP in Moldova and Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 percent of GDP in Albania, Armenia, and Tajikistan, and up to 5 percent of GDP in other Balkan states and the Baltics) (World Bank 2007). Conversely, women may be less mobile and finding fewer employment opportunities and are therefore pursuing higher education at higher rates (see Table 3). TABLE 3 UNEMPLOYMENT BY LEVEL OF EDUCATION: EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Tertiary Education Level 2000 % of male unemployment 23 % of female unemployment 34 Source: World Bank (2008). There exist several other potential explanations. First, male students may prefer to study in evening schools or vocational/technical institutions instead of universities in order to simultaneously participate in the labor market. Second, female students may make more effort to enter higher education institutions. For example, a Hungarian study revealed that significantly more female students participated in academic contests during their secondary school years, had better grades, and acquired more cultural capital than male students.2 Third, women in Eastern/Central Europe appear to have greater support mechanisms to continue studies in higher education. Compared to socialist period, preschool enrollments increased in eight out of nine countries in Eastern/Central Europe, while the substantially decreased in the Caucasus and Central Asia. In Latvia, for example, preschool enrollments rose from 53.9 percent in 1989 to 80.1 percent in 2005 (UNICEF TransMONEE 2007b). The situation is similar in other countries " (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, and Romania) where preschool enrollments constitute over 70 percent, compared to an average of 18 percent (UNICEF TransMONEE 2007b). It is likely that greater childcare opportunities have played a role in more active female participation in higher education institutions. However, it is important to look beyond the statistical data pointing to the feminization of higher education in Eastern/Central Europe in order to examine whether and why gender inequities exist in employment. Gender gaps in employment opportunities and in salaries show women earning an average of 25 percent less than men in South, Central and Eastern Europe (Open Society Institute 2006), which may account for women choosing higher education over labor market participation. In addition, higher education study continues to be segregated by gender. For example, throughout Eastern/Central Europe, women are more likely to choose fields such as humanities and arts, education and medicine (including nursing), while men are more likely to choose to study engineering, mathematics, natural sciences and computing (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 2006). Disadvantage for Female Students in Central Asia and the Caucasus Partly in reaction to allegedly egalitarian gender politics of the socialist regime, a new patriarchal ideology has emerged, forming new national identity discourses and naturalizing the dominant male norm in the region (Olson et al. 2007). In some countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, in particular, attitudes regarding women’s roles in society grew more conservative during the transition period. For women, this means a reassertion of a more traditional role of caring for the family and rearing children, which undoubtedly affects girls’ educational opportunities. In Uzbekistan, for example, more than 25 percent of girls do not continue education after they reach working age. Of all higher education students there, women constitute only 37.8 percent.3 In Tajikistan, women constitute approximately 25 percent of all students, uncovering a growing differential between International Studies in Education 9 (2008) young men and women. Overall, the education level of many women in these countries is strongly influenced by their reproductive load (the largest numbers of children are born to women in their 20s) and the re-emerging traditional patriarchal values. In addition, neo-liberal reforms have compromised the rights of many women. As a result, some women have been forced to participate in the newly expansive sex market. Many students have bribed their teachers or engaged in prostitution to earn enough money to attend universities.4 In addition to the resurgence of patriarchal cultural and traditional values, structural, systemic changes such as the dramatic reduction of universal preschool has overburdened women (see Table 4). 9 In societies where women used to be employable due to child care provision through preschool, women in some countries of the former socialist bloc are now faced with the primary child care responsibilities, forfeiting higher education and career paths to raise children. Another example of structural change is in the policy arena where, in Tajikistan for example, the compulsory education level was lowered to grade nine, and as a result girls left upper secondary school in large numbers (Magno, Silova and Wright 2004). A final potential explanation for lower enrollment of women in some regions could be the overall low levels of spending on education, especially for countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Tajikistan spent less TABLE 4 PRE-PRIMARY ENROLLMENT NET RATES, PERCENT OF POPULATION AGED 3-6: CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA Country 1989 Armenia 48.5 Azerbaijan 25.1 Georgia 44.6 Kazakhstan 53.1 Kyrgyzstan 31.3 Tajikistan 16.0 Turkmenistan 33.5 Uzbekistan 38.8 Source: UNICEFTransmonee (2007b). per capita on education than most other countries in the world in 2001, and Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova spending was lower than in countries with similar or lower levels of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita (UNICEF Innocenti Social Monitor 2006). The lack of education spending by governments means that households must make greater payments, which in turn penalizes poor households and reinforces gender and other inequalities (UNICEF Innocenti Social Monitor 2006). Conclusion Youth in the typical higher education age bracket have spent all or part of their early lives during the most " 1998 2005 23.8 12.9 25.8 12.5 8.7 6.0 19.2 17.9 31.8 20.9 18.4 11.1 6.9 21.3 turbulent years of the transition period. Unclear and evolving economies and the restructuring of the labor market over the past fifteen years translate into the current demand for more complex job skills. Gender dynamics, along with cultural, social and political factors in each country/region context influence women’s and men’s decisions to enroll in higher education, and more specifically their decisions regarding fields of study. The ability of the transition governments to support tertiary education in connection to future labor market needs and structures will be critical to monitor and examine over the coming years. Questions that merit further investigation include: how structural and systemic changes in the lower educational levels affect tertiary enrollments; how gender and other factors such as pov- 10 International Studies in Education 9 (2008) erty intersect in decision-making regarding higher education; how country-specific political and economic policies affect male and female higher education enrollment; and how economic sector planning might affect job opportunities in urban and rural areas. References Magno, Cathryn, and Iveta Silova. 2007. Teaching in Transition: Examining School-based Gender Inequities in the Post-Socialist Region. Journal of International Educational Development 27 (6): 647–660. Magno, Cathryn, Iveta Silova, and Susan Wright. 2004. Open minds. New York: Open Society Institute. Newell, Andrew, and Barry Reilly. 1999. Rates of Return to Educational Qualifications in the Transitional Economies. Education Economics 1 (1): 67–84. Olson, Josephine E., et. al. 2007. Beliefs in Equality for Women and Men as Related to Economic Factors in Central and Eastern Europe and the United States. Sex Roles 56 (1): 297–308. Open Society Institute. 2006. On the Road to the EU: Monitoring Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in Southeastern Europe. Budapest and New York: Network Women’s Program. Silova, Iveta, and Cathryn Magno. 2004. Gender Equity Uunmasked: Revisiting Democracy, Gender and Education in Post-Socialist Central/Southeastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Comparative Education Review 48 (4): 417–442. Svejnar, Jan. 2002. Transition Economies: Performance and Challenge. Journal of Economic Perspectives 16 (1): 3–28. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. 2006. Equal Access to the Same Fields of Study. New York: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Available online at: http://www.unece.org/gender/genpols/keyinds/educ ation/eqaccess2.htm. UNESCO. 2008. Gender Parity: Not There Yet. Paris: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. " UNICEF Innocenti Social Monitor. 2006. Understanding Child Poverty in South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. UNICEF TransMONEE. 2007a. Features. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. UNICEF TransMONEE. 2007b. Database. Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. Available online at: http://www.unicefirc.org/databases/transmonee/2007/Tables_TransM ONEE.xls. World Bank, The. 2007. Migration and Remittances: Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. Washington, DC: The World Bank. World Bank, The. 2008. World Bank Gender Stats. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Notes 1 Gender analysis is only one approach to understanding shifting enrolments. Certainly context-specific variables such as culture, conflict, and availability of higher education institutions all contribute to a full explanation. 2 The study was conducted by the Youth Research Group of the Institute of Educational Research among first year university students of economics and law. The research was coordinated by Kálmán Gábor and conducted in the 1998 1999 academic year. 3 Ministry of Macroeconomics and Statistics and State Department of Statistics, Women and Men of Uzbekistan: Statistical Volume, 2002. 4 For a more detailed explanation of the relation between prostitution and higher education in Kazakhstan see chapters three and five in Joma Nazpary, Post-Soviet Chaos: Violence and Dispossession in Kazakhstan (London, United Kingdom: Pluto Press, 2002; see also Jakob Rigi, “Conditions of post-Soviet Youth and Work in Almaty, Kazakhstan,” Critique of Anthropology 23, no. 1 (2003), p 35-49.