Nine articles describe the experience of Jobrotation in France, Denmark, and Germany, a program that enables workers to take training leaves of absence while their jobs are performed by specially trained replacements. Discusses benefits of this human capital investment for businesses, workers, unemployed persons, and government. (SK)

Based on research in South Wales, a sociological theory of participation in education and training is developed, identifying types of orientations: functional avoidance, instrumental credentialism, and vocational transformation. The inclusion of sociological insights in human-capital development policy is recommended. (SK)

A question that currently confronts economic policy practitioners is how to promote local economic growth in regions, cities and places, in a neo-liberal political climate under conditions of intensifying global competition. This paper argues that we need to understand the workings of our local economies--the processes that shape, mould and drive…

One of the hottest topics in high-school reform is the movement to align high schools' graduation requirements with the requirements for college entrance, and to make sure that any graduate who enters college is ready for success. Advocates seem to believe that the answers to public-school reform and economic competitiveness can be found by…

Lacking guidance of general equilibrium (GE) theories in public economics and the corresponding proper mechanisms, China has not surprisingly witnessed an inequality in educational expenditures across regions as well as insufficiency of funds for education in poor areas. It is wrongly thought that what happens is due to the decentralized financing…

Corporations have used and continue to use schools as conduits to establish consumption as the ultimate expression of participatory democracy and, thus, as the supreme good and standard of personal growth. By nurturing this narrow moral ideal as the "summum bonum" (the highest good) of public and private life, our corporate-infused schools work to…

In the traditional view, U.S. colleges and universities are devoted to teaching and research, offering a superior diversity of programs, institutional types and missions, revenue sources, and styles of governance. In recent years, public and private sector observers have commented on higher education as part of the nation's infrastructure. Though…

The focus of this article is to examine the relationship between the workplace and business. In doing so, the concept of profitability will be considered first followed by an examination of three concerns in reducing expenses: geography, technical efficiency, and people. (CT)

According to the reviewer, Coleman claims that many current social policies deliberately or inadvertently undermine families, clans, religious organizations, and community institutions that have been sustaining social structures for thousands of years. Coleman suggests that "modern corporate actors" (even schools) cannot replace…

Bjorkquist and Lewis's model for training research includes workers' concerns (autonomy, compensation, health, and worker-environment fit) as well as influences on training outcomes (performance deficiencies, learning conditions, and worker commitment). Rosen's reaction considers whether meaningful worker participation in planning can take place…

Asked to identify one book that profoundly influenced their thinking, eight well-read superintendents recommended titles stressing learning and leadership themes. The list includes James Comer's "Waiting for a Miracle," Paulo Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," John Dewey's "Experience and Education," Antoine de…

The authors offer the image of our nation as a nautical convoy. Some boats are large, well built, and able to ride out the heaviest of turbulent seas. Others are smaller, but still quite sturdy, and able to survive. Many however, are fragile, meagerly equipped, and easily capsized in rough waters. This convoy is in the midst of a perfect storm…

It has been estimated that as many as one in five adults in England have difficulties with literacy or numeracy skills. Raising the standards of language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills amongst all adults of working age in England has become one of the government's highest priorities. Following the launch of the "Skills for Life"…

Quality of Education was the theme for the 1990 conference of Ministers of Education of the Commonwealth. To provide briefings, the Commonwealth Secretariat commissioned a series of papers on this theme, and a selection of these papers were published as a series of three volumes. This third volume consists of two papers by Kenneth King and Jasbir…

The three essays in this publication consider the relationship between human capital investment and economic development, particularly in the context of developing countries. The first article (by Aklilu Habte) reviews the experiences of the World Bank in lending for education, curriculum development, and vocational training. The role of education…