This account considers the need for qualified teachers and headteachers in Children's Centres in England. It describes the ongoing decline in the importance of nursery education, and the concurrent expansion of childcare. The author argues that the best response to increasingly formal approaches in the early years is to maintain the role of the…

An employer notes complaints about the level of arithmetic skills in school leavers. That technology will affect employment skills is noted, but a flexible teaching approach which will help students describe what has been done is endorsed. (MNS)

Discusses the findings of a survey of 100 librarians in English public libraries. A look at five factors which influence career development--career length, desire for promotion, present status and salary, qualifications, and climate of employment--suggests that women have a small chance of getting senior public library posts. (JD)

"Today's Education and Training: Tomorrow's Skills" represents British Labour Party policy for education and training, aiming for higher grade point averages and high-quality education and training for 16-18 year olds within 5 years and for "A-levels" for half of all 16-19 year olds within 10 years. This article raises parity…

Summarizes the type of work carried out by forensic chemists and the minimum qualification needed for appointment. Indicates that there are eight Home Office regional forensic science laboratories in addition to the Central Research Establishment at Aldermaston. (CC)

A British study of 410 students in years 6, 10, and 12 categorized their occupational choices and parents' occupations as traditional/customary, high-status, or lottery (jobs relying on luck, chance, or talent spotting). Students appeared to focus on high-status or lottery jobs and were not inclined toward careers in which most parents were…

Drawing on a single case study in the Transforming Learning Cultures in Further Education (TLC-FE) project, discussed in the introduction to this volume, this article explores contrasting perspectives of tutors' and students' experiences of a General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ). The "case in point" is an Intermediate level…

When the first edition of "The Educational System of the United Kingdom" was published in 1991, higher education in the United Kingdom was immersed in an era of significant change. The 1991 report, which focused on changes to the UK system from 1976, recognized that major reform was set to continue into the twenty-first century. This has…

This paper, which explores the efforts made by teachers and others in England to promote the study of the media in formal education structures, begins by presenting a brief introductory overview of key historical events in media studies that have affected its identity and evolution. The paper investigates, in particular, post-16 further education…

Presented is a study of independent institutions of further education in England and Wales which provide vocational education similar to that provided by the public sector. Focus is on the size and nature of the private sector, its importance to the whole educational system, and its ability to survive in the face of the subsidized public sector.…

Emphasizes the role of "dame schools" and the nature of the teachers in them. (IRT)

Describes the scope of chemical oceanography and various ways in which chemical oceanographers can become qualified. Indicates that most sciences are involved in the study of the subject. (CC)

Examines Britain's General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) from four perspectives: ideological tensions in government policy and cultural values; relationship between GNVQs and the new managerialism in postcompulsory education; GNVQs, the labor market, and upskilling; and the importance of addressing wider educational issues beyond…

Explores subjective aspects of human-capital investment decisions in education. Explores connections that 11th- and 13th-year British students perceive between their education and the labor market, and between qualifications mechanisms and life chances. Most students believe education plays a market-signaling role and a marginal role in raising…