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How do institutional settings and their embedded policy principles affect gender-typed enrolment in educational programmes? Based on gender-sensitive theories on career choice, we hypothesised that gender segregation in education is higher with a wider range of offers of vocational programmes. By analysing youth survey and panel data, we tested this assumption for Germany, Norway and Canada, three countries whose educational systems represent a different mix of academic, vocational and universalistic education principles. We found that vocational programmes are considerably more gender-segregated than are academic (e.g. university) programmes. Men, more so than women, can avoid gender-typed programmes by passing on to a university education. This in turn means that as long as their secondary school achievement does not allow for a higher education career, they have a higher likelihood of being allocated to male-typed programmes in the vocational education and training (VET) system. In addition, social background and the age at which students have to choose educational offers impact on the transition to gendered educational programmes. Overall, gender segregation in education is highest in Germany and the lowest in Canada. We interpret the differences between these countries with respect to the constellations of educational principles and policies in the respective countries.

Among the compromises raised at the Education for All Conference held at Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990, and signed by Mexico and the rest of the countries that attended this Conference, were the reduction of the adult illiteracy rate by the year 2000, with sufficient emphasis on female literacy; and the expansion of provisions of basic education and training in other essential skills required by youth and adults, with program effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioral changes and impacts on health, employment and productivity. Based on a general revision of the things that the National Institute for Adult Education (INEA) reports have been its main policies and programs in the last few years, and on the results of a formative evaluation of the so-called “Programa Cero Rezago Educativo” (Zero Educational Delay Program), this chapter discusses some of the main strengths, weaknesses and challenges faced by INEA in order to address the compromises acquired more than 15 years ago.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the quality of teachers based on education and training provided under new reform policies in Malaysia affects their earnings outcomes. The study conducted a benefit and returns analysis guided by human capital theory.

The study used survey research methods to investigate human capital formation in the teaching profession using teachers’ qualifications, benefits and private rate of returns as key variables in the estimation.

Earnings and experience levels were highly correlated with teachers’ education levels, as suggested by human capital theory. The private rate of returns in earnings for each additional year of schooling of teachers was found to lie between 3 and 4 per cent per year. Discrepancies were apparent in teachers’ qualifications and licensure levels regionally and at academic levels, as expected. These correlated with earning levels.

Improvements in teachers’ salary and employment opportunities will attract higher quality graduates to the teaching profession. Teachers’ annual earnings in Malaysia are comparable to other public sector and private professional jobs in the nation but lag far behind those of the world’s top education systems. Increasing teachers’ earnings will attract better qualified teachers. Policymakers could address these issues.

This paper demonstrates the utility of economic analyses in terms of earnings returns, to evaluate the Malaysian policy of upgrading teachers’ qualifications as a mechanism to improve the overall quality of schooling. Such studies are rare but needed to understand the benefits and returns of policy-driven teacher education and training investments. This study provides new evidence of schooling returns using a recent, national data set.

The history of Australian education is outlined. Then the pattern of present access to higher education of persons of different social classes is examined by analysis of data from the National Social Science Survey 1984–5. Trends identified include a worsening of the labour market for school leavers, deferring entry to higher education, an increasing population of mature students, and a decrease in the price of non‐government education.

A number of major studies of social stratification have been conducted since the Second World War. Focusing on societal openness, or equality of opportunity, these studies have ranged from investigations of individual status attainment and mobility processes to the analysis of class closure and class conflict among groups. What these studies have mostly in common, however, is that the form of stratification within which mobility or class closure is considered is occupational. Also, they have almost entirely concentrated on the male population. Openness, or equality of opportunity, is usually assessed in terms of the association between fathers' and sons' occupations, or the relative chances a son has to inherit his father's class or status position (Dale et al, 1985). Low rates of inheritance, or a lack of association in class position across generations, are interpreted as indicating weak tendencies towards social closure between strata and classes. Strong associations, or low rates of class interchange, are taken as evidence of greater structuration.

To investigate the extent to which disability discourages an individual from going on the job market, using data from an Italian survey.

We use an extended definition of labour force participation based on being employed or currently seeking work even if the persons declare themselves as housewives, students, retired or in any other condition otherwise. We use probit, sequential and multinomial logit models for analysing labour force participation and outcomes. We distinguish between the impact of disability in its strict sense and chronic illness explaining the difference.

In all variants we find that chronic illness is a stronger deterrent for labour force participation than disability. Women are more discouraged compared to men. Intellectual disability is the strongest barrier and hearing the least influential. In a sequential decision-making process, we find that disability affects both labour force participation decision and the ability to be employed but not so much the choice between part-time and full-time.

Policies providing tailored solutions for improved access to education and health care for disabled persons will enhance their work opportunities.

Data set is cross-sectional and characterised by attrition. It would be interesting to compare results with a longitudinal and more representative data set.

We have a unique data set from a survey which was specifically targeted at people who were identified as disabled in a previous survey. The Italian context is also special due to its high legal employment quotas and noncompliance sanctions.

“There will be many who will reflect the Minister's point of view, feeling uneasy about the new system while recognising the necessity to bow before the storm.” John Wellens writes on the Certificate of Secondary Education