This paper presents the results of a study that investigated technical and professional educational policies in both Brazil and Mexico, and the relations of these two countries with international networks of educational organizations. The focus is on the three international organizations that have had the most influence on public education…

Due to discrimination, crisis and conflict, and violence, many young people have missed out on opportunities to acquire the skills and education needed for employment. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) supports second-chance education programs to serve disadvantaged, marginalized, over-age, and out-of-school children and youth to…

This paper argues that Non-formal Education (NFE) has seen a remarkable revival of interest across both developing countries and the more highly developed countries. Among the factors causing this revival is the search for alternative educations to meet the needs of different groups in society. But in the process, NFE has been relocated -- not so…

Germany, which reorganized its industry after the second world war, met a serious workforce insufficiency in the 1960s and tried to compensate this workforce deficit from developing countries. During these years there occurred big worker immigration to Germany from Turkey, which had a serious unemployment problem and an active population. The…

There is increasing interest in the intersection of education and training through societal development in the developing world, a concept linked to national human resource development (NHRD). In addition, education and training is known to correlate strongly with employment outcomes that are connected to economic success, health and family…

In a study by the World Bank in 1993, "Skills for Productivity: Vocational Education and Training in Developing Countries," researchers found that skill training in the rural and urban informal sectors in developing countries may contribute more to the alleviation of poverty than training for modern sector wage employment. They also…

This work is based on the experience of the authors' involvement in the development of a Masters of Vocational Pedagogy program in Uganda and Southern Sudan between 2007 and 2011. This is also grounded in work with Vocational Education and Culture (VET) over many years. The terms VET and Culture are interdependent; both terms are highly contested…

Vocational education and training (VET) can contribute to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. A key to economic and social progress is the training of better-qualified individuals and skilled enterprise staff who will be more productive, improving goods, increasing incomes and adapting to changing markets. Experts…

Each night, around 20,000 people--both adults and children--make the streets of Dhaka (the capital city of Bangladesh) their home. Living amongst the noise, rubbish, and traffic, thousands of families walk down the streets of Dhaka, looking for a safe place to rest for just a few hours each night. Trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, the…

Background/Context: The main goal for vocational education at the secondary level has historically been the preparation of youth for the world of work. As a result, research, policy, and practice in this area have mostly focused on how to smooth this transition, address high costs, and ensure that there are positive economic returns to the…

In many developing countries it is apparent that there are multifarious impediments associated with, and acting upon, educational development and the complexity of diverse socio-cultural landscapes. Indeed, numerous perspectives tend to be overlooked or possibly not even taken under consideration when it comes to the transmission of salient…

A study of a representative sample of 121 World Bank-funded vocational education and training components suggests that the level of economic development and consequent size and dynamism of industrial employment powerfully influence the outcome of such education and training. Consequently, future investment strategies should differ among countries…