The research paper “Geographical discrepancies in higher education in Sweden” picks up from an almost thirty year old doctoral thesis that focused on the importance of geographical distance in relation to higher education.
- What we’ve seen is that despite various reforms to facilitate higher education, there have been no direct effects, says Thomas Blom, Professor of Human Geography at Karlstad University.
Thomas Blom and Mats Nilsson, Docent in Human Geography at Karlstad University, have continued on the work that Thomas began in his doctoral thesis. What has happened after all these years - have the reforms had any effect? The simple answer is yes for women and no for men.
- It doesn’t seem to matter how digitalised we become, says Thomas Blom. It’s not what determines whether you choose to enroll in higher education if you live in a small town like Grums, for example. However, if we look at municipalities where the education level has been low from a historical perspective, it has increased among women during this period. It is men who pose a challenge in this respect.
Over a period of close to forty years, a number of reforms have been implemented. Karlstad University has put a lot of effort into distance education and various forms of local study centres. These efforts have been made to raise the level of formal education and in the belief that geographical distance plays a significant role.
- The more we have studied this, the more we have seen that the geographical distance is not the determining factor, says Mats Nilsson. We have seen that towns within close proximity of the university like Grums, which is less than 30 kilometres from Karlstad, show dramatic differences in a direct comparison to municipalities that are further away from the university.
- In other words, the geographical distance is not a determining factor in whether you enrol in higher education. So, there has to be other reasons behind this, says Thomas Blom.
Have you concluded what those reasons are?
- That’s the interesting part, says Thomas Blom. In our paper, we discuss how role models and key players who have taken the step to higher education seem to influence women to a greater extent than men. Despite all the measures implemented over many years, it is evident that they have not had the desired effect.
And this does not only apply to the municipalities within close proximity to Karlstad. Thomas Blom has done previous studies on parts of Stockholm where there are small “islands” in the urban environment, also known as microperipheral islands. In these studies, he detected differences in the education level in certain neighbourhoods compared to an adjacent neighbourhood.
- The same applies in this study, says Thomas Blom. The difference in education level has little to do with geographical distance. We need to focus more on reducing the mental distance in the form of young men in these places quickly finding themselves in an economic environment that is perceived as comfortable. Working shifts in a local industry can offer an appealing situation that you want to stick to. A 25-year-old man may not see any reason to reassess it.
So close proximity to a workplace, like a local paper mill, matters?
- It used to be that way, says Thomas Blom. I did a survey on that about twenty years ago. Many of the people I interviewed back then answered “my dad worked at the mill and so I want to do the same”, but if you talk to representatives of, for example, Gruvön, there is hardly a chance of getting a job without an engineering degree. So there has been a shift in the labour market. But it is clear the system moves slowly - especially in relation to young men.
In what way do you think your research can be useful?
- It could be used by politicians, for example, says Mats Nilsson. Finding measures that can stimulate the physical proximity factor rather than continuing to bridge geographical distances, which is where the focus has been for a long time. Perhaps it is time to reevaluate that.
Has your study inspired further research in any way?
- We want to take a closer look at the reforms that have been implemented since the mid-1980s. This would allow us to analyse the different reforms in more detail. What are the effects of investments in distance education, for example. And then you would continue with the next reform and compare them. That would be interesting.
