Examines the use of distance education for inservice teacher education worldwide. Although the United Kingdom (UK) has many colleges and no vast distances, distance education makes a significant contribution to teacher education in a period of rapid educational change. The UK Open University offers high-quality, multimedia inservice courses. (SM)

Two studies compared primary and secondary control beliefs of adolescents living in modern cultures (Germans, North Americans, Jewish Israelis) with those of adolescents in cultures undergoing a transition to modernity (Malaysians, Israeli Druzes). Found that adolescents from transitional cultures endorsed secondary control beliefs to a greater…

Outlines trends and challenges in job skills development, theoretical links between human capital and economic performance, methodological and measurement problems in analyzing return on investment. Presents case studies of approaches in France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with public policy implications. (SK)

This paper explores some of the historical and political ancestries of constructivism. In it, I suggest that there are dark and potentially ecologically disastrous themes hidden in the happy use of constructivism in contemporary education.

This essay describes and analyzes economic rationalism, instrumental, and enrichment approaches to early care and education policy in the United States and abroad. The author proposes that differences in infant-toddler care and other services among nations can stem from differences in the way that societies define the basic rights of their…

The region of South-eastern Europe has been under two different socioeconomic regimes until the early 1990s, so the development of both geographical and environmental education in the region is now in the process of significant changes. Hence, the current problems relating to geographical and/or environmental education differ significantly among…

As business relationships become increasingly global in nature, a new methodology for understanding the approach to work in various nations is needed. When involved in business dealings with international partners, it is crucial that the modern businessperson understand and empathize with the culture of the company with which he or she is working.…

Introduction: Continuing medical education (CME) is a requirement in many developed countries. Lebanon lacks such a rule; hence, the dictum "once a doctor always a doctor" holds. This article describes a pioneering postgraduate educational program for primary care physicians in remote areas of Lebanon. Method: The Lebanese Society of…

In this chapter, the authors examine developments in the teacher workforce and in the occupation of teaching across recent generations. They take their point of departure from the perspective of prevailing policy discourse on enduring problems of educational equity, asking not only how teaching has evolved in recent decades but more specifically…

Post-productivism is a contested concept, and some argue that it should be abandoned. In this paper, a more focused definition for post-productivism is suggested. Evidence for change in forestry and agriculture that could be categorised as post-productivist is presented, in relation to both the narrower definition and to characterisations…

The International Wellbeing Index (IWI) has been developed as a complementary measure to already well-known economic measures, and as a tool for cross-cultural comparisons. It comprises two subscales: the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and the National Wellbeing Index (NWI). The aims of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, to test the psychometric…

This study addresses issues related to international strategies of lifelong education. The case of the United Kingdom is used to explore the degree to which approaches based on human-capital strategies can contribute to resolving inequalities. It is argued that claims made for the role of education as a means of protecting individual and national…

The Scottish Office Education Department commissioned four interlinked studies of adult education between October 1991 and November 1993. The studies were designed to do the following: provide an overview of provision, progression, and guidance opportunities for adult learners in Scotland; supplement this overview with in-depth pictures of…

The relationship between wage differentiation and long-term unemployment was examined in a study that considered data regarding long-term unemployment and minimum wages in the United States, Japan, and 10 member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Data regarding wages and unemployment in the 11 countries were…

This book contains the following papers on the Leonardo da Vinci project: "Looking for Post-16 Education Strategies for Parity of Esteem in Europe" (Lasonen); "Improving Parity of Esteem as a Policy Goal" (Makinen, Volanen); "Alternative Strategies for Parity of Esteem between General/Academic and Vocational Education in…