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This paper examines the sociology of education from the perspective of its recent history and attempts to assess the current state of the field. The authors argue that cognate disciplines such as economics and social policy have taken over some of the key questions that were once the preserve of sociology of education. This raises the question of what is lost if the sociology of education is no longer making a significant contribution, in key areas, to the major educational, social and economic issues of the day. (Contains 3 notes.)

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses articles in the issue on the topics include rhetoric and policies about the importance of higher education (HE) and the knowledge economy; and understanding of changes in the labour market for economic development.

Tertiary education has seen unprecedented growth in the past decade, but there is a significant share of graduates who struggle to find good jobs, while employers say they cannot find the people with the skills they need. The tertiary education sector needs to reinvent itself to give people greater ownership over what they learn, how they learn, when they learn and where they learn to meet tomorrow's demand for knowledge and skills' (Andreas Schleicher, Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, Higher Education Policy Institute, 2019). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the transformation of the labour market worldwide. The increase in the global supply of highly-qualified skilled workers leads to the competition of prices and knowledge in the labour market. It is stated that the global working trend is towards high-end work in low-cost locations. The problems for the "business as usual" model are discussed including the death of the human capital, the stifling of the entrepreneurial spirit and disregard of education in capitalism.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one by Justin J. W. Powell and Heike Solga on the low higher education participation rates in Germany, one by Rob Strathdee on the higher education in New Zealand, and one by Chaya Herman on doctoral education in South Africa.