Developing learning programmes to enhance the formation of generic skills is an international concern in education and training policy. This paper provides a broad survey of the development of generic skills policy in England from 1975 to 2002, drawing on both the economic and educational literature. It demonstrates that, despite an evident demand…

America's schools are among the most unequal in the industrialized world in terms of both inputs and outcomes. Inequalities in spending, class sizes, textbooks, computers, facilities, curriculum offerings, and access to qualified teachers contribute to disparate achievement by race and class, which increasingly feeds the "school-to-prison…

This article discusses how two welfare education programs construct workforce success. Discourse about success in these programs falls into two basic camps: an individual-based self-motivation perspective and an external, structural, socioeconomic perspective. Although the individualistic perspective adhered to by the programs came into conflict…

In this chapter, the author argues for the essential role of "doing gender" in the transition of young people from education to the labor market. Two relevant concepts are introduced: biographicity and gender competence. They are illustrated with a female and a male case.

A combination of content creators, online vendors, other intermediaries, and librarians work to bring online information sources to end users. Although these interconnected parts are sometimes adversarial, the current information marketplace relies on interaction among them all. People have wondered what it is like on the other side. The author…

Societies are increasingly complex. Change is accelerating and its effects are unknown. Managing uncertainty is a major challenge, to the extent that in economics it is becoming difficult to assess need in terms of human capital requirements. This contrasts with the certainty that there is an increasing need for skills in the knowledge society and…

This paper looks at the discourse of lifelong learning as it has emerged in many countries (especially Europe) over the last few years, with its concentration first on learning for work and latterly on learning for citizenship. The failure of lifelong learning to pick up on the earlier tradition of adult education is noted and some reasons for…

Work-based learning (WBL) is predicated on a form of transdisciplinarity (Costley & Portwood, 2000; Garrick & Rhodes, 2000; Boud & Solomon, 2001) within the community of higher education academics over about the last 10 years. The broad area of WBL in higher education draws its academic focus from high-level practical knowledge and…

Education for All (EFA) has been a major target for UNESCO for sixty years. In spite of special efforts to achieve EFA, many millions remain without the education they need. During that time, the importance of a suitable education has increased greatly, making the task more urgent. To resolve this dilemma special efforts are needed. Universal…

Moving from a teaching position into an administration is not a smooth transition. The jobs are very different, with different tasks and responsibilities. When the author began directing, she had no idea what she was doing. It was her secretary, Dolores, who taught her how to do her job. In this article, the author reflects on her experiences when…

Australian Education Review (AER) 55 explores the goals of Australian education and of how schools should prepare young people for work and life. Section 1 provides an overview, discussing the nature of broad social and economic changes over the last 20 years, and their implications for the goals of Australian education systems today and for the…

This qualitative research study examined the "lived experiences" of learning identity during work transitions among three women (ages 35 to 55) who were not previously married. The research question was how do particular mid-life women who engage in a work transition re-construct the meaning of (or make sense of) their identity? Primary research…

This report describes how the education system in the United States compares with education systems in the other Group of Eight (G-8) countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom) that are among the world's most economically developed countries and among the United States' largest economic partners.…

The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiential learning e-portfolio's potential to promote connections between academic and workplace learning (Brown, 2000, 2002). Sometimes referred to as the Digital Notebook, the e-portfolio allows learners to trace the development of their thinking and learning over time and to show their competencies…

The Careers Project is a study of the preparation all students in public middle and high schools receive to explore career options and the relationship between that preparation and California's state and regional economies. The California Research Bureau (CRB) undertook this research at the request of a bipartisan group of members of the…