Introducing an educational innovation into any school context involves some challenge to existing practices. Transition Year is an innovative, optional, one-year programme taken by approximately half the 15-16-year age cohort in schools in the Republic of Ireland. Based on data from an extensive study of TY operating in six different schools,…

This essay examines the impact of the Bologna Process on the development of short-cycle higher education in Europe, noting that the integration of short-cycle qualifications within the Qualifications Framework for the European Higher Education Area, combined with the critical place allotted to those programs in national lifelong learning…

This article examines some issues surrounding transition to higher education. It is based on the case study of a cohort of Year 1 students in a modern university in England. The purpose of the study was to ascertain any potential transitional issues and therefore any areas for development in our Year 1 programmes to aid student progress. Data were…

A growing number of Chinese-born international students are seeking permanent residency and paid employment in New Zealand after graduation. As yet, little is known about their post-study transitions to permanent residency and paid employment. This article reports on research investigating the transition experiences of 10 Chinese-born…

Ensuring effective progression from vocational qualifications to higher education has become an important issue internationally as a part of government strategies to raise skill levels and to provide more equitable access to tertiary level study. From September 2008, the Government in England has begun to introduce a new set of qualifications for…

This booklet is for young people and their families, friends and supporters to read and talk about together. It is based on the stories of four young people. Big changes happened for some of them; others are still waiting for things to change. The goal of the booklet is to give students ideas about how they may want to plan or change things when…

This article explores transition to postgraduate (PG) study in terms of the widening participation (WP) agenda. The research is located within a Communities of Practice framework, allowing for explanations of transition in terms of learning, identity and participation in practices. A qualitative ethnographic methodology is employed, and analysis…

This book calls for critical adaptations when theories of bilingual education, based on practices in the North, are applied to the countries of the global South. For example, it challenges the assumption that transitional models necessarily lead to language shift and cultural assimilation. Taking an ethnographically-based narrative on the purpose…

The transition from primary to secondary school can often be a difficult time for children, and managing the transition smoothly has posed a problem for teachers at both upper primary and lower secondary level. At a time when "childhood" recedes and "adulthood" beckons, the inequalities between individual children can widen,…

Early childhood education Centres of Innovation (COI) were established in 2002 as part of the 10-year plan for early childhood education, "Pathways to the Future/Nga Huarahi Arataki." In COI projects, innovative early childhood teaching teams reflect on and investigate their practices through action research, and share their findings…

The idea of pathways indicates many possible journeys to some destination or outcome. Hence, even if everyone agreed that Indigenous school leavers should be moving towards "productive" employment, it is not easy to talk about "what works" as there are different paths that may suit different people. Indeed given the diverse…

Although many Australian universities have been proactive in responding to students' diverse needs through orientation and support programs, very little is known about programs needed for the successful transition of students from refugee backgrounds into tertiary study. Facilitating the early engagement of students with their studies and campus…

Some undergraduate programmes require evidence of baseline numeracy skills as a condition of entry. With a widened entry gate into higher education and a recognised "mathematics problem" in society, students wishing to enrol onto degree programmes that require evidence of numeracy often find it difficult to provide such evidence.…

In this study we investigated experiences of parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) to identify areas in which health care providers and educators could improve practice. A second objective was to create educational material for parents of young children newly diagnosed with CP. A purposive sample of nine parents, who previously participated…

This article investigates the factors influencing the motivation to continue working after retirement among a sample of Dutch teachers. Based on previous research, it was proposed that teachers will be motivated to work after their legal retirement age when organizational support, possibilities to change work roles and financial needs are high.…