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Article
Publication date: 12 March 2018

Laura M. Hill and Deane Wang

Higher education institutions increasingly have gained momentum in integrating sustainability into university curricula. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the approval…

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Abstract

Purpose

Higher education institutions increasingly have gained momentum in integrating sustainability into university curricula. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the approval, implementation and management process of the new university-wide, general education requirement in sustainability at the University of Vermont (UVM). The intent is to provide a case study to inform other institutions seeking to create similar university-wide sustainability requirements.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors applied a process framework focused on institutional dynamics and values to analyze UVM’s success in instituting a sustainability requirement across the curriculum. These two frameworks can provide a more general application of this case study to other institutional contexts.

Findings

The case study suggests that in the context of a diverse disciplinary and administrative environment at a university, the strategic unfolding, approval and implementation of UVM’s university-wide, general education sustainability requirement can provide a general model for other universities seeking to embed sustainability across the curriculum.

Originality/value

It is uncommon for research universities with multiple professional schools to offer a university-wide requirement in sustainability. This case study analyzes the creation of a sustainability requirement at UVM by using a process framework to organize the complex, multi-stakeholder activities and events that eventually resulted in a successful curricular change. Thus, it is potentially instructive for institutions seeking to integrate a learning outcomes-based sustainability requirement into a university curriculum because it is generalizable to other institutions and pushes forward our understanding of institutional change.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 19 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 April 1991

Mun C. Tsang

In the 1980s, the Chinese government undertook a major structuralreform in education by which upper secondary education was convertedfrom predominantly general education to an…

Abstract

In the 1980s, the Chinese government undertook a major structural reform in education by which upper secondary education was converted from predominantly general education to an equal mix of general education and vocational/technical education. A critical examination is provided of the rationale for and implementation strategies of the reform, framed in a broader context of the development of secondary education in the past four decades. It points out that, although the reform was justified in largely economic terms, there is actually little empirical support for the economic assumptions; the development of vocational/technical education is prompted more by a desire to reduce the social demand for higher education and to use education as a social stratification device. The reform reflects changing perspectives of the Chinese leadership on the role of education in national development; and it can be seen as the outcome of the most recent episode of continuing social and political conflicts in the Chinese state that began in the 1950s.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Julia Kuzmina and Martin Carnoy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative academic effectiveness of vocational education in three countries with early tracking systems: Austria, Croatia, and Hungary…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relative academic effectiveness of vocational education in three countries with early tracking systems: Austria, Croatia, and Hungary.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors use an instrumental variables approach to estimate vocational education’s relative academic effectiveness in terms of achievement on an international test, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Program of International Student Assessment (PISA), and two possible indicators of non-cognitive outcomes – self-efficacy in mathematics and intrinsic motivation in mathematics, both also available from the PISA student survey.

Findings

The results show few, if any, differences in student gains from attending the vocational track in secondary school as opposed to the academic track. Specifically, the results show that attending the vocational or academic track results in similar achievement gains in the tenth grade and generally similar gains in self-efficacy and motivation in mathematics.

Originality/value

The study is unique because in the three countries, the authors can use a fuzzy regression discontinuity approach based on school systems’ age entrance date rules to estimate the gain in test scores over an academic year and to compare the gain for students in the vocational and academic tracks. The results contradict almost all other studies by showing that in these countries student academic gains in vocational education are about the same as in the academic track.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 37 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 1987

David Baker

Library assistants were originally considered to be professional librarians in the making, and were trained accordingly. With the expansion of libraries and librarianship…

Abstract

Library assistants were originally considered to be professional librarians in the making, and were trained accordingly. With the expansion of libraries and librarianship, Britain's “apprenticeship” system of qualification gave way to formal library school education, and a new category of “non‐professional staff” was created, of people who were unwilling or unable to proceed to graduate‐level qualification. The development of non‐professional certificates of competence in the UK is described against parallel developments in the US, Canada and Australia; the COMLA training modules are also examined. The theoretical and practical issues surrounding training are discussed, training schemes and qualifications in the four countries analysed, and the relative merits of in‐house training and external certificate programmes argued.

Details

Library Management, vol. 8 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2019

Cheuk-Hang Leung and Hin Yan Chan

In light of the concerns of declining value education in higher education and the debates on the role of general education in current university setting, the purpose of this paper…

Abstract

Purpose

In light of the concerns of declining value education in higher education and the debates on the role of general education in current university setting, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the relation between general education and moral and civic education by examining the effectiveness of a compulsory classics reading general education program in cultivating civic literacy in Asia-Pacific context.

Design/methodology/approach

Mixed-method approach in the form of survey assessment and focus group studies was employed to examine the degree of students’ development in abilities and virtues relevant to civic literacy in the course.

Findings

Data analyses reveal a promising development on students’ civic literacy in the classics reading general education course. Statistical analysis on surveys indicated students experienced a significant development on democratic skills and critical thinking, acquisition of civic knowledge and cultivation of democratic virtues after taking the course. Focus group analysis illustrated a relation between classics reading and students’ acquisition of knowledge of socio-political institutions, cultivation of open-mindedness and sense of tolerance for diversity and willingness of seeking reasonableness and engaging in social debates.

Originality/value

This paper discusses the successful experience of a newly formulated General Education program in Hong Kong. The program is the first attempt in East Asia to launch values education through the teaching and learning of classics in Asia-Pacific context. This could be an example of launching values education at the level of undergraduate education for other local universities.

Details

Asian Education and Development Studies, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-3162

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Tiia Randma and Urve Venesaar

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the national education standard (curriculum, NC) supports the development of enterprising behaviour and the constructivist…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the national education standard (curriculum, NC) supports the development of enterprising behaviour and the constructivist approach to learning at the general education level?

Design/methodology/approach

New methodology was designed based on the assessment of the evidence and frequency of the incidence of the indicators supporting enterprising behaviour in the text of the NC. A content analysis method is used to systematically code and categorize the target indicators from the text of the NC. According to the frequency of indicators that support enterprising behaviour the extent of support is assessed in different parts of the NC.

Findings

The findings of this study show that, while the general part of the NC fully reflects the development of attitudes and skills related to enterprising behaviour, in the competences and learning outcomes of the other parts of the NC, some indicators of enterprising behaviour have only moderate support. This shows that entrepreneurial attitudes are not fully recognized as an educational aim in general education, and for the purposes of moving from a behaviourist to a constructivist educational approach, rethinking and reformulating the learning outcomes in the NC is necessary.

Research limitations/implications

The critical aspects are: first, NC formats may differ between countries, and hence, the suggested analysis may suffer from limited replicability; second, the most critical aspect is that the present work analyses only the learning outcomes of the written NC, which is the basis for real action in the classroom.

Practical implications

The contribution of the current study may be summed up in three main issues: first, methodology for evaluating the extent to which the NC supports the development of enterprising behaviour; second, the need to rethink and reformulate the learning outcomes in the NC (e.g. for natural sciences); and third, evidence of the conflict between the expectations of society and the aims of education. The research results are providing objective feedback to educational experts, policymakers and practitioners to help schools innovate and support the education of enterprising people in general education.

Social implications

The research is an initiative supported by society and directed to support the learning of entrepreneurial behaviour of pupils at the schools of general education and use of constructivist learning approach.

Originality/value

The current study is contributing to the methodology of analysing the written national curricula at the general education level for identification the evidence and frequency of the indicators of enterprising behaviour in different parts of curriculum. The methodology elaborated and the results of this study may be considered applicable for the analysis of NC in other countries. In the future, the NC in connection with real teaching practice should be studied, focusing on finding new solutions to support the education of enterprising people in schools.

Details

Baltic Journal of Management, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-5265

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2006

Chris Sakellariou

This study sets out to investigate the pattern of benefits from education along the earnings distribution and compares this pattern between general and vocational/technical…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study sets out to investigate the pattern of benefits from education along the earnings distribution and compares this pattern between general and vocational/technical education in Singapore, with a particular focus on male‐female differences.

Design/methodology/approach

Quantile regression methodology is used, which allows for estimates of education benefits that differentiate the contribution of the quantity and quality of education along the earnings distribution. The quantile regression estimates highlight where in the income/ability distribution the impact of education is more pronounced.

Findings

Finds that, while the pattern of returns to an additional year of education for general education follows that of other high income countries, exhibiting increasing returns to education as one goes from lower to higher income quantiles, the returns to vocational education exhibit much lower heterogeneity. Based on the findings, the vocational education system in Singapore has served women with secondary vocational qualifications particularly well. They earn more, have higher labor force participation, experience higher employment rates and are associated with a narrower gender earnings gap compared with women with general education. However, this is not the case for women with polytechnic qualifications, who earn much less than men with such qualifications.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that, by and large, Singapore's vocational education system at the secondary level has successfully addressed the needs of the industry and has contributed towards narrowing gender earnings differentials. It has also contributed towards less overall earnings inequality, because it results in less heterogeneity in the returns to education, compared with general education. However, the curricula of polytechnics need to be re‐examined to identify the cause of the sharply lower female benefits from this type of education.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the empirical literature with its use of the quantile regression methodology in evaluating the benefits of vocational versus general education for men and women.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 27 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2003

Hans Heijke, Christoph Meng and Ger Ramaekers

In this paper, the role of three different types of competences in the labour market for higher education graduates is investigated. The article distinguishes discipline‐specific…

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Abstract

In this paper, the role of three different types of competences in the labour market for higher education graduates is investigated. The article distinguishes discipline‐specific competences, general academic competences and management competences, the first being an example of competences acquired at school, which are of direct use in the labour market, the second being a type of competences also acquired in school, but which fulfil an indirect role by facilitating the acquisition of new competences after graduation from school, and the third, management competences, being an example of competences acquired mainly in a working context and, like discipline‐specific competences, being of direct use in that context. This paper shows that, first, the level of discipline‐specific competences obtained in higher education offers a comparative advantage for graduates working inside the own discipline‐specific domain, and therefore has a pay‐off for those graduates who are able to find a job in this domain; second, the management competences are valued in the labour market but seem to be more likely acquired in a working context than in higher education, and third, the general academic competences acquired in higher education do not pay off directly, but have a significant supportive role when learning competences that have a direct pay‐off in the labour market, like management competences, but are more likely acquired outside education.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 24 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Tutan Ahmed and Raghabendra Chattopadhyay

Measurement of returns to vocational education has always remained a matter of controversy (Psacharopoulos, 1994; Bennell and Segerstrom, 1998; Ziderman, 1997). Based upon the…

Abstract

Purpose

Measurement of returns to vocational education has always remained a matter of controversy (Psacharopoulos, 1994; Bennell and Segerstrom, 1998; Ziderman, 1997). Based upon the return evidence many World Bank projects were scrapped (Middleton and Ziderman, 1997, Bennell and Segerstrom, 1998). However, there is again a growing interest for Vocational Education in different countries as well as in international body like UNESCO (Debroy, 2009; King, 2009; McGrath, 2012). Unfortunately there is little justification for this growth from the returns to Vocational Education literature. India is one among the countries where fervent around vocational education and training (henceforth VET) is quite discernible at present. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Standard Minerian, extended Mincerian and Heckman two-stage methods are used to measure returns to VET vis-à-vis returns to general education in Indian context while taking care of selection bias problem. It is measured at different levels of education since the characteristics of VET changes significantly at different levels of education. This work also considers different classifications of VET (Formal, Hereditary, On the Job). National Sample Survey (NSS) data which recently has included data on VET is used for this measurement.

Findings

It shows that the returns to formal VET and On the Job training (OJT) are quite high in the primary level. There is a gradual decline in these returns when compared with general education at higher levels, namely, secondary and tertiary level. At tertiary level effect of formal VET or OJT on income becomes almost insignificant. On the other hand, hereditary training and other category of VET have significantly negative impact and insignificant impact on income, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

This work suggests that the investment in VET in present context is justified however there is a requirement to focus on specific area within the VET for this investment. Investment in higher level of formal VET as well as in the OJT set up can provide better return to the individuals. However, NSS data does not provide income data for the self-employed persons. Hence, self-employed category remains outside the purview of this study.

Practical implications

In general, formal VET and OJT are profitable for individual in wage employment. However, this profitability declines when the effect of the training is measured at a higher level of general education. Formal vocational training/OJT for the primary and secondary school dropouts are clearly profitable. However, OTJ seems to be providing a return similar to what is provided by formal training. A poor performance of formal VET indicates an institutional gap and reflects present cry from industry for “quality” manpower.

Originality/value

To author’s knowledge there is no study on return evidence from various types of VET in Indian context. This study is a deviance from the existing literature on VET in following ways. First, this study suggests that investment in VET can be profitable. Second, many earlier works missed out to consider different types of VET and compare them with general education at different levels. Putting all types of VET into one basket and then analyzing returns has the risk to misleading the policies. Different VETs have completely different dynamics and hence it is required to treat them separately.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 30 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2014

Robert A. Scott

The purpose of this essay is to comment on the philosophy of liberal education and its structure; the goal of general education and how it fulfills the goals of liberal education;

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this essay is to comment on the philosophy of liberal education and its structure; the goal of general education and how it fulfills the goals of liberal education; and the four key elements of liberal education, including the “liberating” aspects of general education, the need for an emphasis on questions more than on answers, the meaning of a global perspective, and the connections of each of the above to extracurricular experiences and engaged citizenship.

Design/methodology/approach

This essay is a review of the topics of liberal and general education, their components, and their importance.

Findings

Using the design and methodology mentioned above as a way to explore the purpose, the essay reveals selected universal truths about a liberal or “liberating” undergraduate education.

Research limitations/implications

The approach that is detailed can be assessed in comparison to other formulations of liberal and general education.

Practical implications

The framework described above suggests possibilities for redesigning liberal and general education programs so as to have a greater impact on undergraduate student learning and to foster experiential and interdisciplinary learning.

Originality/value

While this is a personal perspective based on many decades of senior positions in higher education, it is based not only on the author's own analysis and thinking, but also on a broad understanding of the literature about these topics.

Details

On the Horizon, vol. 22 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1074-8121

Keywords

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