This article describes an ongoing project to build a comprehensive evaluation framework for the competency-based Master of Science in Workforce Training and Development (MSWTD) program at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). First, it discusses some trends and issues in evaluating the performance of higher education programs in the United…

In Portugal, there is a diversified higher education system comprising some 160 institutions: universities, polytechnics and isolated schools, public or private, with a total enrollment of some 350,000 students. This article presents the analysis of the results of questionnaires which were completed in 2004 by students entering higher education…

"Education at a Glance 2012: Highlights" offers a reader-friendly introduction to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD's) collection of internationally comparable data on education. As the name suggests, it is derived from "Education at a Glance 2012", the OECD's flagship compendium of education statistics. However, it…

Regions around the country are grappling with current and anticipated skills shortages and, in some cases, labor shortages. Economic prosperity depends heavily on the quality of the workforce, and yet far too few regions have recognized their best underutilized asset: the mature workforce. Because mature workers are nearing traditional retirement…

Drawing on an exploratory qualitative study, this article considers the link between business school teaching at graduate level and subsequent work behaviour and experiences of former students. It evaluates the student experience some time "after" graduation. The findings of the retrospective evaluation point to the value of classroom…

Vocational education by its nature has a need for delivery methods that place a strong focus on the relationship between school and work and seeks to deliver instruction in a manner that bridges the two as seamlessly as possible. This paper presents a curriculum and constructivist-based instructional delivery approach, designed to emphasize a…

The integration of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions through positive behavior supports (PBS) can provide benefit for students, staff, and families (Bohanon et al., 2006; Turnbull et al., 2002). However, there is limited application of PBS to high schools settings (Sugai, Flannery, & Bohanon, 2004). However, preliminary data is…

Australian research has demonstrated that students with a disability are more likely to remain out of the full-time workforce. These research findings have been the catalyst for a call for a comprehensive career development and transition planning approach for all students with disabilities in schools as well as for employers to rethink the role…

Today's hyper-connected students live in a world of instant interpersonal communications and virtually infinite access to information and educational resources. But this networked world, and the powerful learning tools it offers, has yet to penetrate the typical classroom. In many ways educational institutions are spinning their curricular wheels,…

This report uses data from the 1995-96 to 2001 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study to examine three questions concerning students pursuing postsecondary certificates or associate's degrees in career related fields (referred to here as occupational students): (1) who enters postsecondary occupational education? (2) to what extent do…

This paper proposes a practical framework for key skills that can be used or adapted for use in any discipline at university level. The paper begins by reviewing the arguments for and against integrating key skills into higher education. Although the skills agenda has been widely criticised on several fronts, this paper argues that key skills need…

Investments made to improve the educational level of the population are beneficial for the society. Nevertheless, in order to reap a considerable part of these benefits, there must be a fit between the trained human capital and the needs of the labour world. If this does not happen, an entirely undesirable educational gap will occur. This gap can…

Seventy 15-year-old students in rural and urban Scottish schools, who had previously answered questionnaires about the extent of their part-time employment, were interviewed. Work appears to be the norm in their communities, 79 per cent having worked and most of the others anticipating working before leaving school. Although the interviewees'…

This article reviews "Road to Success" as a curricular innovation that addresses needs of adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) as they transition from school to employment or postsecondary educational settings. A variety of curricula exist for aiding the general populace of job seekers in planning and preparing for employment, but…

Contemporary globalization is marked by rapidly and dramatically increasing interdependence, which operates both within and among countries. Increasing global interdependence has profound influence on education at all levels, such as how to deal with a world with more permeable boundaries in which people are on the move more frequently (migration)…