The Further Education Development Agency conducted two research studies of issues related to recording student attendance and responding to student absence. In the first study, absenteeism in five further education (FE) colleges in Britain was examined to determine the main causes of student absenteeism and administrative systems/procedures to…

Application of the new naturalism, a synthesis of the natural and social sciences based on the concept of the living system as a self-renewing and self-organizing structure, to educational administration, is the topic of this paper. The new naturalism promises not only a synthesis of the natural and social sciences, but also one of contemporary…

This paper, which is intended for individuals responsible for information management at British further education (FE) colleges, describes the attempts by a number of FE institutions to manage their information effectively and provides guidelines for FE institutions to follow when developing their own information management strategy. After a brief…

The extent to which staff appraisal has been implemented at Britain's public sector further education (FE) institutions and the characteristics, benefits, and disadvantages of existing appraisal systems were examined in a survey of 233 FE institutions (36% of all institutions in the public FE sector). Of the FE institutions surveyed, 76% had one…

The Intequal project examined approaches to vocational education and training (VET) in seven European countries. Intequal is an acronym for the French phrase "integrer les qualifications." The study focused on the following: functioning of integrated qualifications in the context of the educational system and the social and economic…

Effective models for helping adults with disabilities and/or learning difficulties obtain and maintain employment were identified through a research project that included the following activities: collection of background information from 20 providers of support for employment in England and Wales; case studies of a geographically representative…

This Community Perspective Series document includes statements about young people in the new economy of Toronto made by three participants in the October 2000 annual general meeting of the Toronto Training Board. "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the New Economy" (Olivia Chow) suggests that training programs available to young people are…

This report, which is written for curriculum managers, student services managers, and learning support managers in further education (FE) colleges throughout the United Kingdom, summarizes and examines the results of a study in which eight FE colleges worked with the Further Education Development Agency to evaluate different approaches to learning…

It is widely agreed that the United Kingdom's post-16 qualification system must be made coherent and intelligible to users. Developing a credit-based certification system is the key to increasing participation in further education (FE) and achieving a broader, more flexible curriculum. The benefits of a credit-based certification framework for…