This paper examines recent changes in the Scottish apprenticeship system of skill formation for joiners through an occupational skill ecosystem lens. Building trade apprenticeships in Scotland are based around a social partnership model more akin to "dual systems" than typical arrangements elsewhere in the UK. Drawing on in-depth…

Historians and educationalists have often assumed that working-class adult education emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century with the introduction of state-funded technical colleges. This was not the case. In 1823, the Glasgow Mechanics' Institute was opened and within a few years similar institutions were being established across the…

Bobby Curran grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Baltimore, finished high school, and followed his grandfather's steel-toed bootprints straight to Sparrows Point, a 3,000-acre sprawl of industry on the Chesapeake Bay. College was not part of the plan. A gritty but well-paying job at the RG Steel plant was Mr. Curran's ticket to a secure…

In this article, adult learner experiences of embedded literacy and numeracy within vocational programmes in New Zealand are explored and described to identify what these learners felt had contributed to their success as learners. The embedded approach is a distinctive feature of the adult literacy and numeracy education infrastructure in New…

This study investigates the situation and practices of adult education in Turkey in terms of (a) participants, (b) providers, and (c) program areas. The data were derived from published statistical data and one-to-one interaction with adult education providers when such data are unavailable. Turkey has a long tradition of adult education with…

In responding to a global audience, universities are increasingly bound up in priorities of maintaining viability within landscapes of globalised market imperatives, and with changing paradigms of purpose; universities need to be accessible to all. In Australia, pathways to university provided by Credit Transfer have increased student mobility;…

This paper takes a case study approach to provide evidence of the benefits of podcasting as a tool used to support a vocational qualification in the subject area of Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy (Nail Technology). It reflects on the experiences of both the lecturer and the students and concludes that podcasting is a valuable tool, supporting a…

Announced by government in "New Challenges, New Chances" in December 2011, the sector-led Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning has been tasked with raising the quality, and improving the outcomes and impact, of adult vocational teaching and learning for learners and employers. It is a commission focused on the future--of people,…

Since early 2011, the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) has been involved in supporting learning providers to prepare for and, more recently, to deliver provision through the Skills Funding Agency unit offer for the unemployed. The primary purpose of the provision is to equip learners with skills that will facilitate their…

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but more than 23 percent of the world's incarcerated people, putting the U.S. first among all nations. This high rate of incarceration represents costs both for taxpayers and for the communities affected by the many lives interrupted by prison sentences. Race/ethnicity is an…

The Michigan Center for Student Success commissioned this study to determine whether strategies employed to improve adult students' success at 41 Breaking Through colleges nationwide have taken root at Michigan's original colleges and spread beyond them. A statewide survey revisited four of the colleges profiled in previous publications, and the…

The Michigan Center for Student Success commissioned this study to determine whether strategies employed to improve adult students' success at 41 Breaking Through colleges nationwide have taken root at Michigan's original colleges and spread beyond them. A statewide survey revisited four of the colleges profiled in previous publications, and the…

Encouraging older workers to stay in the workforce has become a policy priority, not least because the life expectancy of Australians has increased dramatically over the past several decades, effectively inserting a new stage in life, often called the "third age." This report explores the possibility of using that third age to embark on an…

Even before the Great Recession prompted policymakers to take a closer look at public programs designed to help unemployed Americans re-enter the workforce it had long been clear that federal, state and local government workforce development programs have not always effectively prepared low-income individuals to obtain decent-paying jobs. Job…

As part of the drive to lift Australia's productivity, there has been a push for an increase in the number of course completions in both the vocational education and training (VET) and higher education sectors. While it is generally assumed that completing a course is the desired outcome, it is also expected that individuals will acquire skills…