Teacher unions worldwide are being criticized for disregarding their responsibility as professionals towards education and students. Critics have claimed that teacher unions tend to protect incompetent teachers, place their own needs and interests above their students, and continuously demand for financial increases even when there is more urgency…

National Qualifications Frameworks (NQFs) are intended to promote stronger linkages between education institutions and the labour market. This paper examines how industrial relations institutions mediate the relationship between formal qualifications, job classifications and pay outcomes in Australian manufacturing. In Australia a tribunal sets…

Sweden has experienced increasing educational inequity levels within its highly decentralized school system. With a reduced capacity to bargain collectively, the two Swedish teacher trade unions, the Swedish Teachers' Union (Lärarförbundet) and the National Union of Teachers in Sweden (Lärarnas Riksförbund), have sought to extend their role in…

The article deals with the problem of forming social partnership policy in vocational training of service sector specialists in Germany and Austria. The foreign and domestic pedagogical experience in establishing an effective system of social partnership in vocational education has been analyzed. The author has considered main factors of social…

This paper investigates a conflict that erupted during the years 2003-2005 between faculty and management at an Israeli research university, over the introduction of new intellectual property rights (IPR) regulations. The introduction of new IPR regulations triggered contention and resistance among faculty members and raised debates over questions…

This essay offers some reflections for the theory and practice of research supervision drawn from the field of employment relations. It argues that rethinking supervision in terms of the employment relationship can advance dialogue and debate about supervision. This is twofold. (1) Reframing supervision in terms of the employment relationship can…

This article discusses how to overcome the language and cultural issues of using existing online videos in classroom discussions with nonnative English-speaking groups of students, through student-produced videos given as an authentic educational assignment. Implementation of the assignment and the use of student-produced videos in classroom…

This article is the first study investigating New Zealand's early legislation in apprenticeship from the perspective of historical institutionalism. It shows that, between 1865 and the 1940s, New Zealand's apprenticeship system was less liberal in character than it is today, because a collective skill formation regime, involving dual training, was…

Five years after the global financial crisis, and trillions of dollars in stimulus spending later, the crisis not only remains unresolved, but risks entering a new deeper phase in southern Europe. The global turbulence, although experienced with differing degrees of intensity and dislocation around the world, manifests as high unemployment,…

In many districts, the notion of labor groups and district administration working together conjures descriptions of war and battle rather than cooperation and collaboration. However, in San Juan Unified School District, the headline, "Union and District Exhibit Positive Partnership" exemplifies the changing relationship between teacher…

While the South African Constitution enshrines both children's right to a basic education and teachers' right to strike, conflict between these two often occurs when the way in which teachers' unions conduct strike actions detracts from learners' education. This article identifies the parties affected by industrial action in the school context,…

The further education (FE) sector in England has experienced two decades of marketisation. This article takes as its focus the first five years of incorporation (1993-1998) for one case study college in a city ("Coppleton") in the West Midlands of England, five years that were dominated by a contract dispute. Data from interviews with…

Graduate unemployment is especially problematic in a country where much emphasis is placed on furthering academic studies for economic and personal rewards. This article investigates the relationship between career choice and unemployment length among graduates from a South African university. Data were collected by means of a survey questionnaire…

The wage and job satisfaction impacts for over-educated workers have been well-documented; yet little attention has been paid to the consequences for firms. In this paper we examine over-education from the perspective of the workplace. Using linked employer-employee data for the United Kingdom, we derive the standard worker-level penalties on…

Britain's ageing population reflects an international trend--more people are living for longer. Whilst government grapples with the economic and social impact of this demographic revolution, social justice and equality charities advocate for greater recognition of the contribution that an ageing population brings to society, not just the health,…