This dissertation focuses on the production of knowledge that contributes to economic growth through the accumulation of human capital and technological change. More specifically, I look at the proclivity and effectiveness of different types of universities and colleges to send individuals on to pursue a doctoral degree in science or engineering…

Governments in advanced liberal democracies have assigned Vocational Education and Training (VET) a critical role in preparing a productive workforce for the broader economy. This linkage opens the way to use economic theories to expand the understanding of VET. Noted economic theorists have described the use of one economic reductionist technique…

Objective: This article describes the process implemented in order to define and build up a Basic Monitoring and Evaluation System for Spanish Cooperation's Culture and Development Strategy (CD-S). Research Design: Delphi techniques were used to assess a wide catalogue of indicators for each of the strategic areas included in the CD-S. Afterward,…

This paper applies the capabilities approach to the broader debate of the role of vocational education and training (VET) in poverty alleviation. The capabilities approach provides an approach for conceptualising and evaluating VET which differs in orientation from dominant productivist conceptions. It does so by shifting the focus from economic…

The primary purpose of this paper is to review and evaluate the causes of educational poverty in less developed countries. The basic intent in carrying out such a study is to define and derive the role of governing agencies in deliberately creating educational poverty in the country, so that the private interest of the rich and powerful ruling…

Compared with the former policies on early childhood education, the policies recently issued in mainland China clearly defined early childhood education as an integral part of education and social public welfare and stipulated the responsibilities of the government in its development, shifting the developmental orientation to promoting social…

In a rapidly changing world of knowledge exchange, innovation and technological advancements, entrepreneurship continues to fuel economic growth in both developed and developing countries. In the developed world, an increased influx of graduate entrepreneurs sustains economic growth whilst, in contrast, developing countries continue to suffer from…

This Research-in-Brief is one in a series of publications highlighting the Institute for Women's Policy Research's (IWPR) most significant research contributions to policy issues affecting women across IWPR's twenty-five year history. Recognizing that education is the gateway to opportunity, the IWPR has been a significant source of research on…

Although there appears to be a broad recognition of the key role that Public Sector Information (PSI) can play in the development of societies, there are still significant gaps in our understanding of how PSI is actually being utilized and of its wider societal value, especially in developing countries. The overarching goal of this dissertation…

This report expands on previous analyses to describe the skills needed to fill infrastructure occupations nationally. More than 14.5 million workers--or 11 percent of the entire U.S. workforce--are employed in infrastructure-related activities, many of which operate different physical assets and extend far beyond construction projects. In turn, a…

This article examines how political discourse, language ideologies, recent Chinese curriculum reforms, and their representations in the media are inextricably related. Using the "Speak Mandarin Campaign" as background for the inquiry, I focus on textual features of the various media sources, TV advertisements, campaign slogans, official…

Like most developing countries in the world, there is a huge gap in opportunities to access quality science education between students from the high- and low-socioeconomic strata of Philippine society. In establishing its own science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) high school, despite limited public funding in 1964, the…

This work examines the congruence and incongruence in policy and practice in education sector development effort for Africa. The focus is on the role of human agency in defining policy and practice. The UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) put the theoretical orientations that have been used to explain the…

The field of youth development, long given over to discussions of youth as a time of storm and stress, raging hormones and problem behavior, has increasingly turned to look at the "sunny side" of youth--at their agency, insights, capabilities and contributions. Youth, we are now regularly told, are not problems but resources and assets. In this…

Purpose: Implementation of a sustainability paradigm demands new choices and innovative ways of thinking. The main objective of this paper is to provide a meaningful sustainability assessment tool for make informed decisions, which is applied to higher education institutions (HEIs). Design/methodology/approach: The objective is achieved by…