This article describes the evolution of inclusive education in Hong Kong, moving from segregation via integration to inclusion. The outside influence of education policies and trends from Britain, Australia, and the United States are identified, and the current situation is described. In particular, obstacles that are encountered on the route to…

This report looks at the picture of apprenticeships at levels 6 and 7, equivalent to a bachelors or postgraduate degree. Degree apprenticeships in England were launched in Autumn 2015, and offer a potentially powerful combination of on the job training and academic learning. With the prospect of gaining industry-specific skills, a…

The dramatic rise in the number of university students holding BTECs [Business and Technology Education Councils] raises important questions about the purpose of the qualification and whether it should be treated by policymakers as part of an academic or vocational pathway. Scott Kelly discusses these issues and makes a number of recommendations…

This report represents a follow-up study to a March 2016 report, "The Future Growth of Degree Apprenticeships" (ED574134), an assessment of university engagement with the very early stages of the development of degree apprenticeships. This follow-up study draws on an extensive survey of what universities are now doing and plan to do. The…

This article focuses on the role of training managers (TMs) in UK participation in WorldSkills Competitions (WSC). The TM role is outlined, according to the perceptions of the TMs, and there is analysis of the benefits to them of participation, as well as the barriers they face, and the benefits and barriers available to participating further…

This paper examines higher education quality policy developments internationally (U.K., U.S.) and in Australia with respect to the role of learning standards and assessment in work-integrated learning. Whilst remaining located primarily within the Australian higher education context, the paper briefly identifies some of the more influential global…

This document is a summary of the report "What Makes Great Teaching". It argues that improved teacher ­development will positively impact on pupil attainment, particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds. "Developing Teachers" presents five policy recommendations which have been signed by 17 of Britain's leading headteachers…

Teaching excellence is at the centre of national and international higher education policy. The Higher Education Academy (HEA) is a part of the debate to develop a shared understanding of what constitutes teaching excellence and has published research including "Considering Teaching Excellence in Higher Education: 2007-2013" by Dr Vicky…

This project examined the impact on learning and teaching of recent significant changes in UK higher education policy. The term "pedagogic stratification" is used to explore and analyse how institutional type may relate to different conceptions of "teaching excellence" and "the student experience" adopted across the…

Recent interest in the number of complaints being raised by students in higher education may be attributed both to a general concern about quality and standards in universities and to the emerging role of the student as a "consumer". However, partly because of the highly sensitive nature of this topic, for students, staff and…

Although many of the recommendations in "A Test of Leadership: Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education" (the Spellings Commission report) have still to be implemented, policy makers' insistence that American colleges and universities measure student learning outcomes in a way that permits comparisons seems unlikely to go away. Nor…

This paper discusses the issues around the professional development needs of sessional teaching staff in the UK. The introduction of the UK professional standards framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education in 2006 raised the issue of engaging the wide range of staff, faculty, and learning support in professional…

The expansion of school choice and greater competition between schools is currently the centrepiece of government educational policy in the UK. There is an increasing emphasis on parents' right to choose their preferred schools, and whilst many parents may value choice itself, the advocates of these market oriented reforms usually argue that the…