Educational Levels, Degrees, and Organizations

This area studies the levels, institutions, and organization of education — from early childhood through higher education and their systems.

Scope

It covers educational levels and transitions, the organization of schools and universities, higher-education systems, and the massification of education.

Sub-topics

• Military Schools
• One Teacher Schools
• State Schools
• Special Schools
• Suburban Schools
• Black Colleges
• Research Coordinating Units
• Agricultural Colleges
• Colleges
• College Credits
• Extended Teacher Education Programs
• Professional Development Schools
• Tribally Controlled Education
• Academic Degrees
• Credentials
• Special Degree Programs
• Undergraduate Study
• Virtual Universities
• Credits
• Traditional Schools
• Bilingual Schools
• Transitional Programs
• International Schools
• Boarding Schools
• Folk Schools
• Regional Schools
• County School Districts
• Intermediate Administrative Units
• School Districts
• Magnet Schools
• Multicampus Districts
• Vocational Schools
• Catholic Schools
• Private Education
• Public Schools
• Virtual Schools
• Early Childhood Education
• Preschools
• Charter Schools
• Cluster Colleges
• Single Sex Schools
• Graduate Study
• Laboratory Schools
• Community Schools
• Public Education
• Neighborhood Schools
• Instructional Program Divisions
• Elementary Secondary Education
• Consolidated Schools
• Rural Schools
• High Schools
• Correspondence Schools
• Private Schools
• Research and Instruction Units
• Day Schools
• Doctoral Programs
• Masters Programs
• Disadvantaged Schools
• Slum Schools
• Postdoctoral Education
• Montessori Schools
• Elementary Schools
• Schools of Education
• Experimental Schools
• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 8
• Multiunit Schools
• Free Schools
• Professional Education
• Grade 10
• Grade 11
• Grade 12
• Middle Schools
• Junior High Schools
• Grade 9
• Small Schools
• Adult Basic Education
• Adult Education
• Elementary Education
• Lifelong Learning
• Adult Programs
• Community Education
• Continuing Education Units
• Urban Schools

Core questions

• How are education systems structured across levels?
• How are schools and universities organized?
• How did higher education expand and change?
• How do educational institutions vary across countries?

Key concepts

• Educational levels
• Massification
• Higher-education systems
• Academic organization
• Institutional governance
• Access and transition

Key theories

Massification of higher education

Trow analysed the transition from elite to mass to universal higher education.

Academic organization

Clark compared how higher-education systems are organized across nations.

History

The comparative study of educational institutions and higher-education systems developed through Trow's massification theory and Clark's cross-national analysis of academic organization.

Debates

Elite versus mass higher education

How expansion changes the purposes and organization of higher education.

Key figures

• Martin Trow
• Burton Clark

Seminal works

• trow-1973
• clark-1983

Frequently asked questions

What is massification?

The expansion of higher education from an elite to a mass and then universal system, with major effects on its organization and purposes.