This paper reviews whether students learn enough in high school to justify a law compelling attendance of all adolescents. It is concluded that those who haven't achieved a level of intellectual development allowing them to function responsibly should remain in an educational setting to raise their skill level. (Author/GK)

This article outlines the contradictions and challenges of introducing comprehensive, compulsory education in Andalusia for students up to the age of 16. Following a documenting of the developments, it is argued that while the intention was for a significant, planned reform, it is better characterised as one that is, at best, an improvisation. The…

The article describes a national study of the "state of the art in adult secondary education," reports that "there is no field of adult secondary education," and discusses the implications of that dismal finding, focusing on attitudes and policies regarding certification of adults. Adult education faces increasing formalization…

Reviews ten western European publications (1971-74) on the education for those who stay in full-time education beyond the age of compulsion. Focus is on the upper-secondary school and lower-tertiary (college-type) system that constitutes an alternative to what went before in the West German, French, and English schools. (JT)

States that instruction in pedagogics at the lower level of secondary education within the German school system is usually offered as a compulsory optional subject for grades nine and ten and is taught under the name of pedagogics, educational science, socio-pedagogics, social work, or basic pedagogics. (CMK)

Italy's 1948 Constitution of the Republic reformed lower secondary education, making schooling compulsory for all citizens. This guide highlights the complex nature of the secondary education system in Italy. It provides information primarily about the upper secondary level of education, which consists of 3, 4, or 5 years of courses following the…

The existence of compulsory school attendance at the secondary level may help to assure school attendance for some students, but it does little to assure that any will learn. Both the laws requiring attendance and the basic high school programs offered in most states must be remodeled. Arizona's system provides a good example. Although Arizona's…

The rationale behind the traditional grade organization pattern of pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary is discussed, as is the trend to extend compulsory schooling later into the teenage years. The impact of these divisions and of compulsory schooling itself on equal educational opportunity is considered. (SJL)

This study of 2430 pupils, aged 15-16, examined differences between those in favor of raising the school-leaving age and those opposed. Results showed clear social class, academic and attitudinal differences. Using a subsample, an attempt was made to identify specific advantages and disadvantages seen for "staying on." (SJL)

As the first year of the Sixteenth National People's Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), as well as the first year for the new government, the year 2003 witnessed new events and new expectations in Chinese society. The universalization of compulsory education and the elimination of adult illiteracy made new advancements. Secondary…

One of six annexes to a report prepared by members of an economic commission that visited China in 1984, this document examines recent developments in Chinese primary and secondary education and issues related to a proposed introduction of a 9-year basic educational system. It outlines educational prospects to the year 2000 and explores technical…

Education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds have undergone expansion and diversification in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. In the context of high youth unemployment, the introduction by the central government of a host of vocational preparation programs has aimed to delay labor market entry for a significant proportion of 16-year-olds, while…

This paper is a survey of school-to-work transition issues as they have developed in Europe. It contains discussion about the activities, research, and programs of each of four important international organizations, with particular stress on the period after 1975. These organizations are the European Community, the Organisation for Economic…

This study reports the comparative increase in enrollments at each level of education in all 22 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development between 1950 and 1965. Data are also included for Yugoslavia, an associated member country. The first two chapters deal with enrollment trend analysis -- chapter one being…

Examines employment possibilities and upper-secondary schools via the situation in Milan (i.e., occupational demand, secondary schools' efficiency, 'short cycle' and 'long cycle,' reentry, work experience, and rigidity of schools). (AH)