South African educational reforms in the 1980s are seen as the government's response to critics of apartheid and an attempt to win the hearts and minds of Blacks through apparent, but not necessarily real, restructuring of the racial division of labor and through limited technical training for Blacks. (MH)

This study examines the factors that influence participation in vocational education among students who attended high school during the early 1990s--that is, when the focus of federal vocational education policy began to change. The factors examined included three types of characteristics of students, their parents, and their high schools: (1)…

Public Agenda was asked by the Nebraska State Board of Education and the Nebraska Department of Education (referred to hereafter as the State Board and the NDE) to help design and implement a public engagement process that would allow a cross-section of the state's citizens to comment on the central ideas contained in the document "Equitable…

Of all the factors that schools control, teacher quality is the one that most affects student achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000). In fact, researcher Eric Hanushek (2002) found the difference in annual student achievement growth between a student taught by an effective teacher and one taught by an ineffective teacher can be as much as one…

The High School diploma has lost its value because what it takes to earn one is disconnected from what it takes for graduates to compete successfully beyond high school--either in the classroom or in the workplace. Re-establishing the value of the diploma will require the creation of an inextricable link between high school exit expectations and…

Diverse patterns of organization exist across the English post-16 education and training (ET) system. Direct consequences of national policy drivers and the shift to a single mechanism for all publicly funded non-higher education (HE) post-16 provision are strong imperatives toward collaboration between providers, planned provision across an area,…

A study extended studies on use of prior learning assessment and recognition (PLAR) by concentrating on learners/students outside of the college system and exploring student experience with all dimensions of the use of PLAR. Fourteen university students were interviewed. Findings indicated respondents had re-entered formal education by novel means…

In 1992, the South Australian Minister of Education granted operational control of schooling in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara lands to the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee (PYEC). PYEC is composed of Aboriginal community members (Anangu) who largely retain their traditional values and customs. This means that generally…

Retention and graduation rates have been topics of concern for undergraduate institutions. These indicators are not as applicable for two-year institutions where students' goals are more varied. This study examined the retention over four semesters of 678 first-time, full-time community college students with respect to their initial educational…

This participant handbook is composed of supplemental instructional materials for a course designed to teach the organization and management of training, including roles and functions performed and the needs, costs, benefits, and productivity of training systems. A course outline or syllabus provide a course description, course objectives, subject…

University of the Third Age (U3A) programs in Australia and New Zealand were examined through data collected from 126 U3A groups in Australia and 20 in New Zealand. The 24,870 responses and 2,002 responses obtained in Australia and New Zealand, respectively, represented 76% and 77% of U3A group members in the two countries. Data were collected…

A study at Crowder College (Missouri) found that clustering within majors may prove helpful in evaluating and implementing long-range planning for student retention and academic success. The study, which included nursing, athletics, and Environmental Resource Center (ERC) students, identified factors aiding academic success: demonstrative goals,…

This booklet details the policy guidelines to which the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) will adhere when working to achieve its medium-term priorities in 1997-2000. The following items are stated in the booklet's six sections: legal requirements, agreements, and publications on which CEDEFOP's policy guidelines…

This Alberta curriculum guide defines competencies that help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in forestry occupations, use technology in the forestry field effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs. The first section provides a program rationale and…

This Alberta curriculum guide defines competencies that help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in information processing occupations, use technology in for information processing effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs. The first section provides a program…