This is a fascinating time for adult learning in the UK. With a plethora of reviews reaching report stage alongside ongoing discussion about funding, qualifications and quality and the review of post-16 planning and funding in Wales, there is a real sense that things are about to change after a decade of well-meant but often misfocused reform.…

There is a growing disparity between jobs' educational requirements and workers' educational attainments, and also an increasing underutilization of college-educated workers. Changes in the demand for educated labor arise from changes in the U.S. economy's industrial structure and from changes in particular jobs' educational requirements. Changes…

Trends and projections concerning the objectives and practices of higher education are discussed. It is noted that there is increased public demand for fewer courses in humanities and more courses in engineering, business, computers, and vocational-oriented programs. While remedial courses and learning assistance programs are still being offered…

In this article, the author discusses the "high-skills hoax"--the notion that everyone must have high skills to be employable. While he recognizes the civil rights issue in the debate--everyone should have the opportunity to develop the skills to land a high-paying job--the law of supply and demand dictates that more high-skilled workers would…

Changes in the demand for higher education in postwar Japan are analyzed. Three simple conceptual models of the anticipated benefit of education are considered, along with the validity of each model in explaining changes in aggregate demand for college. A classical model assumes that individuals know about the prevailing wage structure and expect…

In Britain, short-term labor market projections have been used in favor of long-term planning, but in order to do any comprehensive planning for education and training programs, appropriate data will have to be collected more diligently. Some change can be seen now, but even more will be needed in the future. (MSE)

Government policy and student pressures are focused on future employability and appear intent on forcing higher education to be more transparently relevant to the workplace. This trend is threat to a broader view of education and the development of inquiring, innovative, critical thinkers, who are supposed to be in demand by employers. (SK)

In a technological age, students must be able to process a bombardment of information and to use this information with high-technology machinery to solve complex problems. School curriculum must prepare children with advanced thinking skills and technological attitudes. Characteristics of schools which meet these demands are discussed. (PP)

Some of the critical aspects of the relationship between the university and the world of work in developing nations are discussed with a focus on Brazil. The role of higher education in a fast developing society is examined. Phenomena concerning higher education that are universal and constant include population growth, increasing complexity of…

College students in the 1980s pursue narrow, personal, career-oriented goals; consequently, enrollment in the liberal arts is falling. Students are missing the opportunity for exposure to liberal learning and are not developing habits of reflective thinking and an expanded vision. (PP)

This introduction to a series of articles on education and work focuses on the challenge to institutions of higher education that the adult lifelong learner presents. Topics include the potential for adult learning, learning needs, characteristics of adult learners, and the ability of traditional campuses to accommodate these students. (JMD)

The link between education and work and the situation at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are discussed by the university chancellor in testimony to the National Commission on Excellence in Education. Characteristics of this urban, commuter university and its students are described, along with historical changes in the role of the…

Sweden has worked in the last decade to strengthen the connection between education and employment, but still needs to make futher improvements. Recent shifts in the country's labor markets led to more youth unemployment, the displacement of less-educated workers by the more highly educated, and greater problems in the transition from school to…

Attributes the growth of private education to excess and differentiated demand for higher education. Argues that evidence shows that the higher quality of private education is exaggerated and that private school attendance does not result in higher salaries for graduates. Criticizes private education as not wholly self-financing, elitist, and…

Argues that globalization is standardizing the way that higher education responds to the pressures of the international division of labor, but because Western countries have more knowledge workers, they will point the way for the development of higher education in developing nations. Discusses implications for undergraduate and postgraduate…