Intermediaries--also referred to as bridge builders, boundary spanners, conveners, and other names--fill the critical role of connecting all the parties in the system to empower people with the skills required in the labor force. Those parties generally include employers, educators, workers, and prospective workers. Within these categories may…

Until the global financial crisis, neo-liberalism had appeared invincible. This article examines the global rise of neo-liberalism and its impact on education, particularly its treatment of the social democratic ideal of equality. Drawing on examples from education and other socio-political factors, it considers whether the financial crisis is…

The Labour Party has been in power for the past 13 years in the UK. What is its legacy in education? What have been the salient aspects of its policy interventions, and what impact have these policies had on the practice of English teachers? With its assumption of a straightforward correlation between education and economic development, New…

This week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is publishing the findings of new research undertaken to explore the relationship between educational spending and economic growth. The report, "The High Cost of Low Educational Performance--The Long-Run Economic Impact of Improving PISA Outcomes", employs recent…

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a…

This document contains the following plenary speeches from the 1994 annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC): "Forging New Links--Focus on Developing Economies" by Sir Donald Maitland of the Independent Commission for World-Wide Telecommunications Development (United Kingdom); "The Missing Link: Still…

Discusses the current state of distance education in the United Kingdom and Europe. Highlights include the Open University; Open Tech, for training and vocational development to aid in economic restructuring; government's role; Open College; Open Polytechnic; Open College of the Arts; Open School, for children; and the meaning of open learning.…

Proceedings of a seminar on the management of English second language training (ELT) in British technical assistance programs are presented in the form of narrative summaries. An introductory section gives an overview of the conference. Four subsequent chapters summarize presentations and discussions on these topics: project management,…

Reviews science and technology policymaking in five countries with free-market economies: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. Implications for eastern European and other countries currently reorganizing toward domestic market economies and greater orientation toward world trade are discussed. (61…

This document outlines how the government of the United Kingdom intends to achieve and sustain full employment and social justice across the country. Chapter 1 discusses the United Kingdom's economic, educational, and social problems and details plans to solve them through a policy based on the following principles: (1) building an economy with…