U.S. universities have had century-long success in absorbing existing professions into their curricula--by making academe their gatekeeper. These professions often started with apprenticeships and short training courses leading to a certification examination--and were then elevated and "academized" into a comprehensive body of knowledge,…

The evidence relating to the decline in higher education in the United States is summarized, and comparison is made between the U.S. system and that of the United Kindgom, especially in relation to the resilience of the two systems. It is concluded the U.K. system may be less resilient in a period of severe fiscal restraint and declining…

Two sets of opinion exist regarding the control of schools. The first pertains to the freedom of parental choice in education and the right of individuals and associations to run private schools subject to minimal government controls. The second stresses the overriding need to promote greater equality of opportunity in the form of publicly…

The variety of conventional and creative responses of U.S. higher education institutions to declining enrollments and related educational change is outlined, and the shift in the role of state governments in higher education is discussed. (MSE)

Traditional Marxist approaches to the state relegate superstructural institutions like the school to a minor role in the process of social change. More recent theories like those of Gramsci, Althusser, and Poulantzas raise the state and the class struggle in the state apparatuses to a much more prominent position: superstructure, including the…

This document reports the activities and impressions of 30 Swedish adult educators who exchanged ideas, experiences, and research results concerning adult education and learning at more than 20 conferences and seminars organized in the United States and Canada. The foreword briefly summarizes some impressions. (Among them are that adult education…

Issues pertaining to access to higher education in Great Britain are considered in seven papers. Medium- and long-term policy issues concerning the demand for and access of British residents to higher education at the undergraduate level are reviewed by Oliver Fulton, who also outlines policies to increase demand and improve access, along with…

The goal of this comparative essay on higher education in Mexico and the United States is to provide a description of the common issues within the different contexts of each country to facilitate discussions of new binational programs. Government and business sectors of both countries have acknowledged the need to reform their education,…

In the United States and Canada alike, expressions of concern over the fact that the demand for skilled workers far exceeds the current supply have been heard repeatedly. However, several studies would seem to indicate that, as familiar as these claims about the supply and demand for skilled workers may be, they are very contentious. If a Hudson…