Exploring Degrees of Connection: Challenges and Acceptance of the European Degree Label Towards Shaping the Future of Higher Education

This paper investigates the adoption and implementation of the European Degree Label (EDL) within joint degree programmes, using Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991) as a predictive framework. Specifically, the study examines how attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control influence key stakeholders' intentions and actual behaviours towards EDL adoption. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework is extended to the context of organisational transformation, highlighting its applicability in navigating resistance to change within educational institutions. Administered to academic stakeholders across Europe, the questionnaire focuses on three TPB dimensions: attitudes towards the EDL, academic community norms, and stakeholders’ self-efficacy and perceived control over EDL implementation. Utilising a mixed-method approach, the study aims to produce nuanced insights into these behavioural predictors. Anticipated results are expected to identify practical strategies for fostering EDL acceptance, including aligning organisational norms with policy objectives and enhancing stakeholders’ perceived behavioural control (PBC) through leadership support and training, thus fostering cooperation throughout the European Higher Education Area and furthering its fundamental values. The results presented in this paper are part of a broader project: SMARTT–Screening, Mapping, Analysing, Recommending, Transferring and Transforming Higher Education international programmes. SMARTT aimed to analyse, test, and pilot the new European Degree label criteria, with the goal of improving the quality and increasing the transferability of future developments of European Degrees across Europe and beyond (SMARTT, 2023).