This article compares the changes in the determination of educational aspirations from the end of the communist period in 1989 to 2003, focusing on a single postcommunist country, the Czech Republic. The Czech case is particularly relevant for comparative research on educational inequality and aspirations, as previous studies have shown…

This study explores the knowledge-seeking processes among professionals, highlighting three core questions: What induces professionals to engage in continuous learning? What makes them strive for something beyond the immediate obvious goal or situation? How can we theorise practice in a way that allows for engagement and engrossment--the emotional…

Under the combined effects of commercialisation, urbanisation, migration and employment, significant changes are taking place in India's process of modernisation. One change is the emergence of a population of women with degrees in higher education. These degrees, and the individuals' desire to pursue professional positions that relate to their…

The "Where Did They Go?" study, co-funded by the BC Council on Admissions and Transfer (BCCAT) and the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), was designed to complement research undertaken under the auspices of the Student Transitions Project (STP) which has tracked the public post-secondary participation of BC high school graduates from…

This study of the education, training and employment of asylum seekers and refugees in the UK is based on the academic and policy literature and empirical data from five major studies. It sets out the political context to seeking asylum in the UK, explores current policy and practice regarding the education, training and employment of new migrants…

Understanding the influences upon curriculum formation is an ongoing challenge for adult educators. This discussion describes one approach to curriculum analysis--the aspirational myth--based on the notion that instructors and learners co-construct an idealized identity representing the end point of learning. The aspirational myth is described…

What are the aspirations of Adult ESOL learners and what social and institutional factors constrain them? What are the consequent implications for Adult ESOL practitioners? This paper draws on a corpus of 76 interviews with adult migrants learning English in the UK, analyzing four of them in detail using a case study methodology. Despite the high…

Jewish adult women increasingly are taking advantage of unique study opportunities previously closed to them. This article is the result of a survey directed at adult Jewish women in every denomination who came back to the classroom as adults. It aims to assess why they returned, what their educational expectations are, and how those expectations…

This report presents a summary of findings from the Emerging Pathways project, which seeks to identify the diverse needs and characteristics of adult learners, understand patterns of enrollment in credit and non-credit-bearing courses and offer advice to postsecondary institutions and policymakers committed to adult learners' success. Among its…

There is a strong and growing argument for higher educational attainment in the United States. The jobs that are expected to support the economy in the coming years will depend on a skilled workforce that is able to learn and adapt quickly to new challenges. However, demographic patterns demonstrate that relying on the traditional K-16 pipeline to…

To ensure reliable, accurate, and timely data, which are necessary to monitor the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 59 indicators of important developments and trends…