Osnovni cilj rada je naglašavanje važnosti socijalne dimenzije reforme visokog školstva u Hrvatskoj i Europi, imajući pritom u vidu činjenicu, da je iznalaženje europskih političkih preporuka za poboljšanje kvalitete i pravednosti javnih sustava visokog obrazovanja osnovna zadaća ministarskih konvencija Bolonjskog procesa. Sukladno tome, pokušava se odgovoriti na pitanja doprinose li, na normativnoj razini, institucije visokog obrazovanja uklanjanju nejednakosti u pristupu i sudjelovanju u visokom obrazovanju, odnosno na koji se način učešće u visokoškolskom obrazovanju posreduje širim društvenim statusom. Analizi ovih pitanja pristupa se u tri koraka: najprije se na osnovi analize službenih dokumenata Bolonjskog procesa konceptualno određuje "socijalna dimenzija" visokog obrazovanja ; potom se daje kratki pregled karakterističnih teorijskih pristupa vezanih uz tematiku obrazovne i socijalne nejednakosti ; da bi se na kraju analizirali neki normativni aspekti sustava visokog obrazovanja u Hrvatskoj i dostupni empirijski podaci vezani uz socijalne karakteristike hrvatskih studenata/ica. (IN ENGLISH: The article emphasizes the importance of the social dimension of higher education reforms in Croatia and Europe, in view of the central task of Bologna process ministerial meetings to define European policy recommendations which target the improvement of quality and equality in European higher education systems. In line with that, the article attempts to address issues concerning the normative level of higher education participation in Croatia and whether higher education institutions contribute to reducing inequalities in access and progress to higher education study, as well as whether higher education participation in Croatia is mediated by social status. These issues are approached in three steps. Firstly, on the basis of analysing Bologna process official documents, the 'social dimension' of higher education is conceptualised. This is followed by a short review of characteristic theoretical approaches to educational and social inequalities; and finally, some aspects of the Croatian higher education system are analysed on both a normative and empirical level, the latter giving an insight into the social characteristics of the Croatian student body.
