Vocational education and training (VET) systems around the world serve many aims, the most important of which can be grouped into three main aims: economic, social and educational aims. These different aims find their roots in different socio-cultural and economic contexts and their importance in the functioning of the systems evolves according to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the usefulness of an agile social learning method in higher education to build capacity for sustainable development at the community level. Social learning methods intend to empower students (and instructors) to work together in connection with real-life issues -- combined with acquiring a…

The central research question was: Why do Chinese students want to study in the United States? The participants were 20 Chinese students who studied in the U.S. Ten interview questions were used and data were processed in NVivo 10. Five major themes emerged from this study: (a) American culture benefits foreign perceptions of education in the…

This paper discusses the relevance of lifelong learning vis-à-vis the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and stresses the need for an approach blending formal education, non-formal and informal learning. The role of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in moving beyond formal education and the importance of integrating pedagogy, andragogy and…

Widened participation in post-compulsory and higher education is generally regarded as a result of the growing recognition of the internal and external benefits of higher education, which are categorised either as a private or public good. However, a question can be raised: once these incentives become less promising or less evident, will a strong…

Higher education resources are dwindling yet postsecondary institutions are expected to do more with less. As a result, institutions of higher learning are having to reimagine and reorganize standard operating procedures to identify solutions for the future. One of the options is to consider interinstitutional collaborations. A primary challenge…

In this article we focus on constraints to post-apartheid transformation in the higher education sector of South Africa via a case study of an attempt to introduce a new curriculum for the Bachelor of Education. Thirty-one semi-structured interviews were the main data-gathering method. We use Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of field, capital, habitus…

The paper discusses factors impacting on boys' educational aspirations at two case-study schools in urban Jamaica. It focuses on boys' experience of their educational environment in relation to social, cultural and economic factors, which shapes the nature of their aspirations towards higher education. The study utilised Bourdieu's notion of…

Contextual factors have received increased attention in understanding the challenges and difficulties in translating career education and career guidance services from Western societies to non-Western societies, many of which are undertaking a shift from a socialist and collectivistic system to a more individualistic one. In this article, using…

In this study, an attempt was made to predict the students' mathematical academic underachievement at the Islamic Azad University-Yadegare-Imam branch and the appropriate strategies in mathematical academic achievement to be applied using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. Survey research methods were used to select 91 students from the…

Botanic gardens have been evolving, responding to the changing needs of society, from their outset as medicinal gardens of monasteries and university gardens to more recently as organizations that contribute to the conservation of plant genetic resources. Considering that social and environmental issues are deeply intertwined and cannot be tackled…

Toxic Release Inventory facilities are among the many environmental hazards shown to create environmental inequities in the United States. This project examined four factors associated with Toxic Release Inventory, specifically, manufacturing facility location at multiple spatial scales using spatial analysis techniques (i.e., O-ring statistic and…

Using exploratory case study to assess the learning needs of low income populations in a Canadian city, one key finding was that the majority are wounded learners from their experiences in the schooling system. Compounded by various social and economic factors, these wounds represent various forms of violence, particularly symbolic violence that…

This paper explores corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the biotech high-tech sector as a way to achieve competitive advantages. After presenting the importance of science for high-tech firms, the paper focuses on the social and economic role of CSR. Next, the primary reasons for firms' engagement in CSR activities are presented, followed by…

The scholarly bias toward Western and English-speaking settings in the study of international education overlooks the experiences of international students in emerging education hubs in Asia. To redress this imbalance, this article offers insights into the crucial role of place in the study destination choices of a group of international…