While long part of vocational and professional training, forms of practice-based education like Work-integrated learning (WIL) are now spreading to academic disciplines like Political Science. The pedagogical entailed in WIL is that student learning requires the theoretical knowledge and practice of both the classroom and the workplace, and…

The aim of this article is to examine non-traditional graduates' life transitions before, during, and after higher education (HE) in Sweden. The article builds on a theory called biographical work, which is used for understanding non-traditional graduates' identity formation and transformation. The article is based on the narratives of two…

Placements have the potential to contribute more effectively to the quality of higher education. The aim of this article is to discuss how placements can be made more worthwhile for individual students, while also contributing to the overall quality of teaching and learning at HEIs as well as to the development of workplace cultures that are…

This paper adds to the sparse literature on the consequences of education-occupation mismatches. It examines the income penalty for field of education-occupation mismatches for men and women with higher education degrees in Sweden and reveals that the penalty for such mismatches is large for both men and women. For mismatched men the income…

This article presents a case study of a student involved in language learning at a work placement, as part of the basic Swedish language programme for adult immigrants, Svenska for invandrare (Sfi), in Gothenburg, Sweden. In accordance with the predominant economic agenda, this system is assumed to accelerate labour market entrance as well as…

Globalization has emerged as a trend concept during the past decades. As a result of the globalization, the need for educating all citizens and providing them with information about other cultures and countries has increased. In this article, international student exchange in higher education will be discussed. Global Competencies in Early…

Nonparametric matching was used to estimate the effects of two Swedish youth employment programs: youth practice (subsidized work experience, n=1,657) and labor market training (n=606). Results indicate either zero or negative effects on earnings, employment probability, or probability of entering an education program in the short term. Youth…

Critical problems and functions of the Swedish system of higher education in dealing with adult learners are summarized in this workshop publication. Various institutional responses to the growing body of nontraditional students are discussed and it is suggested that the overwhelming reaction of Swedish higher education has been to incorporate…