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A strong VET system is increasingly seen as essential to overcoming the current economic crisis in Europe. VET is seen as a powerful tool to assist in balancing labour market inefficiencies, increasing youth employment possibilities, and reducing skills mismatch. Its inherent flexibility and closeness to the labour market place VET in a good position to contribute to a faster economic recovery and long-term sustainable development. However, crucial for this role is continuous and systematic VET renewal that assures its relevance for the labour market. This publication explores 15 European national approaches to feedback mechanisms between VET and the labour market. It illustrates the diversity of solutions currently applied across Europe and how they are embedded in national traditions and education philosophy. The study asks three fundamental questions: how inclusive are national mechanisms for feedback between the VET system and the labour market; how responsive are existing mechanisms; and how transparent? Three annexes provide: (1) Case Studies; (2) List of interviewees; and (3) List of experts responsible for the country overviews. Bibliography and references are included. [This paper is the result of a team effort reflecting the work of a research consortium led by Jörg Markowitsch from 3s Research Laboratory who together with Tanja Bacher, Carol Costley, David Etherington, Gerhard Geiger, Günter Hefler, Jelena Helemäe, Triin Roosalu, Ellu Saar, Auni Tamm, and Odd Bjørn Ure conducted the research and fieldwork and drafted the report. This work was carried out under Cedefop's service contract No 2011-0161/AO/ECVL/JB-IPS/Cooperation Labour market--VET/007/11.]

Diana Wilkinson, Chief Social Researcher with the Scottish Government, assisted National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) to facilitate a forum to discuss the development of national research priorities for the vocational education and training sector. This paper summarises Diana Wilkinson's impression of the forum and uses two contrasting case studies of Scotland and Australia to consider the extent to which it is feasible to align academic research investment with medium-term priority-setting. (Contains 13 footnotes and 1 table.)

This is a report on the quality review of distance learning in a sample of five countries. The report was commissioned by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation's (CHEA's) International Commission in order to understand better the nature of existing regulatory arrangements in the context of growth in electronically supported learning and in the import and export of education world-wide. The data collected from readily available public sources were used to create country case studies for Jordan, Malaysia, Australia, Kenya and the UK, which were subsequently verified by in-country experts. From the data and information collected, a summary report was produced in two parts. Part One summarizes information and issues arising from relevant policy reports and academic literature. The sections of the report cover: context and terminology, approaches to quality review, agencies involved, review processes, and challenges and issues in the quality review of distance learning. The second part presents data from the case studies. After a brief section outlining the socio-economic context, educational system and policy context for each country, Part Two addresses the main themes of the project: the nature of distance learning in each country and the main providers, the nature of the regulatory and quality assurance systems as they apply generally and to distance learning in particular, and the relationship between trade in educational services (from an importing and exporting perspective) and arrangements for quality review. [This report was produced by CHEA (Council for Higher Education Accreditation) Institute for Research and Study of Accreditation and Quality Assurance. It was prepared for the International Commission of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.]

A multinational, multidisciplinary team examined the impact of globalization on education, training, and small and medium sized enterprise development in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. The study focused on the following issues: developing a learner-led competitiveness approach; building learning enterprises; education for microenterprises and macroeconomic growth; and training for self-employment and competitiveness. The study documented the importance of learning-led competitiveness and identified obstacles to development of learning enterprises in all three countries. The following are among the 12 recommendations offered to national governments and international agencies with development concerns: (1) insert learning-led competitiveness into development debates; (2) understand the implications of globalization better; (3) address the range of barriers to development of learning enterprises; (4) consider interenterprise linkages and the role of learning therein; (5) place learning-led competitiveness at the heart of small enterprise development policy; (6) broaden the universal primary education vision; (7) construct a curriculum for competitiveness; (8) improve public training's ability to support competitive self-employment; (9) empower training providers to be more market responsive; and (10) emphasize skills transfer from large to small firms. (The bibliography lists 139 references. Brief profiles and addresses of the research team members and a list of project papers are appended.) (MN)

The patterns of manual and clerical workers' access to learning opportunities in the workplace in the United Kingdom were examined through case studies of three local authorities and three National Health Service trusts and a survey examining their employees' learning experiences. The workers occupying the lowest- grade jobs at the study organizations included younger workers, women returning to the labor market, and older workers who were either close to retirement or older than retirement age. A large percentage worked part-time. The case studies revealed evidence of upskilling and job enrichment, with individual workers' attitudes toward this upskilling and retraining depending on the social context in which they were occurring. Also identified were examples of work intensification and deskilling and of a number of people feeling trapped in routine and monotonous jobs. The following types of learning at work were identified: learning within the job and "doing the job better"; learning to understand the job; learning for job progression; learning around the job by extending knowledge of the section or department; learning for employability; learning for personal development; and learning for democratic participation in the 21st century. However, not all employees had such opportunities available to them, and some workers were not interested in job progression. (Contains 25 references.) (MN)

The benefits of and issues associated with output-related funding (ORF) were assessed by examining the use of ORF in vocational education and training (VET) in the European Union and the United States. Data were gathered in the following ways: several online bibliographic searches; consultation with 54 experts, including VET researchers, national policymakers, and lobbyists; CEDEFOP requests for information from organizations and individuals; and traditional library searches. ORF was defined as basing funding on outputs produced, which are generally measured in terms of the achievement of qualifications for school-based training and/or job attainment. The emphasis given to ORF in the VET programs examined ranged from 75% (the United Kingdom's Training for Work program) to 5% (Job Training Partnership Act programs). ORF was determined to offer the following benefits: gives training providers more flexibility in the type of provision offered; enhances improvements in performance; increases value for money by providing incentive to fulfill certain achievements and discouraging "time-serving" in training, which does not lead to outcomes; and simplifies administration and clarifies audit requirements. ORF's success in achieving efficiency, reducing administrative costs, and enhancing accountability could not be determined unequivocally because it was rarely used as the sole instrument of performance management. (57 references) (MN)

This paper offers a broad look at accreditation and quality assurance in higher education and how these issues are addressed around the world. Section 1 is an overview of accreditation and addresses the aims and objectives of accreditation, standards, accreditation bodies, stages of the accreditation process, the quality of that process, the role of government in the accreditation process, some critical points of view concerning the process, and present accreditation trends. Section 2 looks at accreditation and quality assurance through brief national case studies. The nations represented are France, Germany, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, China, India, Hong Kong, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Australia. This section closes with a section comparing accreditation and quality assurance in various regions. Section 3 takes a closer and more detailed look at the accreditation process in Romania, particularly in light of the recent political and educational changes in this nation and the fairly recent decision to introduce accreditation of institutions of higher education. This examination covers accreditation principles and objectives, standards for initial and subsequent accreditation, application rules, structure of the accreditation committee and its functions, and provisions for financing accreditation. Appendixes contain institutional evaluation standards and a glossary. (Contains 27 references.) (JB)

This study was primarily undertaken by teachers for teachers, and focuses on the potential contribution of global learning and development education (DE) methodologies to a core aspect of curriculum provision, namely writing. The aim of the study is to explore whether using global learning and DE methodologies can have an impact on pupils' achievement within writing at the primary phase. We also want to show how a school can build its own understanding, knowledge and skill base in global learning and DE methodologies in order to embed this work within the curriculum in a sustainable way. The study uses an action research methodology in one Primary school. In 2013 the school had received an Ofsted Inspection rating as Requires Improvement (RI), with a particular need to improve pupils' writing. The project aimed to see if global learning and DE methodologies could support this. An outside facilitator was used to carry out interventions to support teachers' ability to use global learning and development education to support children's writing. As a result, teachers made changes to lesson planning, teaching and the classroom environments. Impacts can be seen through reviewing staff self-evaluations of CPD, lesson observations, pupils' work, topic evaluations and progress/attainment data in relation to national age related expectations. In 2015 the school was re-inspected by Ofsted and graded as Good. "Rapid school improvement" was noted and within writing the majority of pupils were judged to be making good progress. The Ofsted inspector noted: "the school uses global learning (global education themes) very effectively" with the result that learning was "more relevant and interesting" with "pupils able to apply their knowledge and skills to real-life problems" (Ofsted, 2015: 4, 6). The inspection also reaffirmed that the school "promotes pupils" spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and British Values well. Pupils are valued and supported as individuals, while also being helped to see themselves as part of a diverse community' (Ofsted, 2015: 4). Appended to the report are: (1) Session outlines for staff meetings; and (2) Topic plans.

Linking between schools in the United Kingdom and schools in sub-Saharan Africa has been a feature of the educational landscape for more than twenty years, but became a government priority between 2000 and 2010. Whilst the interest in Ireland was less, both countries resourced linking programmes primarily as a means of raising awareness of development issues. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also became involved in school linking during the first decade of the twenty-first century with Plan UK and Link Community Development (Link) being the leading organisations in this field. However, due to funding constraints and change in United Kingdom government policy post 2010, both of these NGOs ended their linking programmes in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Link's involvement in school linking came from a development perspective; links were primarily seen as a mechanism for improving schools in sub-Saharan Africa. Development education only became a main feature of their linking programme with their European Union funded project, Partners in Development (PiD), which ran from 2010 to 2012. This project was funded from a development awareness budget line, but the NGO's proposal included development goals within the project. This became a major source of tension that was unresolved throughout the life of the project. This report is an evaluation of the "Partners in Development" project that was based on linking schools in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, with schools in Ghana, Malawi, Uganda, and South Africa. The evidence gathered was based on a combination of quantitative-based questionnaires, interviews with key staff within Link, and in-depth data gathered from a number of schools in Scotland. The main findings of the evaluation are as follows: (1) The Link Schools Programme (LSP) was clearly valued, but its impact was different in the United Kingdom and Ireland from that in South Africa, Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda; (2) The breadth of schools involved, particularly in the United Kingdom, suggests that the programme reached different schools from those which have been involved in other linking programmes; (3) The project suffered from funding criteria that continually focused on a target-driven approach; (4) Link staff became too heavily involved in administration and support; (5) As a consequence, many of the issues that often emerge in linking activities were not fully addressed; (6) The website was popular and the Solar Connect component that provided internet access to some of the schools in Africa was highly valued; and (7) Supported links developed by the Link model clearly have value. The following appendices are included: (1) Breakdown of schools participating in the Teacher Survey; (2) Rating of the Link Programme services. UK & Ireland schools; (3) Rating of the Link Programme services. African schools; (4) Profile of activities by school characteristics; (5) Evaluation Questionnaire; and (6) Focus Group Questions for Teachers in Scottish Link Schools--June 2012.

Public bodies hold a range of information and content ranging from demographic, economic and meteorological data to art works, historical documents and books. Given the availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) public sector information can play an important role in producing innovative value-added services and goods. Furthermore, these technologies also provide a wider population better access to educational and cultural knowledge. Both commercial opportunities and the wider spread of information have positive economic and social benefits. Knowledge is a source of competitive advantage in the "information economy", for this reason it is economically important that there is wide diffusion of public information. Governments also have a basic commitment that citizens have to access national cultural heritage such as paintings, monuments and books; and this is also important for social inclusion. To contribute to better conditions for learning, the digitisation of cultural and educational resources is fundamental. New communication tools, such as interactive Web sites and games, often also reach groups of people with no previous interest, notably if they allow personal participation. OECD countries have recently initiated many programmes which use these tools for cultural and educational content. The main emphasis of policies has shifted to improving access to available resources, and preservation of content created digitally ("digitally-born") receives increasing attention. Public Sector information (PSI) constitutes the "raw material" for a variety of products and services in applications across a wide range of industries, and analysis has concluded that it is an important economic asset. This study gives an overview of the main areas of PSI and their commercial applications. Currently geographic and meteorological information have the greatest economic potential; and so far their use has had positive impacts on employment and growth. Specifically combining various types of PSI has led to the development of innovative products such as location-based services. Technological innovation including the development of mobile networks open up further markets for PSI-based services, and better data quality and e.g. increased interoperability open up cross-border services. Industry structure has also been affected by ICTs; often higher value added producers have taken the place of previous intermediary distributors in the production value chain. Further, the roles of public and private firms are changing and the growth of mobile services markets stimulates the development of PSI business re-use further. To develop competitive PSI markets, most OECD countries have attempted to ensure private service providers face the same conditions as public institutions, enabled private sector access to public data and clarified conditions under which these data can be used. For example portals have been developed that provide an overview of available PSI and conditions for use. Important questions are: which access regimes and re-use arrangements maximise the positive economic and other benefits of PSI, and which may for example develop commercial activities based on government-created content/data. In some OECD countries access regimes allow commercial re-users have cheap and readily available access to PSI. They then add value to the public data and re-sell it to firms and consumers. Some studies argue that such open access regimes improve competitive market conditions for PSI re-use, stimulate economic growth and create jobs. However there are also arguments that commercial re-users may have low-cost access to data which was costly to create for the government, and that taxpayers may pay twice for the PSI content (once for creation of government content, and the second time when purchasing the content from a commercial re-user, although provided re-use is non-exclusive, users can also go to the original source for the original information, presumably at lower cost, but without value-added services). On the other hand, in other OECD countries, there are access regimes where the public sector holds public sector information for its own use or employs cost-recovery strategies that allow only limited and potentially expensive access. In this scenario there are arguments that potential consumers of this data may have only restricted access to it, and that this approach is more costly to the consumer and for the taxpayer. Moreover, the potential economic gains from development of new commercial activities based on PSI reuse may be foregone. The economic and equity arguments surrounding commercial re-use of public sector information and content are complex and deserve considerably more analysis and policy attention. If public sector content is to be more widely available through ICTs, it is crucial that cultural institutions have adequate in-house capacities and sustainable financial resources for digitisation. In many countries the cultural sector has faced cuts in public funding, and efficient digitisation has been a challenge for small and regional institutions. While public resources will remain important, private-public partnerships and the development of e-learning markets provide alternatives to finance content digitisation. Public sector information can also be sold and monetized to develop self-sustaining revenue streams helping data creation and digitisation efforts. Networks and interactive communities are also important because they allow cost reductions along the lines of open software development. With respect to copyright many challenges for content preservation and diffusion arise. This study addresses challenges and related policy issues with respect to both PSI and public sector content. It is a first review of the area of public sector information and content and it is proposed that follow-up work be carried out in this area, particularly on the economic and distributional aspects of different access, cost, pricing and distribution models for public sector information and content. (A bibliography is included. Selected examples of digital education institutions/projects, recommendations for online cultural content, and related abbreviations are annexed. Contains 7 figures, 17 boxes and 6 tables.)

This publication reports on Communities in Crisis, a resource and adult education program designed to encourage local community leaders and volunteers to reflect critically upon their experiences and exchange ideas across different towns, cities, and regions in the United Kingdom. Part 1 describes the program and its three aims: sharing experiences, helping with project work, and building knowledge. Part 2 contains edited extracts from 15 project reports prepared by participants between 1983 and 1987. They are presented under three headings, each of which has represented a recurring focus for the preparation of project work in the programs. "Identifying needs and evaluating policies" refers to projects that involved participants in small-scale research investigations and data collection. "Case studies" features projects that focused on descriptions of organizational development and pressure group campaigns. "Reflection on personal experience" refers to projects in which participants use, value, and critically review their experiences of community work. Part 3 is a review of participants' gains; the practical use that has been made of the projects; and guidelines for the organization and planning of project work with community groups. Appendixes include a summary of research to evaluate motivation, study skills, and learning approaches of one group of Community in Crisis and a list of 21 references. (YLB)

This brief paper describes how additional learning resources can be developed at a module level within higher education. The context to further meet the requirements of a rapidly changing environment within the higher education context and to meet different trends and challenges such as employers' expectations and challenges facing graduates to secure appropriate employment considering their disciplines. The case study reflects key considerations to ensure further students' success as universities in the UK shifted from face-to-face delivery to quick online delivery due to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 virus spreading in the UK and Globally. In addition, the case study provides key considerations during the curriculum development process, such as constructive alignment, students' backgrounds and diversity, and utilization of additional resources at the organizational level, such as Library Services and IT.