This paper contributes to critical understandings of the significance of employability in current debates about the transformation of Higher Education (HE). We express our concerns about the implications of orientating HE to utilitarian demands in the light of a tendency to align discussions about the significance of studying at university with…

This article examines the discrepancy between newly qualified nurses' and physicians' assessment of acquired knowledge in education and their assessment of the knowledge demands in occupational practice. Knowledge learned in educational institutions is traditionally conceived as general and decontextualised with great potential for transmission…

Flores-Crespo has written a timely paper, "Education, employment and human development: illustrations from Mexico". Flores-Crespo uses Amartya Sen's ideas to bring a fresh perspective to bear on the relationship between higher education and human development. Although there is growing interest in applying Sen's ideas in a range of…

By applying Amartya Sen's capability approach, this article questions the functionalist idea that suggests that education can precipitate economic growth and development. It will be argued that the freedom-centred perspective advances the concept of human capital and that it allows a deeper understanding of the relationship between higher…

This paper argues that the current skill strategies of New Labour (in England) and the Labour-led Coalition (in New Zealand) are part of a broader project to construct contrasting markets in education and training. On one hand, the skill strategies are helping to construct open education and training markets through creating institutional-based…