Inflation is projected to be much higher than expected at the time of the 2021 Spending Review. This could wipe out up to £850 million of the value of skills funding in England over the next three years, leading to either fewer adults accessing learning or risks to the quality of learning. This Briefing Note addresses what the 2021 Spending Review…

Purpose: The paper enriches the understanding of the principal challenges faced in future lawyers' education in Mexico considering global trends, particularly from the perspective of skills creation in diverse areas of legal practice. Design/methodology/approach: The framework used draws on trends identified within an international collaborative…

The European Training Foundation (ETF) collects comprehensive evidence on trends and developments in employment, education, and training in its partner countries. Each year, these efforts culminate in the publication of a cross-country monitoring report, which provides key insights drawn from the data collected. This publication is the 2024…

The COVID-19 pandemic requires critical re-evaluation of the way Higher Education can help students maximise their learning to adjust and adapt to a new reality. This requires a holistic approach which extends beyond consideration of student learning in formal settings to understanding the role informal learning can play. Whilst research exists on…

The research investigated the influences of international students' perceived online learning environments, self-efficacy, and online interaction on their online learning achievement, as measured by these students' self-reported development of "generic skills," "research capacities," and "Chinese proficiency and global…

In recent years, questions about the purpose of higher education (HE) have come to the fore as HE tuition fees have escalated both in the UK and internationally. The extent to which universities provide students with opportunities for developing skills needed not only for future employment but participation in civic life has become an important…

Foundation Years (FY) have proliferated within UK Higher Education in recent years, and their benefits and successes have been well documented (e.g. the enhancement of opportunities for underrepresented students, second-chance education, skills and confidence enhancement, and a pipeline into STEM. However, when managed centrally, their…

Just decades ago, the internet was an entirely new concept, but it's become second nature for billions of people and is now embedded into daily life across the world. While the internet is old news, there are recent technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), and the cloud that have gone from niche, specialized roles in the global…

COVID-19 represented a time of disruption and innovation, with online learning ensuring students could still engage with their studies. With the pandemic stabilised, survey data (N > 600) were used to examine ongoing use and perceptions of online learning at a UK university. Despite some reversion to in-person practice, online provision still…

The incorporation of computer technology in higher education has experienced substantial expansion and evolution in recent years. This study aims to examine the possibilities and problems that emerge throughout the integration process. Through an analysis of the multifaceted components associated with integrating computer technology within higher…

The Indian Government's 12th Five Year Plan features ambitious goals regarding the upskilling of women in India. While the Plan acknowledges Indian women's continued inequality, technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes (a main avenue for upskilling) pose considerable challenges. There is significant work to be done if…

People invest £7.3 billion a year and £55 billion worth of time in learning. This is more than the Government and employers invest in learning and skills, but there are stark inequalities between groups. This report provides the most detailed snapshot seen of which groups of adults are investing in learning, and how much, and lays bare stark…

With this paper we want to contribute to the debate on the usage of vocational training as a tool to promote the integration of disadvantaged groups. We focus in particular on programmes that target refugees and highlight the organisational and coordination challenges that must be addressed in order to develop such programmes. Relying on knowledge…

Pakistan is a country with insufficient educational resources. The formal educational system is unable to cater to the educational needs of the growing population. A great number of school-going children were out-of-school or dropped out and the majority was those who could not attend formal schooling due to some issues. Non-Formal Education (NFE)…

In many countries, opportunities for higher education are reduced for some under-represented groups in society. One such group are young women from rural and underdeveloped areas who due to traditional, patriarchal lifestyles have much less chance to go to college and get education that their peers from urban areas have much more access to. Online…