This study focuses on the school-work connection from the perspective of curriculum design. The aim was to uncover considerations underpinning the design of learning environments in vocational education. The research took place in the Netherlands. A focus group methodology was chosen to elicit designers' considerations, which generally remain…

Purpose: This paper is based on the emergency changes we have had to make in the European DEIMP Project (2017-2020), "Designing and Evaluating Innovative Mobile Pedagogies" (DEIMP). DEIMP is undertaken by a transnational consortium comprising partner institutions and schools from the UK (coordinating), Australia, Belgium, Cyprus, Ireland…

Educational design research (EDR) is described as a complex research approach. The challenges resulting from this complexity are typically described as procedural, whereas EDR might also be challenging for different reasons, specifically for early career researchers. Yet, challenging experiences may be noteworthy in the process of learning to do…

Attention shifted in recent years from design and implementation to use and usefulness of quality assurance. Scientific studies focus increasingly on quality assurance's impact on curricula and individual teachers. Which factors influence follow-up activities and what is their relation to improvement of education? One factor that we single out is…

The occupational structures of higher education in Ireland and the Netherlands were compared. First, the occupational domain of Irish types of education were compared with the occupational domain of Dutch education. Next, a similarity index was used to investigate the overlap on the labor market of different types of education within each country.…

This report charts the recent development of the non-university sector of higher education in some OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. It shows that during the 1980s this sector most often succeeded in enhancing its standing and recognition among students, employers, and the academic world alike. Its progress in…

A prescriptive theory for learning which delivers prescriptions for designing prototypes of instructional materials with different knowledge structures, the Elaboration Theory of Instruction (ETI) is based on important principles and theories of learning and instruction. This paper reports three experiments which tested ETI. The first experiment…

This book contains the following chapters: "The Demarcation Issue: Introduction" (Wim J. Nijhof, Jan N. Streumer); "Qualifying for the Future" (Wim J. Nijhof); "The Many Meanings of Occupational Competence and Qualification" (Per-Erik Ellstroem); "Qualification and Labour Markets: Institutionalisation and…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on human resource development (HRD) effectiveness and transfer of learning. "Factors Affecting Transfer of Training in Thailand" (Siriporn Yamnill, Gary N. McLean) discusses how the Learning Transfer System Inventory was validated in Thailand by administering it to 1,029 employers and…

This book contains the following papers on distance vocational education programs: "Vocational Education at a Distance" (Oliveira, Rumble); "An Introduction to Case Studies" (Oliveira, Rumble); "'Working on Work': Orientation on Work and the Labour Market in the Netherlands" (Bender, Bronkhorst); "Expanding…

This document contains three papers on workplace learning issues and human resource development. "The Impact of Self-Management on Training Participation" (Jasper B. van Loo, Andries de Guip, Jo G.L. Thijssen) combines HRD and economic theory to in an attempt to explain the relationship between self-management and training participation.…

This book examines existing European environmental education and agricultural practices friendly to the environment. Focus is on studies conducted in five countries Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain--that aimed to define new knowledge qualifications related to environmental issues in producing alternative agricultural products…

This document contains three papers on key skills and competencies and human resource development (HRD). "Career Related Competencies" (Marinka A.C.T. Kuijpers) reports findings from surveys completed by Dutch employees who identified these issues: self-reflection is more important than career control; age and gender influence attitude…

The first of three papers from this symposium on cross-cultural human resource development (HRD), "Determinants of Supply of Technical Training Opportunities for Human Capital Development in Kenya" (Moses Waithanji Ngware, Fredrick Muyia Nafukho) reports findings from interviews of technical training institute department heads in Kenya…