Governance And Marketisation In Vocational And Continuing Education

Globalisation and individualisation, decreasing public means, political strategies of decentralisation, increasing participation of social groups and growing markets are discussed as main aspects of the current changes in vocational and continuing education. A comprehensive and integrating theoretical concept of analysis and understanding of these changes is widely missing, but necessary for a supra-national level of observation and comparison. The book includes a survey on this segment of education in several European countries, Australia and the USA. The folio of analysis and comparision is given by the concept of governance, which allows a theoretical and empirical approach to the field of vocational and adult education. The contributions line out governance and marketisation strategies in an international, national and sectoral perspective and give a frame of perception and interpretation on a general level.

Large scale changes in work and education are a key feature of contemporary global transformations, with a pervasive politics that affects people’s experiences of workplaces and learning spaces. This thought-provoking book uses empirical research to question prevailing debates surrounding compliance at work, education and lifelong learning, and emphasises the importance of debate and dissent within the current terms and conditions of work. Examining a number of types of work, including teaching, nursing and social work, through a transnational research space, the contributors investigate how disturbances in work both constrain and enable collective identities in practical politics. Structured around three main themes, the book covers: Disturbed work: with cases of occupational reform in nursing and vocational teaching in Finland and re-regulating work in Australia Disturbing work: examining contested occupational knowledge in German school to work transitions, paraprofessional healthwork in the UK, social work in Finland, and mobilising professional expertise in US Community College faculty and Australian adult literacy Transforming politics: negotiating an ageing workforce in Germany, young adults moving through identities and careers, building a politics of ‘we’ through a global book project An enlightening collection of international contributions, this book will appeal to all postgraduate students, researchers and policy makers, in education, work, and lifelong learning.

On the occasion of Mary Henkel’s seventieth birthday a group of her colleagues have come together to write this volume of articles as a tribute to her work and a token of gratitude for contributions to higher education research. The authors analyse these developments leading up to and possibly beyond the present in a tribute to Mary Henkel’s work using her birthday as an occasion to focus attention on her contributions to higher education research – something she would normally seek to avoid. This book is also a contribute to understanding how research in higher education has developed since its origins as Mary Henkel was one of its founding scholars together with other well-known researchers such as Maurice Kogan, Guy Neave, Ulrich Teichler, Martin Trow, Burton Clark, etc. The book will be useful to all researchers in areas related to higher education, namely governance, academic work, academic identities and quality.

Governance and Regulation in the Third Sector brings together scholars and experienced practitioners from different countries to investigate the relationship between regulation and relational governance for the third sector in a comparative context. Each chapter reviews recent regulatory changes in the country in question. To what extent are there significant convergences in these reforms and what are the implications for the third sector? Is there any evidence that the foundational architecture for a more collaborative relationship between the state and the third sector has been laid? Overall, the book reveals that the reality of the supposedly new collaborative relationships and the impacts of regulatory reform are quite different from what contemporary theories of public management would have us believe. Recognizing the gap between theory and reality, the chapters explore some of the outstanding challenges for regulatory reform for the third sector.

Covers issues of vocational education and training (VET) in light of social and economic changes, such as apprenticeship, information technology, structural adjustment, and shifting regional political and economic agendas. Reports on global VET concerns in a dozen countries around the world.

Are the educational systems in Europe becoming more similar or more different? This book deals with the issue of divergence and convergence in relation to systems, learning environments, and learners in vocational educational training (VET). 18 VET researchers from eight countries contribute to the examination of 'divergence and convergence' at three levels: At the national level this volume deals with the following questions: What are the consequences of the European policies that aim at converging the VET systems in Europe? What is the impact of globalization on the national systems? At the level of institutions the central issue concerns the relation between learning environments. What is the coherence between school-based education and learning in the work-place, and how can they connect? Finally at the third level of the learners and their identities the focus is on the role of vocational educational training in the formation of biographies and identities. The book thus covers the central issues on the agenda in relation to future vocational education.

Textbook

Exploring the relationships between qualitative research and social change, this bookasks how social change is informed and influenced by research. Examples discussed are from research practice and experiences in the fields of sociology, social work, professional practice, education, criminal justice and anthropology."