Part 1 presents data on cohorts born in 1940, 1950, 1960, and 1970 in Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain that illustrate changes in the qualifications structure. Part 2 tracks forces influencing educational supply and demand. Part 3 compares the five countries in terms of compulsory, postcompulsory, and higher education. (SK)

The article explores ways of identifying and measuring inequality of access to higher education in Nigeria, explains the identified pattern of inequality (university development and, therefore, access is concentrated in Southern Nigeria), and offers suggestions on effective ways of reducing the observed inequality. (DB)

The increase in promotional activities for Australian universities is viewed as evidence of the role of market forces and competition for students, conferences, endowments, and research funding. Advertising, particularly that directed at prospective students, is seen as reflecting divisions emerging in the Australian system of higher education.…

In China, formal preschool education for children from one to six years old is accessible to only 20-25% of Chinese children, though deemed very important by parents. Discusses the teacher training curriculum, the preschool curriculum, and recent initiatives to improve the quality and availability of preschool education through research, parent…

This discussion of the organization of the university's undergraduate curriculum and program administration, draws on models that focus on demand, supply, and use of management principles for streamlining supply. A modified, contingency model is proposed as the most useful theoretical approach to effectively reorganize undergraduate programs. (MSE)

Offers a quality-policy planning model for academic institutions, noting that rapidly growing higher education systems are often characterized by market failure in terms of program quality, because controlling bodies have incomplete information about program quality and low sensitivity to quality variations. Applies this framework to Israel,…

A recent study found that local teacher salaries in North Carolina are related to cost-of-living measures. After accounting for education and experience characteristics, local teacher salaries are higher in districts having a greater proportion of secondary teachers, larger school sizes, and a greater demand for education. (Contains 20…

State and national surveys of programs, literacy performance levels, and participants suggest that demand for literacy instruction should be estimated from current participation and not from assumptions about needs. Supply should be defined in terms of layers of service providers. (SK)

Details what has happened to demand for overseas university education by Singaporeans since the economic crisis of 1997. The demand has risen over the last year, but fear of future economic conditions has caused students to switch their target preferences. Most students cannot afford to enroll in higher education programs in Europe and North…

Reviews the changing labor market for young adults and a policy climate that emphasizes "learning pays." Identifies challenges for educators: (1) espousing a broader message of how learning "pays"; (2) creating a flexible structure of lifelong learning opportunities; and (3) improving the quality and quantity of information in the learning…

Educational expansion is the result of an intricate interplay between individual expectations and characteristics of the educational subsystem. Using systems theory, this article presents figures on educational participation in Belgium. Educational policy cannot steer or control educational expansion. The system can only react autonomously.…

This study proposes to answer the question--What is and might be the present and future scenarios of higher education institutions in Mexico according to their leaders' perceptions? Special emphasis is placed on the differences between public and private institutions. The study emphasized that leaders of private and public universities in Mexico…

Across OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, governments are having to work with shrinking public budgets while designing policies to make education more effective and responsive to growing demand. The 2011 edition of "Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" enables countries to see themselves in the light of…

Addressing the many complex issues associated with culture, race, and diversity is tough under any circumstances. But such issues become even more complex in school settings where large numbers of students speak different languages and reflect diverse ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses. In this article, the author describes how the faculty…

Interest in prior learning recognition among Canadian adults is estimated on the basis of a large-scale national survey and illustrated by an account of the development of a prior learning assessment centre and the individual experiences of participants. Both the common principles and the distinctive activities that characterise the prior learning…