Purpose: Using the example of an amalgamated secondary school qualification (International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme--IBCP), in which both vocational education and training (VET) and academic subjects are taught, the paper aims to discuss the use of skills and knowledge gained during the IBCP for post-secondary school activities.…

Drawing upon a research study on lifelong learning, citizenship, and fiction writing, this paper explores issues around identity and learning in becoming a fiction author. Five main thematic areas are discussed: (1) envisioning a writing career, (2) compelled to write, (3) learning the craft, (4) getting published, and (5) online identity. The…

In Germany, nursing science has been developing since the early 1990s. Since then it is possible for nursing professionals (partly with, partly without prior 3-year vocational training) to do a bachelor's or master's degree in nursing science at universities of applied sciences. However, to do a Ph.D. they need to change to a university as in…

This article explores the learning pathways of 15 Canadian and American female crime fiction authors. Using a critical feminist perspective, it argues that despite the neoliberal rhetoric of individual choice, as in most careers, there are social-structural factors that create opportunities and barriers for women mystery writers. The article…

Purpose: The study examined the barriers faced, the goals selected, and the optimization and compensation strategies of older workers in relation to career change. Method: Thirty open-ended interviews, 12 in the United States and 18 in New Zealand, were conducted, recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for themes. Results: Barriers to…

This white paper, "Increasing Graduate Management Education Candidate Diversity: Improving Attraction to Underrepresented Segments," presents findings from a research study that GMAC commissioned from globalsojourn, a market strategy and research firm, to gain insights into the dynamics of the perceptions and interest of U.S.…

Few men around the world work in daycare settings, nursery schools or kindergartens. Yet wherever they are found, men who are perceived to have crossed the gender boundary in their choice of profession are widely acclaimed as gifted educators and excellent caregivers. Policy makers who care about providing quality education for young children need…

Because professionalism in early childhood education and care (ECEC) is measured by standards relating to caring, men in the field are often held to expectations associated with female behaviors. This research examines the tensions arising from this encounter and explores alternative solutions which male ECEC workers around the world have…

The phenomenon of women's underrepresentation in engineering is well known. However, the slow progress in achieving better gender equality here compared with other domains has accentuated the "numbers" issue, while the quality aspects have been largely ignored. This study aims to shed light on both these aspects via the lens of mentors,…

High teacher attrition rates hinder schools in their ability to provide quality instruction. This study seeks to understand why teachers leave early in their careers (within the first 5 years) using a mixed methods approach that combined 50 in-depth interviews with 15 public and 10 Catholic school teachers in the United States who left early with…

Attracting and retaining strong faculty members in dental schools have long been challenges in the United States. Faced with an emerging crisis in the availability and quality of dental educators, many researchers have focused on analyzing data and trends related to this subject. Even though there are substantial studies that provide a picture of…

The offshoring movement has had a profound effect on U.S. based IT employee career development and growth opportunities. This phenomenological study included an analysis of the central phenomenon through observations and lived experiences of 10 HR managers and 10 IT operational managers equally distributed between two U.S. based IT services…

For over two decades the under-representation of African Americans in school science and the workplace has been a central concern for educators, policy makers, and researchers. Existing literature provides many accounts of the barriers to science career attainment. This study examined the science career trajectories of fourteen African American…

This study uses a mixed methods approach to examine a new type of curriculum configuration that supports students' transitions to college: career technical programs of study (POS). Interview and survey data were collected from a college and its feeder high schools in each of three well-established ("mature") sites in geographically…

For many years women have been under-represented in mathematics and related careers. Many women have been successful at the undergraduate level in a mathematics major, yet chose other career paths. In this study seventeen women, all of whom had done well in mathematics and have either graduated with an undergraduate degree in mathematics or had a…