ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the historical context in which Central and Eastern European higher education developed until 1989. It analyses the development of modern higher education systems, and in particular, major trends which transcended the particular effects of the former division of Europe. The chapter discusses the major themes in the development of Central and Eastern European higher education since 1989. It also analyses the alternative interpretations of the overall significance of the reforms undertaken since 1989, and their implications for the future direction of higher education in the region. In some countries in the region, Western "returnees" have played an important role. The chapter focuses on the scale and scope of Central and Eastern European higher education, the sequencing of successive phases of higher education reform since 1989, the balance between continuities and discontinuities, and structural reforms, or the creation of new legal, administrative, and academic frameworks.