Ratings given to the same item response may have a stronger correlation than those given to different item responses, especially when raters interact with one another before giving ratings. The rater bundle model was developed to account for such local dependence by forming multiple ratings given to an item response as a bundle and assigning…

The article underlines the historic importance of the treatment of skills development, finally, by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) team. Among the many challenges in its analysis are the multiple and overlapping meanings of the word skill, and the consequent difficulties of quantifying and monitoring efforts at skills…

The construction industry is contributing to the sustainability agenda through numerous strategies to improve energy efficiency in the design, materials, and operating conditions of buildings. However, this is only one driver of change in the construction sector. This article, which takes Australia as a case study, shows that many other drivers…

In the first decade of this century, India became one of the world's fastest growing large economies, and began to face serious skill-related shortages of workers. Its TVET system has not responded adequately to the growth in demand for semi-skilled and skilled workers. This article describes six sets of reforms that India's educational…

This article describes the main institutional features of Australia's TVET sector, focussing particularly on the qualifications framework, how it relates to the labour market, and the role of industry. It also looks briefly at two current policy challenges for Australia. Seeking lessons for other countries in the Asia Pacific region, it…

At present, India's education system turns out millions of young people who are ready to think, but not enough people with entrepreneurial or employment skills. As India faces increasing limits on its resources, both economic and natural, the competency and capability of human resources play a pivotal role in developing and sustaining the…

Most countries in South Asia are either in the middle-income bracket or moving towards it; to move up the value chain towards higher incomes, they need more skilled people and larger investments in infrastructure. The combination of globalization, technological advancement, unprecedented labour mobility, and the demographic dividend offers them…

Germany has a "dual system" of initial vocational education and training, one that other countries admire and would like to adopt. Can it hand this model over to them? This article argues that doing so will require far more than a simple process of copying. Instead, any transfer must reflect the existing conditions in the country…

Though viewed as second-class until fairly recently, Canada's system for providing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) now provides relevant post-secondary education that meets the needs of highly skilled professionals in all job categories. As the system evolved, it changed the public view of skills education. This article…

The article provides an overview of the global economic landscape in which the contemporary skills development discourse is located. Effective skills development oriented to market needs and to competitiveness in high-value global value chains will help developing economies to avoid the middle income trap. It outlines major issues and challenges…

Supported by emerging research and practice, this chapter provides a comprehensive conceptual framework for first-year assessment.

This chapter demonstrates that the effects of good teaching and academic challenge on leadership and psychological well-being during the first year of college differ for African-American and White students, which suggests that institutional researchers should disaggregate data by race or other relevant student characteristics when trying to…

High-impact practices, programs, and activities where students commit considerable time and effort in different settings can help to define the first-year college experience and are likely to increase success in areas like persistence, deep learning, and self-reported gains.

It has often been stated that the Arab "world" is faced by a demographic challenge which is very different to that of many countries in the global North. As the Arab Spring has shown, youths across the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are keen to make a mark, and despite the internal conflicts and contests for power and…

In recent guidelines for fair educational testing it is advised to check the validity of individual test scores through the use of person-fit statistics. For practitioners it is unclear on the basis of the existing literature which statistic to use. An overview of relatively simple existing nonparametric approaches to identify atypical response…