Private higher education: a comparative study of Germany and the United Arab Emirates

ABSTRACT

This article compares the private higher education (HE) systems in Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). We examine the historical, political, and demographic contexts of private universities in both countries, as well as the role of the state in regulating and shaping the private HE sector. We then explore the interrelation of the public and private HE sectors in Germany and the UAE, with a focus on how competitive and market forces, as well as state regulation, affect the HE system. Finally, we reflect on the homogenising and differentiating drivers that contribute to explaining the private HE landscape in both countries. We use neo-institutionalist approach to identify different varieties of isomorphism in the two countries. Even though the growth and shape of the private higher education sector in both countries reflect international normative, mimetic and coercive pressures, our study suggests that the development of the private sector is moderated by country-specific historical developments as well as by political contexts that accelerate or slow down market dynamics.

KEYWORDS:

• Germany
• United Arab Emirates
• private higher education
• international comparison of higher education systems
• neo-institutionalism
• isomorphism
• world society theory

Acknowledgement

Open Access funding is provided by the Qatar National Library.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical approval statement

This study was conducted in accordance with the Academic Integrity Code of the institutions the authors are affiliated to.

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Sanaa Ashour

Dr. Sanaa Ashour is a Professor of Gulf Studies at Qatar University. Previously, she served as the director of the Sociology program at the College of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Al Ain University in the United Arab Emirates. She also served as a visiting professor at TU Dresden, the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), and Forschungsinstitut für Bildungs- und Sozialökonomie (FiBS) in Germany. She has a PhD in Development Studies from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Bonn, Germany, and a master’s degree in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Her research explores the intersection of educational policies and institutional frameworks, influencing the dynamics of higher education and stimulating debates on its advancement for societal benefits. Additionally, she has authored a book on ethnic politics and policy-making.

Bernd Kleimann

Bernd Kleimann is professor for “Governance in Higher Education and Science” at University of Kassel and head of the eponymous research area at the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) in Hannover, Germany. He received his postdoctoral qualification in sociology with particular regard to higher education research and organisational sociology from the University of Kassel in 2015. In 2000 he was awarded a doctoral degree in philosophy from the University of Gießen. He studied philosophy and German literature at the Universities of Hagen, Marburg, and Tübingen and worked as researcher at the University of Hamburg. His scholarly interests pertain to the internal and external governance of higher education organisations, to organisational sociology, sociology of evaluation, social theory and sociology of communication.