This paper focuses on the issue of emancipation in education practices in general and in vocational education and training (VET) in particular. The principal aim is to contribute to the discussion of particular traditions of emancipation in education in connection with VET practices. The exploration of ongoing educational debates on VET…

This paper discusses the ways in which mature students orientate themselves towards the future in making decisions to access higher education (HE). Their narratives connect their past, often difficult, educational and personal lives to their future aspirations and to their current experiences in further education (FE) and HE. The research was part…

The qualification of adult educators is a central aspect of the quality of adult education. However, within current policy discourses and adult education research on the professional development of prospective adult educators, little attention is paid to teacher qualification when compared to other fields of education and training. In this study,…

This paper analyses Botswana's commitment to lifelong learning policy and discusses how it can help the state achieve its vision for sustainable development. First, it argues that while Botswana is renowned for its economic success, it still fails to address positively such traditional challenges as poverty, unemployment and income inequality,…

In the last couple of decades, there has been a shift from speaking about employment to speaking about employability. The interest in this article is directed at how discourses on employability are mobilised in the wider discursive terrain of governance. How does governance operate, what subject is produced and, more specifically, who is…

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are being recognized globally for their influential role in realizing the UN Millennium Development Goal of education for all in developing countries. NGOs mostly employ untrained para-educators for grassroots activities. The professional development of these teachers is critical for NGO effectiveness, yet…

The casualisation of teaching in Australian higher education has come to be problematised as a risk to the quality of teaching and learning. However, the potential and location of risk, and therefore what constitutes an appropriate institutional intervention, requires interrogation as universities comply with the various regulations that, on the…

The paper presents critical reflections of five years' hands-on experiences of setting up and managing an e-learning institute, the Beiwai Institute of Online Education (BIOE). It first spells out the Chinese educational context towards the end of the 20th century. This is followed by a critical review of the national ICT initiatives taken by the…

This paper presents some of the initial findings of a series of studies documenting the UK eUniversity (UKeU) approach to and experience of e-learning. It will focus on the experiences and lessons learned of members of the learning technology team within the UKeU or people working closely with them. Our particular interest is to describe the…

The themes of collaboration and partnership lie at the heart of the vision of a range of UK initiatives designed to tackle social exclusion. However, the benefits are extolled and the costs to community groups are minimized. Some of the problems and possibilities for the involvement of community groups in partnerships are considered. Partnerships…

Traditional structures and processes as well as norms and beliefs in the field of research training across Europe are challenged by four recent trends. They encompass the implications of the expansion and diversification of the student body in higher education, the changing functioning and role of research in the knowledge economy, the…

This paper provides a philosophical viewpoint to questions regarding the role and purpose of the research degree. Drawing on non-binary accounts of knowledge within the philosophical tradition, it argues against the instrumentalist conception of applied knowledge evident within higher education policy. The paper identifies a critical ethic at work…

Data from eight case studies demonstrate that competency-based training limits possibilities for creation of certain kinds of competence by emphasizing outcomes over processes and innovation. For example, national industry standards suggest that they are the only standards by which work can be done, denying other sources of standards. (Contains 33…

Suggests that analyses of government policies that focused on sectoral analysis are no longer adequate. Compares flexible learning policy in higher education and vocational education, suggesting that sectoral boundaries have broken down. Describes implications for social and economic policy agendas. Contains 37 references. (SK)

Analyzes discursive practices in recent Canadian government policy reports, the controversy over faculty appointments at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, an international conference on graduate studies, and an international survey of research in adult education. Concludes that liberal pluralist ideology in adult education forecloses…