This article assesses the role of Learning Partnerships in England and equivalent bodies in Scotland and Wales, as an example of a post-16 education and training initiative and its articulation via public sector institutions. The article uses new survey evidence across Britain. It demonstrates that Learning Partnerships have been one further…

Education policy in sub-Saharan Africa is predicated on human capital assumptions and therefore promotes the expansion of formal education as a way to promote economic growth. As a result, formal education is valued primarily as a private consumer good, a form of cultural capital that allows some to get ahead and stay ahead, rather than as a…

In 2006, it was determined that Maine's new community college system--off to a remarkably promising start--was already at a critical juncture: nearing or exceeding capacity in many of their most popular programs, straining facilities and the ability of staff to deliver high quality programs and services, and struggling to meet the demand of many…

A common strategy employed by wealthy industrial nations for dealing with short-term skill deficits is to recruit internationally; such was the case, around the millennium, when a teacher supply crisis occurred in the United Kingdom (UK). That immediate crisis is now over; yet irrespective of peaks and troughs, international teacher migration is…

The three papers in this document cover issues related to labor force analysis and educational investment in developing countries. They present an overview of the present situation, advocate the replacement of a dominant technique by a well-structured planning process, and suggest the wide range of analytic approaches available and necessary if…

This book contains a collection of essays involving new research on class-size reduction. Six chapters include: (1) "Reducing Class Size in Public Schools: Cost-Benefit Issues and Implications" (John F. Witte); (2) "Making Policy Choices: Is Class-Size Reduction the Best Alternative?" (Doug Harris and David N. Plank); (3) "Smaller Classes, Lower…

Defines globalization and modernization in the context of the United Kingdom and relates these two terms to the New Labour Government and its educational policies. Explains that globalization has been adopted as central to the educational goals of the government by modernizing in the interests of competitiveness and flexibility in the labor…

In the years since independence, the education system in Uzbekistan has undergone major changes. Structural reform and increased diversity of educational provision have made the context of policy more complex, at the very time when economic transition has profoundly changed the conditions of access to the labour market. There is thus a great need…

This paper raises the question whether or not a social and economic dimension exists (community and social involvement, career service intervention/assistance, employer requirements, qualification building) within the Jobskills Training Programme in Northern Ireland. For many young school leavers it has undoubtedly assisted them in the transition…

This article provides a critique of South Africa's attempt to transform apprenticeships using data from the 2004 Baseline Survey of the Learnership Programme in South Africa. The data suggests that Learnerships provide important opportunities for those in work to learn new theoretical and practical capabilities and thus deepen the skills base of…

This article presents the methodology used by the Finnish Education Evaluation Council in the national evaluation of social and communication skills in vocational education and training. The evaluation concentrates on key competences such as learning-to-learn skills, communication skills, social skills and entrepreneurship (Implementation of…

This paper examines the current status of secondary schooling in Kenya, summarizing a recent research survey, and discusses prospects for future progress. The realism of aspirations and expectations is also shown to be related to inequalities in opportunity. (Author/CT)

To help the unemployment problems of Egypt, the authors recommend the restructuring of agriculture; orientation of investment to foreign-exchange earning export industries; the phasing out of employment guarantees in the public sector combined with educational and training reforms; and contingency employment programs, concentrated on the…

This article empirically examines the spread of higher education in Japan and the resulting changes in labor quality in the last two decades. This study uses the Divisia index numbers to measure the labor quality and quality-adjusted labor supply. It points out that quality might have declined rapidly in the recent past among higher educated…

In June 2005, the Victorian State Government introduced the Regional Jobs Package (RJP)--a twelve-month pilot program that attempted to kill two social policy problems with one stone. The problems were youth unemployment and skills shortages in regional areas of Victoria, Australia. The intention of the RJP was to create a "win-win"…