At 30 sites across the United States and Puerto Rico, the Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities provides economically and socially marginalized adults with a free college course in the humanities. The experience of non-traditional adult students, particularly adults of color, is often missing from academic literature, exacerbating past…

Background: We investigated the context for translating evidence-based early intervention for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) into real world settings through a case study of a regional town characterised as disadvantaged. Methods: Data were from interview surveys of five managers reporting on 15 services, and surveys from 19 practitioners and 15…

Universities are required to adopt "fair" student admission practices, yet understandings of fairness in student selection are contested. This paper uses an analysis of the admission policies of Australia's public universities to critically examine the use and application of notions of fairness. A further analysis of enrolment data is…

Interactions between staff in Neighbourhood Houses, and the socially and educationally disadvantaged community members who visit Neighbourhood Houses, have been viewed through many lenses, including community development, social support, caring and compassion. This paper looks at Neighbourhood Houses as sites of pedagogical practice. More…

Socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students are not equally exposed to mathematics problems and concepts at school. Exposure to mathematics at school has an impact on performance, and disadvantaged students' relative lack of familiarity with mathematics partly explains their lower performance. Widening access to mathematics content…

In Australia and other OECD countries, increasing the labour force participation rate of older adults (45-64 years) is seen as a primary strategy to address the current demographic challenges brought about by an ageing population and the retirement of skilled workers. Not all older adults have current workplace skills, yet barriers which include…

With almost one-third of young people unemployed or underemployed, it is important for early school leavers to gain skills that improve their employment opportunities. The role that vocational education and training (VET) plays is critical, particularly for young early school leavers. Through interviews and focus groups with young people and those…

To support national policy initiatives in early childhood education and to determine reasons for low enrolment in services from families in disadvantaged areas, the authors investigated the views and practices of 101 families from disadvantaged communities. Families with a child aged 3-5 years were recruited from urban, rural and remote areas of…

"Research Messages 2013" provides a summary of the research published in 2013 by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in the following broad categories: (1) skills and productivity: from VET qualifications to higher-level qualifications and issues affecting the workforce; (2) social inclusion and participation in…

Economic inequality is high and rising in a number of developed countries, including in the United Kingdom and the United States. There are growing concerns that this may have negative implications for equality of opportunity, and the extent to which social disadvantage is transmitted across generations. It is widely believed that providing…

This study examined whether the provision of AUSTUDY improved educational participation in Australian higher education and improved access for certain disadvantaged groups. It also examined corporate knowledge about AUSTUDY, the impact of the initiative on educational participation across income groups and geographic regions, and lessons learned.…

Discusses equal education issues in Victoria, Australia, summarizing the expansion of secondary and higher education since the 1940s. Explores transition problems between school and university furthering social inequalities. Views educational structures from abundancy and scarcity perspectives, cautioning that limited resources will maintain the…

A discussion of the distribution of student financial aid in Australia focuses on these issues: direct vs. indirect payment to students; inequality in living allowances given to secondary and postsecondary students; and distribution of expense allowances by state government and living allowances by the Commonwealth. (MSE)

This volume is the fifth and last in a series that gives a comphehensive view on the present status and future prospects of adult education in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. The series attempts to show what kind of national policies and strategies are required to increase public participation in…