Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the implications of national and international standards for human resource development (HRD) practice. It focuses on the experiences, perceptions and learning of those involved in the social construction of standards and standardisation processes. Design/methodology/approach: The research is…

Purpose: This conceptual paper examines the need for viable theoretical models of international learning alliances in the light of cooperative games and complexity in two distinguished educational settings. Game theory is used to demonstrate the need for the top managerial executives to acquire a detailed understanding of decision makers'…

This collection of short essays presents and examines six vignettes of organisational change in British, New Zealand and European universities. Drawing on the social studies of economisation literature, formal research projects and auto-ethnographic insights, the authors detail profound changes in how knowledge is produced in universities. They…

Racisms are plural, taking different forms in different countries, subject to change in focus and intensity over time. Colonialism and slavery influence attitudes and policies in both countries through to modern times. In examining the British and American contexts, one needs to particularise by (a) country, (b) ethnicities, (c) histories, (d)…

Following an interpretative approach this paper investigates the role of knowledge orders, understood as settings which attribute relevance to specific expertise. The changing patterns of incorporation of expertise in policy formulation as well as public justification are analysed for German and British labour market policy. From a comparative…

In his inaugural Presidential Address, given to the BERA Conference 2013 at the University of Sussex, Ian Menter addresses a number of issues concerning educational policy and the contributions that educational research might make to policy development. As BERA approaches its fortieth anniversary, he also sets out some of the responsibilities that…

This paper traces the origins and development of coal mining education and training in Britain from 1900 to the 1970s, by which time the coal industry had substantially declined. It looks at the progress from working-class self-help to national policy in support of education and training. The research makes use of college prospectuses and…

Given that elevation to permanent secretary is widely recognised as the apotheosis of a career in the Whitehall bureaucracy, it is remarkable that so few have been the subject of sustained biographical research and that this key role remains largely un-theorised. As such, this paper reports on aspects of a longitudinal study which set out to…

The British colonial policy of education in the Southern Cameroons was guided by the philosophy of adapting education to the mentality, aptitude and occupations of the local population. This policy was gradually abandoned in the 1950s when it was realized that it was serving the colonial exploitative agenda of keeping natives to a permanently…

Here we draw on recent research and on earlier contributions on convergence and divergence across Great Britain to consider possible future trajectories for 14-19 education and training in England. We use a UK-wide lens to reflect on 14-19 strategies in England by showing how common issues can be tackled in different ways in Scotland, Wales and…

This article on the role of the Workers' Educational Association calls for more emphasis on broadening the culture of the working classes, cooperating with university extension, enlisting industry cooperation, and using educational television. Twelve references. (LY)

Examines the current fashion for tenant participation in British housing policy and draws on recent Scottish experience to speculate about the prospects for tenant participation in the future. Explores the meaning of tenant participation, the nature of the change needed to bring it about, and the prospects for such change. (JOW)

Draws on an ongoing project on "Elites in Policy-making," aimed at critically examining the postwar "partnership" between LEAs, teachers, and the Ministry of Education. Challenges pluralism as the dominant theoretical approach to the study of education policymaking in the United Kingdom and argues for a more state-centered,…

The author asserts that educational research in Britain has historically acted largely to ease implementation of policies already determined on political grounds and that this concern for "obvious relevance" resulted in a severe narrowing of research initiatives. He suggests that educational researchers take a more formative role in…

Reports on an action-research project in England designed to promote wider awareness of and access to the available facilities and training opportunities in adult education. (Editor/TA)