Since the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000, efforts and commitments at both national and international levels have brought significant progress in education systems with a view to reducing inequity between girls and boys. Among the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) partner developing countries, the primary Gross Enrollment Rate (GER)…

Could the labour market gender balance be improved by introducing new types of apprenticeship-trained workers? This article investigates what happened in the wake of the Norwegian VET programme for health and social care, a new approach introduced via the 1994 educational reform. By upgrading this traditionally female-dominated area of education,…

Offers a quality-policy planning model for academic institutions, noting that rapidly growing higher education systems are often characterized by market failure in terms of program quality, because controlling bodies have incomplete information about program quality and low sensitivity to quality variations. Applies this framework to Israel,…

A review of external studies in Western Australia was undertaken, with attention directed to the future pattern of development, including the institutions to be involved and the nature of their involvement. A continued demand has been exhibited for external studies opportunities, and there is a trend to expand and refine existing offerings rather…

A recently developed primary school German immersion program for a German community is described and its development from Canadian examples is discussed. The program is a composite of immersion, bilingual, and second language models. Early reaction is highly favorable, although the program will not be fully evaluated for a few years. (MSE)

Recent abandonment of certain established criteria in Australia's system of resource allocation for higher education are discussed along with resulting effects. The criteria include: specific institutional needs, nondisruption of institutional activities, and recognition of institutional autonomy. (MSE)

Trends in postsecondary business education in Poland are examined, drawing on results of recent surveys. Topics addressed include the design and evaluation of programs at different levels, influences of Western programs and pedagogy, demand for business education, and implications for further development of the system. (MSE)

The Open University Younger Student Pilot Scheme, a five-year research project is discussed. Project objectives included: testing the suitability of students in the 18 to 20 year age group, developing predictive indices of success and failure, and assessing the level and nature of the demand for places. (Author/MLW)

A study examined the provision of vocational training (VT) and its relationship to economic development in the region of Portugal encompassing the municipalities of Alcobaca and Caldas da Rainha. Data were obtained from a number of sources: regionally based statistical information, published documents and studies/reports about the region,…

This guide explains how outreach workers of adult, further, and higher education institutions across the United Kingdom can make their outreach activities more effective at widening participation. The following topics are discussed: (1) the need to encourage all groups to participate in learning; (2) the role of outreach in attracting new and…

A series of seven case studies examined vocational training, human resources development, and regional development in rural Mid-Wales. The case studies focused on the following: a business mentor program that uses the Welsh language and culture as a development resource, adult training in the county of Powys, integrated development at the…

Of those 16-year-olds who stay on in full-time education, almost half choose to do so in further (adult) education. Although the percentage of students enrolled in general education programs has fallen off slightly since 1980, this group still forms the largest single group of 16-to-19-year-old students in the United Kingdom. Of all of the areas…

Australia's national vocational education and training (VET) system and nationally funded technical and further education colleges were established in the 1970s. In the 1980s, traineeships complementing traditional apprenticeships and competency-based training were instituted. An industry-led training system was established in the 1990s. Total VET…

The evolution of Germany's dual apprenticeship system and the challenges now facing it were reviewed. The following topics were considered: (1) the progression from craft guilds to vocational training; (2) the history of Germany's dual apprenticeship system from its organization in the 1970s; (4) apprenticeship in the dual system; (3) Germany's…