Search Results for
"learning"

Growing concerns about retention and attrition rates in a mass and increasingly marketised higher education system have encouraged the idea that 'meeting learner needs' should be a key focus for institutional attention. It is suggested that this approach is unrealistic, however, because of the extent of the diversity which it attempts to respond to. An alternative response is to move away from the individualised focus on needs, deficits and 'support', towards a consideration of 'activities, patterns of interaction and communication failures', in relation to higher education pedagogical cultures. This move reconceptualises the idea of 'barriers to learning', attempting to understand how more subtle aspects of higher education pedagogical cultures may themselves be creating conditions which make it difficult, or even impossible, for some students to learn. Deliberately forging a middle path between conventional and radical approaches to pedagogy, the article attempts to identify examples of 'older' values and assumptions which may be positive and functional, and to separate these out from a number of other values and assumptions which, it is argued, may act to prevent students from being able to access new disciplinary worlds. © 2006 Society for Research into Higher Education.

This article examines the impact of gender and 'race' on young people's perceptions of the educational and labour market opportunities available to them after they complete their compulsory schooling in England. Its findings are based on a study of the views of girls and boys about the government-supported 'Apprenticeships' programme, which, because it reflects labour market conditions, is highly gendered and also segregated by ethnicity. The research shows that young people receive very little practical information and guidance about the consequences of pursuing particular occupational pathways, and are not engaged in any formal opportunities to debate gender and ethnic stereotyping as related to the labour market. This is particularly worrying for females, who populate apprenticeships in sectors with lower completion rates and levels of pay, and which create less opportunity for progression. In addition, the research reveals that young people from non-White backgrounds are more reliant on 'official' sources of guidance (as opposed to friends and families) for their labour market knowledge. The article argues that, because good-quality apprenticeships can provide a strong platform for lifelong learning and career progression, young people need much more detailed information about how to compare a work-based pathway with full-time education. At the same time, they also need to understand that apprenticeships (and jobs more generally) in some sectors may result in very limited opportunities for career advancement. © 2006 British Educational Research Association.

This insightful book is ideal for students, researchers and policy makers wanting a sound overview of the critical issues of gender in lifelong learning. Asking pertinent questions relating to discourses on policy, the authors offer the reader a rare view of lifelong learning from a gender-focused perspective, filling a gap in the literature and moving current debate on into new areas. Questions addressed include: To what extent can the policy discourses and institutional contexts of lifelong learning be seen as masculinised and/or feminised?. What are the gender implications of lifelong learning policy?. In what ways are learners' identities constructed through lifelong learning?. Does lifelong learning provide opportunities to challenge or transgress gender binaries?. What are the implications for practice?. All rights reserved.

We are nowadays so clued into the idea of GCE A-levels, five years at dental school, a year (or possibly two) of vocational training and then a career life-long learning process that the notion of anything less seems fanciful. And as for apprenticeships, well dental education has come on in leaps and bounds since those days. Hasn't it? Stephen Hancocks takes another look.

[No abstract available]

Across the western world, there is a growing awareness of the importance of workplace learning, seen at the level of national and international policy, as well as in the developing practices of employers, training providers and Trades Unions. Authoritative, accessible, and appealing, it presents key findings on work-based learning, bringing together conclusions and investigating a variety of workplace contexts to show how such learning can be improved. An extensive practical treatment, brought to life with illustrations from both the public and private sectors, this book has a unique combination of breadth of coverage and depth of understanding. Grounded in rich and detailed empirical studies, this volume challenges conventional thinking. An important new addition to the Improving learning series, it focuses on guidelines for improving learning by marrying the very best theory and practice to provide an accessible and authoritative guide to workplace learning. Practitioners, policy makers, students and academics with an interest in learning at work will find this an invaluable addition to their bookshelves. © 2006 Karen Evans, Phil Hodkinson, Helen Rainbird and Lorna Unwin. All rights reserved.

A high level of personal capacity, the relevant professional competence and technical skills are essential for a graduate's successful transition to the workplace. The purpose of this survey was to identify the main competencies that higher agricultural education graduates should possess, based on the perceptions of potential agricultural employers. The population of this study comprised public, private, and cooperative managers and employers in the agricultural sector in the provinces of Mazandaran, Khuzestan, Kermanshah and Hamedan (N=485). A sample of 212 employers was selected using a stratified random sampling method. A four-part instrument in the form of a questionnaire was developed by the researchers to gather the required data. Factor analysis was used to elicit the preferences of employers for key competencies. The results show that employers value generic competencies relatively higher than field-specific competencies for agricultural graduates entering the agricultural field. The generic competencies identified include communication skills, problem-solving ability, agricultural ethics, business and computer skills, and general administrative skills and abilities, such as leadership and team-work. Technical skills and agricultural professionalism were identified as field-specific competencies. To develop these competencies, a new didactical arrangement, including supervised agricultural experience programmes, experiential learning, and fundamental changes in the teaching and learning process are proposed.

This article considers the prevalence of what have been termed 'training discourses' as dominant practices within a particular University of Technology, and discusses the implications of such discourses for teaching and learning. The rapid emergence of this training or skills discourse in Universities of Technology in South Africa, in preference to discourses that emphasise praxis (a combination of theory and practice) and, by implication, of social redress and transformation, is interrogated within the framework of the current emphasis on training for economic growth. While in some instances the training discourses could be considered empowering for students because of the inclusion of authentic, workplace practices, these discourses could also be considered constraining if they limit students ' ability to solve problems critically and creatively. The ability to adapt to new and changing workplace environments, this article will argue, could be better developed by a more developmental discourse of 'critiquing', 'knowing' and 'doing', rather than just 'doing'.

Many of the current policy debates in Europe focus on what kind of 'knowledge economy' or 'knowledge society' would be best in the future if it is to combine both economic competitiveness and social cohesion. Should European economies move increasingly towards the so-called Anglo-Saxon model of flexible labour markets and high employment rates-with the increasing income inequalities that attend them-or would some new form of the European Social Model be more appropriate for Europe's traditional concerns with matching economic competitiveness with social cohesion? This article explores the different models of the 'knowledge economy/society' which can be identified in the European Union and how different models of Lifelong learning support these. The analysis is confined to western European member states, and some of their major OECD competitor states, since it is too early yet to identify knowledge economies in the transformation states of central and Eastern Europe. Whereas traditional political economy approaches typically present dualistic theories relating to the Anglo-Saxon and Social Market models, the author now identifies at least three major models of the knowledge economy/society in Europe, roughly corresponding to different geographical/cultural regions, and that these are indeed supported by different models of Lifelong learning. Only one of these can be said to combine the concerns of economic competitiveness and social cohesion. © 2006 British Association for International and Comparative Education.

Today, 'lifelong learning for all' figures prominently within the education and training policies of governments throughout the developed world and is presented as a powerful solution to a wide range of economic and social challenges. Norway is often regarded as a country that has perhaps made more progress towards this ideal than many others. Norway invests considerable resources in its education system and has already achieved a highly educated population by international standards. Its experience may be instructive therefore of the problems that more advanced countries confront in attempting to further progress the lifelong learning agenda even under relatively favourable conditions. Drawing upon a range of secondary material and interviews conducted with key stakeholders, this paper explores the main achievements, problems and challenges that Norway has faced in attempting to implement a recent reform of adult and continuing education and training, entitled the Competence Reform. To date, the reform would seem to have had only a relatively limited impact especially with regard to low-qualified workers in sectors with poor training records and relatively high concentrations of 'learning-deprived' jobs. In reflecting upon this experience, Norwegian policy makers appear to be reaching the end of a cycle of policy and academic thinking concerned mainly with boosting the supply of skills through the education system and are now embarking upon a new and challenging agenda aimed at increasing the utilisation and development of skills within the workplace. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.