This paper considers how effectively inspection takes account of the 'lived experience' of young people in school and in their leisure time, and identifies some weaknesses in both data gathering and reporting. It asserts that Ofsted should be more forthright in its judgments of the curriculum range now offered in schools, and regrets its lack of…

Following the work of Jacques Derrida and modern educational authors, this article argues that Western education currently holds mainstream formal educational practices as the standard by which all other educational practices should be judged. This is a problem because this positions every other educational practice, including non-formal education…

This paper focuses on independent training providers (ITPs) -- in other words, private companies -- as suppliers of vocational education and training in post-war England. Whilst acknowledging the central role of further education (FE) colleges in delivering vocational learning, it draws attention to a large, diverse sector of ITPs operating…

Purpose: This paper aims to depart from the premise that human capital investments and human capital outcomes are often tacit -- an aspect, which is often neglected in the current literature on entrepreneurial human capital. The idea of this conceptual paper is to shed light on the social process of how human capital investments and human capital…

Internationalization is a key element of higher education missions to prepare learners for the global dimensions of their lives and work, which are increasingly integrated. In the United States, adult education graduate programs play a vital role in the wider educational landscape, particularly because of their interconnectedness with diverse…

Social movement organisations and unions can be spaces of transformative learning in which organisers research, debate, create, and put into action frameworks for social change. In this article, I engage with themes from Aziz Choudry's writings to explore learning and knowledge-making within and through the United Caucuses of Rank-and-File…

This article reframes the debate on the validation of non-formal and informal learning by connecting it to the sociology of education and curriculum studies literatures. Building on these literatures, the article differentiates between four types of validation: (a) covert and implicit, (b) covert but embedded, (c) overt and functional and (d)…

Institutionalised forms of adult learning and education (ALE) such as community learning centres (CLCs) and related models are found in most parts of the world. These are spaces offering opportunities for literacy and skills training, health and citizenship, general, liberal and vocational education, in line with fuller recognition of the meaning…

In this field note, I explore the community coalition model Creative Associates International and its partners employed to provide non-formal education to out-of-school displaced children and youth in northern Nigeria under the USAID-funded Education Crisis Response project. While there is no evidence directly linking community involvement to…

Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

In the field of education, the "non-formal education approach" to fostering human proficiency in a wide range of skills is credited with having engendered the broadening of educational practice beyond formal schooling through the emergence of methods and techniques of basic education, administrative training and management science. In…

This paper considers the under researched area relating to defining and conceptualising non-formal teacher professional development. It makes the case for adopting the general term grassroots professional development, specifically when this is self-directed activity led by educators. The article serves the purpose of being a position paper for…

This article builds upon a theoretical framework for "diasporic education" to explore the impact of such an educational approach in a state-funded primary school in England. Diasporic education refers to curricular, pedagogic and political processes that utilise as educational resource the transnational connections of racially and…

Validation of non-formal and informal learning has been gaining political momentum in Europe within the implementation of lifelong learning policies since the early 2000s. Policy documents claim a variety of education, socio-political and economic benefits from the implementation of validation, making validation a "hero" for lifelong…

The Indian Government's 12th Five Year Plan features ambitious goals regarding the upskilling of women in India. While the Plan acknowledges Indian women's continued inequality, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes (a main avenue for upskilling) pose considerable challenges. There is significant work to be done if…