This research brief describes an analysis of the reform efforts of four Arab region nations (Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates) in response to human capital challenges they face in preparing their people to work in a global environment. (Contains 3 tables.) [For associated report, see ED503118.]

The University of Western Australia is the latest of a half-dozen Australian institutions to drastically overhaul its academic programs, in a move to bring its degrees more in line with global standards, as well as ensure it remains attractive to prospective students. The universities are essentially parting ways with the British system and moving…

One of the challenges facing Australia is the ageing of the population. Of major concern, especially to government, is that the dependency ratio--a measure of the burden that economically active persons carry by supporting dependent persons--will increase significantly unless older people keep working or immigration is used to change the…

In this article, the development of the level of education of the inhabitants of Russia is analyzed based on the materials of "post-Soviet Russia," in which there are two clearly marked different stages: the 1990s and the beginning of the present century. On the whole, this period has to be seen as one in which "capitalism was…

This paper revisits the crucial period following the Arab oil boycott of 1973, when the welfare state in the UK finally collapsed along with the heavy industrial base upon which it rested. Unlike the post-war welfare-state "settlement", the new post-welfare market state was imposed by Margaret Thatcher's governments. It was marked for…

This paper evaluates the labour market effects of the introduction of the polytechnic education system in Finland. The polytechnic reform gradually transformed former vocational colleges into polytechnics. Since the timing of the reform differed across schools, we can compare the performance of polytechnic graduates to the performance of…

Since 2000, the European Union has given greater attention to lifelong learning, as expressed in the Lisbon presidency conclusions and the general objectives of the Education and Training 2010 work programme. In September 2007, these policy proposals were further strengthened with the announcement of the "Action Plan on Adult Learning"…

For decades Japan has remained at or near the top of international assessments of student learning; and in the past decade, students in Japan have become more engaged in learning. However, the government aspires to improve learning outcomes even further. "Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for…

Pressing Forward: Increasing and Expanding Rigor and Relevance in America's High Schools is organized to place secondary education, specifically the goals of preparing young adults to be college and career ready, in contemporary perspective, emphasizing the changing global economy and trends in policy and practice. High school students must be…

In June 2005, 50 graduate school deans gathered at Princeton to address the fact that the number of new PhDs conferred each year far exceeds the number of tenure-track academic jobs on offer. Under the auspices of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation's Responsive PhD Project, these deans spoke passionately about how American…

This article reviews the literature on the experiences of working-class students at different stages of the student life cycle. It examines the factors influencing their participation rates in higher education (HE), their ability to adapt to university life, and their success in the graduate labour market. The article argues that without radical…

America's schools are among the most unequal in the industrialized world in terms of both inputs and outcomes. Inequalities in spending, class sizes, textbooks, computers, facilities, curriculum offerings, and access to qualified teachers contribute to disparate achievement by race and class, which increasingly feeds the "school-to-prison…

This series addresses the relation of education to knowledge-based growth and broader measures of development beyond growth, central features of the modern world in which education has a central role. This role includes the effects of education on pure economic growth including its effects on the creation, adaptation, and dissemination of new…

After the fall of the Soviet Union and its transition in the 1990s towards a democratic form of government, Mongolia was forced to embark upon a complete series of reforms within society, including within its education sector. Mongolia's higher education sector was significantly affected by this change. Private higher education institutions…

The United States, as well as the rest of the world, will face critical civil, environmental, energy, communication, manufacturing, and health-care challenges in the coming decades, and more scientists and engineers will be needed to address those problems. The number of jobs in the U.S. labor force requiring science and engineering skills, in…