PREFERENCES OF POTENTIAL APPLICANTS FOR UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AND THE “LEARNING ECONOMY”

In the current postmodern society, knowledge is still more important. Also corresponding with this fact are the development theories which have been developed from the theory of learning organisation, the theory of learning regions to the relatively new term “learning economy” used in some current publications (e.g. Lam, Lundvall, 2006). Knowledge, learning process and education become an integral part of personality development and also the development of the whole of society. The concept of the “learning economy” is based on the responsibility of each member of society for its education and individual knowledge dynamics and also is based on the responsibility of the whole of society for the collective knowledge dynamics as a prerequisite of its successful development. In this context, the paper is focused on the preferences and ideas of potential applicants for university education within the process of the choice of universities. The main factors which influence the decision-making process of potential applicants for university education are examined by using quantitative empirical research. The correspondence of these factors, preferences and ideas with the requirements of the “learning economy” is also analysed. Attention is also paid to the responsibility of potential applicants for university education for the creation of their knowledge and knowledge dynamics (mainly codified and scientific knowledge are the focus of this paper).