Young people in society are able to use information and communication technology with ease and exploit the opportunities and benefits of social interaction that has become ingrained in their daily routines. However, as the use of technology has risen, so too has its misuse to harm others. The phenomena of bullying and, more recently,…

The aim of this research was to clarify the characteristics of Finnish upper secondary school students as vocational decision-makers. The focus was especially on what skills and competences were related to decision-making at different phases of the decision-making process. Altogether, 216 upper secondary school students filled in the…

Each year, around 250,000 16-year-olds in the United Kingdom finish their GCSEs and begin studying for their Advanced (A-) levels, many of them at further education (FE) college. Students study their A-level courses at FE college for a number of reasons, including a more mature relationship with teachers. As we approach the 64th anniversary of…

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) is a two-year senior school certificate available to secondary students in Victoria, Australia, and has been operational for almost a decade. It is delivered by secondary schools and further education providers. In 2010, two programmes from each of these providers were reviewed and considered in…

In order to understand the changing nature of professionalism we must consider how the work of teachers has changed in recent years and place this into its wider political and social context as the British State moved from a social democratic model of the State to one based on neo-liberal ideology. Although much of the literature of teacher…

This paper poses a rarely asked question--Re-engagement to where? Or to what valued social purpose for the young people concerned? Drawing from a larger project funded by the Australian Research Council, the paper analyses the "portraits" of two young people whose lives were seemingly better within a re-engagement programme, but whose…

The concept "not in education, employment or training" (NEET) has only recently been deployed in academic analyses and policy documents in South Africa. This article uses the concept to highlight the acute levels of youth unemployment experienced in that country. It discusses the causal factors, and adopts the concept of "social…

For young people, not being in education, employment or training (NEET) may be detrimental to self-esteem and limit possibilities for achieving financial security and a respectable position in society. One major educational problem in Estonia is low academic achievement at the upper level of basic education (Grades 7-9), reflected in a large…

The article presented evaluates the experiences and aspirations of learners enrolled on the Advanced Diploma (level three 14-19) as well as documenting the thoughts of developers, managers and practitioners who have been responsible for the implementation of the award. In order to gain a clear picture of existing research, analysis of the…

As a policy initiative to improve student achievement, a number of jurisdictions have introduced compulsory literacy and numeracy standards for senior secondary students, the meeting of which forms a hurdle requirement for the award of the senior secondary exit certificate. While such a requirement is sometimes justified by policymakers as a…

UK awarding bodies increasingly use technology to distribute digital copies of students' examination scripts to examiners for marking. This process allows senior examiners (team leaders) to remotely monitor and feedback on the marking quality of examiners under their supervision throughout the marking period. The objective of this study was to…

The global discourse of human capital theory has long dominated educational development commitments. There is a huge body of literature which critiques how this discourse and associated global trends and targets have created a standardised blueprint for how education in low income countries should be carried out. While most attention has been…

The introduction of outcomes-based vocational education in schools can have significant impact on the management and delivery of education and training. These impacts are not limited to classroom practice, and extend to the fields of policy and system coordination. This article reports on the results of a major trial of outcomes-oriented…

In 2005, the UK government announced the development of a suite of employer-designed diplomas for 14-19 year olds linked to different industrial and commercial sectors. This article will reflect on some of the achievements and challenges of this major employer engagement initiative by drawing on three pieces of research: a review of Diploma…

School, parental and peer group effects have been identified as being influential in shaping the decision of students to participate in post-compulsory education, but the analysis of each effect separately is rare. Using a random effects logistic regression approach, estimates of the importance of school, parental and peer group effects on student…