This book addresses what is, perhaps, the single most important issue for vocational education; its relatively low standing in an era of high aspiration. The work explores the nature, extent and consequences for an educational sector that whilst having an increasingly important role in contemporary societies is seen to be of low standing across…

Concise, clear and comprehensive snapshots of vocational education and training systems in EU, Iceland and Norway: this is what the Cedefop Spotlight on VET series offers. Building on individual country Spotlights, this publication provides an overview of VET systems with their distinctive qualities, such as main accession and progression routes…

In this article I discuss contemporary tensions between policy, research and practice within Danish early childhood education and care. I present a critical, but open-ended, pastiche narrative with elements of modernization, evidence-based practice and (post-) positivistic research. I draw on postmodern and post-pragmatist sources to construct…

This paper presents a model of the approaches open to government to ensure that early childhood services are affordable to families. We derived the model from a comparative literature review of affordability approaches taken by government, both in Australia and internationally. The model adds significantly to the literature by proposing a means to…

This report examines the development and implementation of performance indicators in higher education, focusing on the factors driving increased demand for accountability in higher education and the use of performance indicators in the United States and other countries. It discusses the public and political concern for increased productivity,…

In light of proposed changes in federal support for early childhood programs in the United States, this report provides an overview of the ways in which Denmark, France, and Italy provide early childhood programs to large numbers of children, promote high quality, and finance such programs. It reports that among 4-year-olds, 76 percent in Denmark…

Providing a cross-cultural perspective on governmental involvement in the provision of day care services, this study explores early childhood programs in five countries. Chapter 1 is a brief introduction, Chapter 2 describes state supported child care in Denmark. Chapter 3 describes playgroups in England. Chapter 4 concerns state and municipal…

Denmark has a uniform, nationwide vocational education and training (VET) system that provides qualifications that are valid throughout the country and recognized by employers and trade unions. Initial VET (IVET) includes the following components: VET, including commercial and technical training; basic social and health care training; agricultural…