Dewey's "Democracy and Education" is re-read as an attempt to develop a universal theory of education that, on the one hand, gives the broadest, most general view on education and, on the other hand, contextualizes every observation by binding it to the assumed perspective. Dewey's broad concept of education encompasses two dimensions…

Increasing the number of tertiary graduates has been a priority on the political agenda of the EU for some years. The focus has mainly been on academic courses though, with less emphasis on the role of vocational education and training. International educational statistics indeed show a clear increase in the number of persons completing tertiary…

This paper argues that country size can play a crucial role in shaping the type of gradual change observed in collective skill formation systems. Collectively governed dual-apprenticeship training has its base in the industrial and crafts sectors of the economy and builds on the decentralised cooperation of multiple public and private…

The steady increase in science-related requirements in operational areas of skilled and managing workforce is influencing worldwide the discourse on shaping professionalization. This article focuses on the compatibility of professional and scientific competence-oriented learning outcomes of qualification programmes within and across the education…

The traditional German model of skill formation was based on the rather strict segmentation between vocational training and higher education. However, during recent years this differentiation has slowly dissolved, partly by politically motivated developments to increase the permeability between both sectors and partly as a result of latent changes…

In recent years, there has been increased interest within British Columbia in the issue of whether or how trades qualifications might transfer into academic post-secondary programs. Some BC institutions have already started, or will be starting, programs which incorporate this form of transfer credit. Colleagues at British Columbia Council on…

The long-time Prussian/German Crown Princess Victoria (1840-1901), known after her husband's death as the Empress Frederick, played an important role as patroness of and advocate for many forms of academic and vocational education for girls and women. This article examines her work for various institutions in Berlin as well as her homeland. It…

For many good and well-known reasons, it is now widely accepted that there is a need for more integrated concepts of learning (and studying) in the workplace. This article focuses on the notions and experiences gained from new educational programmes of work-based learning (WBL) in vocational education and training (VET) or--to be…

In this article I argue that the subject-object distinction, operative in Continental Europe during the late-1700s and early-1800s, led to the religion-secular distinction in higher education in the United States. Many scholars believe the origins of the shifting nature of the religion-secular distinction resided with some form of influence that…

The lack of academic and thinking culture is getting more worried and becomes a major challenge to our academia society this 21st century. Few directions that move academia from "cogito ergo sum" to "consumo ergo sum" are actually leading us to "the end of academia". Those directions are: (1) the death of dialectic;…

This report presents the views of a group of Connecticut educators, business people, and labor leaders to Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany, where they visited businesses, schools, the chamber of commerce, a labor exchange center, and representatives of the German state's parliament. They learned about the German system of apprenticeship. The observers…

The educational and employment opportunities available to noncollege-bound youths in Germany and the United States were compared. The analysis focused on the following: the future of youth and work, the transition from school to career, apprenticeship, academic education, and vocational education. The existing U.S. apprenticeship system, in which…