The organization and scope of the British Open University are described, and the courses offerings available through it are listed. The first section, A Brief Explanation, presents the guiding philosophy and programs of the Open University. Subsequent booklets list each of the courses offered and the individual instructional modules available to…

One of the most important implications for professional adult educators drawn from this review of the literature (emphasizing seven research studies which focus on the individual learner) stems from the increasing evidence that adults plan a great deal of learning for themselves without any assistance or intervention from professional adult…

Projects are described that emphasize broad-based or comprehensive approaches to educational change, and are the result of a communitywide planning process designed to identify and then address core educational problems. Projects included in this publication are divided into "Changing Schools," which contains descriptions of projects…

Research investigated the relationships between the characteristics of adult learners, aged 17 to 67, and their responses to learning via multi-media instructional programs. Students read materials in accounting and psychology, viewed video lessons and listened to audio tapes; post-treatment data were then collected. Results showed that: 1) the…

Five separate national studies describe and analyze government involvement in various continuing education delivery systems in five European countries: Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway. The German study traces the historical background of further education in the Federal Republic of Germany, the provisions of the 1974 North…

The Graduate Diploma in Education Technology (GDipEdTech) was developed at the UNITEC Institute of Technology (New Zealand) in 1993 as an open and distance program to meet the needs of teachers in the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. The program aims to integrate the use of new and emerging technologies into their classroom programs. It…

Danish "efterskoles" are "continuation schools" following elementary school--residential schools that allow students aged 14-16 to defer going to high school while they make choices about their educational future. Efterskoles are based on the principles of N.F.S. Grundtvig, who started folk high schools in about 1850 to educate…

This document contains 19 papers presented at a conference on educating adult educators at the University of Exeter, England in July 1998. The following are included: "Themes and Issues in Training the Adult Educator" (Rosesanne Benn); "Training Adult Educators in Poland" (Tadeusz Aleksander); "Educating Teacher…

This document contains 11 papers examining the methodology and findings of a study of the virtual delivery of education throughout the world. "Introduction" (Glen M. Farrell) explains the study methodology, which entailed the identification of 10 global regions and commissioning of an individual in each region to write a paper describing the state…

Provides a comparative analysis of 30 countries with regard to efforts in integrating the information technology (IT) infrastructure into manpower development activities. Examines investment in education and IT; growth patterns in information/communication infrastructure; extent of achievement of literacy; interaction of IT with education; status…

This document contains four reports on technology and further education (FE) that Lynton Gray and Ann-Marie Warrender prepared for the Further Education Funding Council's Learning and Technology Committee. The first report, "Main Themes from Learning & Technology Committee Press Surveys," examines three themes that were identified…

Drafted for the Learning Technologies for Basic Education project, this document assembles case studies which provide an overview of multichannel learning, or reinforce learning through the use of several instructional paths and various media including print, broadcast, and online. Through the cases, multichannel learning is depicted as an…

In view of financial constraints, large numbers of students to be educated, and rapid changes in information and communication and information technology, open learning (OL) and distance education (DE) systems are being established at an unprecedented rate in almost all developing countries of the Asian and Pacific region. Modern communications,…

This combination literature review and annotated bibliography includes a summary of findings related to the following topics: the barriers to education and training faced by selected groups (women, ethnic minorities, refugees, individuals with special needs, individuals lacking basic skills, and exoffenders); innovations in open learning (open and…

This paper explains how worldwide economic, social, and technological changes are necessitating changes in the way vocational education is delivered. Vocational programs are encountering a whole new range of clients, including the following: people who are functionally illiterate, physically challenged, or long-term unemployed; out-of-work youth;…