Search Results for
"education"

Youth, education and Risk: Facing the Future provides a provocative and valuable insight into how the dramatic social and economic changes of the last twenty years have affected the lives of Western youth. Covering young people's attitudes towards relationships and health, the authors provide a comprehensive perspective on young people in Western society in the 1990s. The book reviews ten years of research, policy and practice as related to the 15-25 age group and compares data from the UK, Australia, the USA and Canada. It also argues for the need to develop new research and policy frameworks that are more in tune with the changed conditions of life for Western youth. The book sets out the conceptual basis for a new approach to youth and the practical implications for research, education and youth policy in the new millenium. © 2001 Peter Dwyer and Johanna Wyn. All rights reserved.

The economics of education is dedicated to seeking the most efficient use of scarce resources by studying the consequences of their mobilisation, allocation, and utilisation in the production of education. One convenient way to understand the scope of this field is to see the production of education as a process consisting of input, process, output and outcome components. In this conceptualisation, scarce inputs (such as teachers' and students' time, school facilities and instructional materials) are mobilised, allocated and transformed through a process (encompassing organisation, evaluation, instructional technology, etc.) to yield output (such as student learning) which is subsequently utilised to generate desired outcome (economic outcome such as higher earnings and more employment opportunities). © 2000 Routledge.

This chapter will address how the practices and concerns of the workplace, and, by implication employment, intersect with education. Characteristic of this topic is the breadth and quality of writing accompanied by continued uncertainty and lack of consensus on appropriate theoretical tools and thus interpretations of evidence. I shall pursue some preoccupations which have developed over 20 years of work in this broad area as a practitioner, researcher and evaluator. © 2000 Routledge.

The part played by tacit skills and knowledge in work performance is well recognized but not well understood. These implicit or hidden dimensions of knowledge and skill are key elements of ‘mastery’, which experienced workers draw upon in everyday activities and continuously expand in tackling new or unexpected situations. This chapter argues that it is important to understand better how individuals harness and use tacit forms of key competences as they move between roles and settings. What part does the recognition of tacit forms of key competences play in the development of occupational and learning biographies? Does the recognition of tacit forms of key competences increase or decrease inequalities? What are the implications when considered in the contexts of ‘technocratic’ and ‘democratic’ versions of the learning society?. © Individual contributors, 2002.

This article reviews trends in school-to-work transitions since the 1970s and argues that educational expansion (more young people extending their school and college careers) is a large part of the problem, rather than an actual or potential solution to young people's transition difficulties. The causes of educational expansion are identified as more ambitious parents and young people, educational institutions seeking 'bums on seats', the changing occupational structure, and government policies. The reasons why extended education inevitably fails to fulfil its promises to more and more post compulsory students are outlined; the article then concentrates on labour market outcomes for earlier leavers. Their risks of unemployment remain stubbornly high, despite new and allegedly improved training schemes, more relevant courses and qualifications, New Labour's New Deal, and Connexions. The article explains why adding more rungs to educational ladders will only exacerbate school-leavers' difficulties. © 2004, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This article is a critical review of policy and literature relating to vocational education and training (VET) in schools in Australia. Over the past decade in Australia, VET in schools has grown considerably so that not only are nearly half of senior school students now involved, but also VET in schools represents around 10% of total VET activity. In both schools and the VET sector itself, VET in schools was originally marginalised and this article explores its movement from the margins towards the mainstream in both spheres. An overview of the growth of VET in schools in Australia, along with other vocational developments in schools, is given, along with discussion of some of the benefits and challenges of VET in schools, both from a schooling perspective and from a national skills formation perspective. The consequences of the move from margins to mainstream have not yet been fully digested and debate rarely moves beyond consideration of implications for the school sector. The article moves beyond these narrow confines to raise broader questions for the VET sector. © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

The question of student teachers connecting what is learned at university and within school sites has always been considered problematic. At the University of New England (UNE), in New South Wales, Australia, this issue is addressed through an action research project undertaken by fourth year Bachelor of education (BEd) primary students during their final professional experience component, i.e. an internship. This article sets out the theoretical framework for the project, which is grounded on previous work on the problems of knowledge production. Additionally, the articulation between the action research project and professional experience within the internship is discussed. Although this article reports on a project designed within the context of the Australian teacher education system, the concept may well be of interest to a much wider audience. © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This article examines the development of nationally funded vocational education and training (VET) research in Australia since the mid-1990s. The provision of nationally competitive funding through the Australian National Training Authority has led to an explosion of VET research guided by a national strategy that outlines the key priorities for the major stakeholders in the VET system. The article reports on the results of an analysis of Australia's major national competitive grant scheme for VET research from 1997 to 2000, and examines the quality and impact of that research. Issues of quality and impact are crucial to the future of VET research in Australia, and the analysis leads to the conclusion that there is a need for the development of new skills amongst VET researchers to ensure the continuity of the field. © 2004 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

The part played by tacit skills and knowledge in work performance is well recognised but not well understood. These implicit or hidden dimensions of knowledge and skill are key elements of “mastery”, which experienced workers draw upon in everyday activities and continuously expand in tackling new or unexpected situations. This paper, based on the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Network on Workplace Learning, argues that it is important to understand better how tacit forms of key competences can contribute to sustaining learning outcomes in different types of learning environments. © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

The article examines the reasons why the United Kingdom's approach to vocational education is more confused and impoverished than ever, despite its central importance to contemporary society. Instead of celebrating skill and vocational knowledge, the United Kingdom has embroiled itself in tortuous debates about parity of esteem, while paradoxically attempting to reduce its once well-respected vocational qualifications to a thin gruel of competence-based checklists. In 2003, young people could still find themselves apprenticed to employers who would not be out of place in a novel by Charles Dickens: some play a positive role in young people's lives, while others enslave them. Yet just as in a Dickens novel, we abandon young people to the economic marketplace. A recent government discussion paper on 14-19 education and Training defined vocational education solely in terms of its value to the economy. The author argues, however, that in everyday life, vocational education supports people's need to create artefacts, to improve their surroundings, to fight against becoming de-skilled consumers, to feel part of the natural world, and to demonstrate the true extent of their capabilities. © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.