BRIDGING THE GAP: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HIGHER EDUCATION CHALLENGES IN SOUTH KOREA AND ENGLAND

Purpose: This study compares how higher education financing, quality policy and demographic pressures affect access, institutional resilience and graduate outcomes in South Korea and England. Procedure: A structured documentary comparison uses the description, interpretation, juxtaposition and comparison steps of Bereday to new indicators of the OECD and official policy sources. Results: Korea has a high tertiary attainment that is accompanied by intergenerational inequality and a declining youth population; the fee-and-loan system in England encourages entry at the expense of institutions to recruitment risk. BK21 and TEF are focused on diverse objectives and do not allow making causal assertions on the rankings or employability independently.