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This paper considers issues relating to the measurement of skill for national statistical purposes. It draws upon the work program and research underlying the revision of the national occupational classification for the United Kingdom (UK), SOC90 (Standard Occupational Classification introduced in 1990). The report's introduction states the intention to reflect upon the review-related research findings; detail the perceived inadequacies of SOC90; describe the problems associated with occupational definition in certain areas; show how the revised classification will affect the analysis of skill change; and cause experts to rethink the forecasts of occupational change. Section 2 presents an overview of the history of occupational classification in the UK. Section 3 describes the conceptual basis of the SOC. Section 4 details the perceived weaknesses in SOC90 and the constraints surrounding the development work undertaken to revise this classification. Section 5 outlines some key processes that were influential in bringing about a redefinition of occupations for statistical purposes. Section 6 discusses the resources that were used to investigate the processes of occupational change from a statistical and definitional perspective. Section 7 examines the revised classification in terms of its ability to distinguish and discriminate between occupations and the new analytical opportunities it will provide. Section 8 concludes that SOC2000 (published in spring 2000) makes better use of its conceptual base, solves problems inadequately dealt with earlier, and provides a better tool for job matching purposes than did SOC90. (YLB)

This literature review of published research findings on parental involvement and literacy was undertaken to support the information needs of the National Literacy Trust, policymakers and educational providers in the United Kingdom (UK). Parental involvement and family involvement is a core value of the National Literacy Trust and underpins its philosophy that the literate society begins in the home and is sustained by home literacy practices and culture. Priority in the literature review was given to UK sources on parental involvement published in the 1990s, although some evaluations of the 1980s were included because of their important contribution to the field. Some international sources were also included when UK literature was lacking. The aim of the review was to summarize the published findings and to identify the activities in the home that contribute to children's literacy. Following a Preface and an Executive Summary, the review is divided into these sections: (1) Introduction; (2) The Role of Parents: The Trust's Position; (3) Main Findings in the Literature on Parental Involvement (Early Years; School Years); (4) Interventions and the Evidence (Interventions in the Early Years; School Age Interventions); (5) Way Forward; and (6) Conclusions. (Contains 103 references, 18 recommended resources, and 1 figure.) (NKA)

This study examined the allocation of government research grants to universities in the United Kingdom in the context of the current funding system which distributes such grants based on universities' performance in the marketplace. Marketplace performance indicators include academic staff and postgraduate student counts, grants from Research Councils, income from contracts with industry, donations, and research ratings. Research grant data were analyzed to determine if the allocation of research grants reflected the performance indicators outlined in the funding methodology. A multiple regression analysis was used to determine the relationship between indicators and allocation of grants in the academic years 1990-91, 1991-92, and 1992-93. The results showed that the funding formula was used to allocate research grants to the 50 long-established United Kingdom universities with a large coefficient of multiple determination in the three years examined. A large proportion of grants were explained by the performance indicators: 73.1 percent in 1990-91, 80.9 percent in 1991-92, and 86.2 percent in 1992-93. (Contains 45 references.) (JLS)

This document contains four reports on technology and further education (FE) that Lynton Gray and Ann-Marie Warrender prepared for the Further Education Funding Council's Learning and Technology Committee. The first report, "Main Themes from Learning & Technology Committee Press Surveys," examines three themes that were identified during a review of British press coverage of the role of information/learning technologies in FE: technological developments, organizational changes and learning applications. "Learning and Technology in American Community Colleges," which is based on materials presented at an American Association of Community Colleges convention, discusses the following topics: technology and teaching, distance learning, technologies and the Internet, and industry and student-centered learning. "Multimedia and Education," which is based on materials presented at an Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education conference, examines the following topics: technology for teachers, breaching the technological barriers, the impact of national initiatives, publishing and multimedia, and Canada's Open Learning Agency. "Learning Technologies in Industrial Training" explains the uses of information and learning technologies by a small sample of British companies in their own training programs. The implications of the four papers for reform of FE are summarized in a final section titled "Evidence for Action." (MN)

The patterns of manual and clerical workers' access to learning opportunities in the workplace in the United Kingdom were examined through case studies of three local authorities and three National Health Service trusts and a survey examining their employees' learning experiences. The workers occupying the lowest- grade jobs at the study organizations included younger workers, women returning to the labor market, and older workers who were either close to retirement or older than retirement age. A large percentage worked part-time. The case studies revealed evidence of upskilling and job enrichment, with individual workers' attitudes toward this upskilling and retraining depending on the social context in which they were occurring. Also identified were examples of work intensification and deskilling and of a number of people feeling trapped in routine and monotonous jobs. The following types of learning at work were identified: learning within the job and "doing the job better"; learning to understand the job; learning for job progression; learning around the job by extending knowledge of the section or department; learning for employability; learning for personal development; and learning for democratic participation in the 21st century. However, not all employees had such opportunities available to them, and some workers were not interested in job progression. (Contains 25 references.) (MN)

The contribution of occupational profiling to explaining and forecasting job satisfaction were analyzed by using data on job satisfaction for 33,249 workers from waves 1-7 of the British Household Panel Survey. Overall job satisfaction gradients were defined for major and minor groups of occupations in the United Kingdom's Standard Occupational Classification. The level and congruence of the material aspects and quality of work life aspects of job satisfaction in individual occupational unit groups (OUGs) were profiled. Stark contrasts emerged between fortunate OUGs, where levels of both modes of satisfaction are high, and disfavored OUGs, where both are low. Although the analysis results were consistent with earlier accounts of alienation in industrial settings, the findings required more comprehensive forms of explanation involving established findings about the correlates of job satisfaction. Regression analysis demonstrated that, in many cases, levels of satisfaction in OUGs could be accounted for largely in terms of individual and organizational variables. However, significant occupational effects remained for a large minority of OUGs. Industry was discounted as a minor influence on job satisfaction. The scope for more general explanations of job satisfaction in terms of relative deprivation was suggested, and methods for predicting trends in job satisfaction were outlined. (Contains 22 tables and 46 references.) (Author/MN)

Data from the Work History and Attitudes survey of the Social Change and Economic Life research initiative (SCELI) enquiry of 1986-1989 and the first wave of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) were analyzed to determine their continuity and comparability with regard to employee attitudes in general and job satisfaction and work centrality in particular. The study revealed a high degree of comparability between the two data sets and in the results obtained when they are used. However, several difficulties in comparing the two data sets were also identified. The SCELI was credited with providing good indicators of both human capital ("own-skill") and job skill and for providing extensive details about the technical milieu of work and the work organization, which were deemed good control variables. BHPS was found to offer excellent data on human capital, particularly on recently acquired technical training and vocational and other education. However, BHPS's direct measures of job skill proved minimal. An imputation process was suggested as one way of resolving this difficulty. The material offered by BHPS on partnership and household structures was concluded to be so admirable as to partly compensate for its lack of workplace and organizational data. (Thirteen figures/tables are included. Five additional tables and a comment on the expressive work ethic are appended.) (Author/MN)

The following conference papers cover a wide spectrum of issues in continuing education: "Introduction" (Katherine Leni Oglesby); "Footprints in the Sand?--The Legacy of the University Funding Council's Support for Research in Continuing Education" (Chris Duke); "Thinking Fragments: Learning, Life Histories and the Self" (Linden West); "Group Research Projects in Adult Continuing Education" (Joan Unwin); "Adult Self-Directed Learning in the Community and Its Implications" (Keith Percy); "Creativity Training for Design Engineers in Heavy Plant Industries" (Graham Thompson, Martina Lordan); "The Leeds Adult Learners at Work Project: Knowledge and Control in Employee Development Schemes" (John Payne, Keith Forester); "'Personal Troubles and Public Issues': University Researchers, Adult Educators and Adult Learners in Rural Areas" (John Payne); "Voluntary Organisations. Citizenship, Learning and Change" (Konrad Elsdon); "Inside Perspectives: Ex-Prisoners' Views on Prison Education" (Sally Malin, Ina J. Kell); "Mainstreaming, Critical Histories and Cultural Identities" (Tom Steele); "Responding to Language Shift among Young People" (Heini Gruffudd); "Accessing the Imagination: Creative Writing in Community Education" (Rebecca O'Rourke); "Learning from Working Together: Experiencing Collaborative Research as Education" (Sue Shuttleworth et al.); "The Challenge of Linking Research and Practice: Ways of Learning in Adult Basic Education" (Mary Hamilton, Wendy Moss); "Disability Voice" (Mal Leicester); "Returners, Mathematics and Targeting" (Roseanne Benn); and "Access of Adult to the University: A Comparative UK/Belgian Study" (Barbara Merrill, Jean-Luc Guyot). Many papers contain substantial bibliographies. (MN)

The benefits of and issues associated with output-related funding (ORF) were assessed by examining the use of ORF in vocational education and training (VET) in the European Union and the United States. Data were gathered in the following ways: several online bibliographic searches; consultation with 54 experts, including VET researchers, national policymakers, and lobbyists; CEDEFOP requests for information from organizations and individuals; and traditional library searches. ORF was defined as basing funding on outputs produced, which are generally measured in terms of the achievement of qualifications for school-based training and/or job attainment. The emphasis given to ORF in the VET programs examined ranged from 75% (the United Kingdom's Training for Work program) to 5% (Job Training Partnership Act programs). ORF was determined to offer the following benefits: gives training providers more flexibility in the type of provision offered; enhances improvements in performance; increases value for money by providing incentive to fulfill certain achievements and discouraging "time-serving" in training, which does not lead to outcomes; and simplifies administration and clarifies audit requirements. ORF's success in achieving efficiency, reducing administrative costs, and enhancing accountability could not be determined unequivocally because it was rarely used as the sole instrument of performance management. (57 references) (MN)

Schools for Future Youth (SFYouth) is an EU Erasmus+ funded project running from 2014-2017, which aims to build the skills and capacity of teachers and young people to use global citizenship to improve teaching and learning. The project encourages both curricular engagement with global issues and spaces for young people to actively participate and take action on global issues through informal spaces in school. This report is a comprehensive account of the data collected on the SFYouth project and answers questions about how the project impacted on teachers' and young people's understandings and experiences of global citizenship and youth participation in Europe. It responds to the project logframe and contextualises this evidence within conceptual understandings of global citizenship and youth participation in different country spaces. Specifically the report responds to the questions: (1) What impact did the Schools for Future Youth project have on schooling activities and approaches to teaching and learning? (2) How did the Schools for Future Youth project impact on participating teachers and young people? and (3) What factors supported the impact of the Schools for Future Youth project? [Also collaborating in the project: Oxfam Italy, Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH), and CARDET.]

An analysis was done regarding the perceived low numbers of British students who stay on in school past age 16. This three-part paper summarizes that study. Part 1, "Post-Compulsory Education Analysing the Market," presents a summary of the problem of low participation in post-16 schooling, based on a survey of literature and interviews with technical college managers and officers. It includes information about the economic significance of continuing education and training and the emerging consensus that both are vital to the economic well-being of the United Kingdom. In Part 2, "Post-compulsory-education: identifying the trends," the paper offers an alternative analysis of much of the data. It suggests that the quantitative gap between the United Kingdom and its major economic competitors is narrowing at such a rate that means this part of the argument for further education is becoming irrelevant. The number of young people continuing in education and training, within the public sector, is fast approaching the rates common elsewhere. This section also brings up the question of the quality of the training. Part 3, "The Challenge for Colleges," suggests policy for the future. It maintains that the reasons that participation rates have increased are manifold, but the role of post-16 institutions is central. These institutions have spent the last few years improving their marketing and changing the attitudes and behaviors of many thousands of young people. The effectiveness of these strategies are at the root of the social changes that are evidenced by the increasing participation rates. For the future, the paper maintains, the growth and cooperation of these institutions will determine how many young people are prepared for the future. The report includes 17 figures. Contains 33 references. (KC)

Employment legislation in the United Kingdom from before 1970 to the 1990s has changed and with it collective bargaining in higher education. Industrial relations before 1970 were treated as a voluntary activity virtually unregulated by law. Then the Remuneration of Teachers Act 1965 set up the Burnham Committees, which until 1987 were the forum for salary negotiations and associated matters. In the 1960s and 1970s the normal pattern of collective bargaining was that unions made demands and management resisted, trying to minimize the concession they needed to make. The Donovan Commission and the resulting Donovan Report (1968) led to a great deal of legislation between 1970 and 1978 aimed at encouraging better regulated collective bargaining at workplace level. Legislation from 1979 onwards was aimed at regulating the power of the trade unions and bringing about a shift in the balance of power between unions and employers. As a consequence employers are now likelier to take a tough line in their handling of disputes and resulting defeat for the unions. Whatever policies higher education adopts for labor relations, college industrial relations should be a priority concern for managers and governors in the run-up to incorporation. Relevant Acts of Parliament are listed. (JB)

Rural poverty and wide-ranging environmental concerns are some of the problems driving a growing public debate on rural issues across the United Kingdom. This briefing paper assesses the contribution that a community development approach can make to these issues. Rural areas have a long history of collective action, from farm families helping each other at harvest time to communal efforts to provide village services, schools, carnivals, and drama events. Recent decades have seen increasing outside efforts to influence policies, decisions, and trends that threaten local areas, such as school closings, environmental issues, and large new housing developments. The role and challenge of community development is to reinforce local collective action where it is already occurring, and encourage more communities to acquire the confidence and skills to take collective action. Chapters set the rural context; identify broad trends related to rural population, changing employment, declining services, the market economy, and rural-urban conflicts about the environment; provide examples of effective community work around village services, schools, community centers, housing, economic development, village appraisals, and environmental action; and identify the main agencies and programs in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The booklet concludes by recommending consolidation of the community work occupation; promotion of a community approach; appreciation of the Europe-wide perspective; a reappraisal of values; development of political responsibility and citizenship; and adoption of a more strategic approach. Contains 19 references and 29 organizational contacts in the United Kingdom and Europe. (TD)

This report examines access to lifelong learning opportunities on Canada's information highway. The report begins with a glossary and a learner-centered model in which the information highway links learners with learning opportunities provided through educational institutions, community organizations, government, and business and industry. Presented next is an overview of the economic, technological, social, and education and training-related factors that have led to recognition in Canada and worldwide of the leading role that lifelong learning must play in preparing individuals for the competitive, information-based global economy of the 21st century. The following three challenges facing Canada as it develops a lifelong learning system are discussed: (1) economic and social restructuring; (2) situational, dispositional, and institutional barriers to lifelong learning; and (3) learning models in response to new learning technologies. Trends and best practices in lifelong learning, the formal education sector, and nonformal education sector are reviewed. Next is a "made in Canada" response to the challenges. Included in the response are a conceptual framework and goals for lifelong learning in Canada. Appended are the following: barriers to learning identified in a 1982 survey; goal summary of a lifelong learning framework; overview of lifelong learning in the formal and nonformal sectors; and selected bibliography. Contains 39 references. (MN)

Results of a survey of college and university students of modern languages in Great Britain are presented in three separate reports. The first concerns current classroom practice in language teaching, including how students spend their time on language-related activities (e.g., attending lectures in a foreign language, doing translations, using a computer or language laboratory) within and outside language classes. A wide range of responses was received, suggesting little clear pattern. Students were also asked which activities they found most useful and enjoyable. The second report presents student attitudes about what skills language graduates should have (e.g., converse with near-native fluency, pick up topical or cultural allusions, read specialist material), and how they themselves meet those criteria. Results indicate a low level of agreement about needed skills and a high level of students complacency about their own language capabilities. Few saw literature or linguistics as features of an ideal modern language program. The third reports addresses the content and perceived value of a year of study abroad, including how the study period was arranged, how it was spent, patterns of foreign language use, cultural knowledge gained, and other personal benefit. (MSE)

This paper offers a broad look at accreditation and quality assurance in higher education and how these issues are addressed around the world. Section 1 is an overview of accreditation and addresses the aims and objectives of accreditation, standards, accreditation bodies, stages of the accreditation process, the quality of that process, the role of government in the accreditation process, some critical points of view concerning the process, and present accreditation trends. Section 2 looks at accreditation and quality assurance through brief national case studies. The nations represented are France, Germany, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United States, China, India, Hong Kong, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Australia. This section closes with a section comparing accreditation and quality assurance in various regions. Section 3 takes a closer and more detailed look at the accreditation process in Romania, particularly in light of the recent political and educational changes in this nation and the fairly recent decision to introduce accreditation of institutions of higher education. This examination covers accreditation principles and objectives, standards for initial and subsequent accreditation, application rules, structure of the accreditation committee and its functions, and provisions for financing accreditation. Appendixes contain institutional evaluation standards and a glossary. (Contains 27 references.) (JB)

A discussion of recent research trends in British applied linguistics looks at the way in which social processes, sociology, anthropology, and media studies appear to have replaced pedagogy, linguistics, and psychology as major areas of investigation. In examining this trend, two models of literacy (autonomous and notional) are examined and extended to other branches of applied linguistics. A shift from autonomous to ideological is then traced as it relates to two relatively recent political processes: (1) a series of government initiatives in language education in the late 1980s, including a model of the English language for use in schools and development of a national curriculum, and (2) a more general redefinition and critique of liberalism. Four possible directions are envisioned for applied linguistics research in such an emerging political order, characterized by free market economics and cultural authoritarianism: service to the state; competition in the market; independent analysis and critique; and new social movements. Implications of these directions for applied linguistics in general, and for new Ph.D.'s in particular, are examined. (MSE)

This British study evaluated the effectiveness of use of individual portable computers by seven students (from elementary through college age) having severe specific learning difficulties or dyslexia. The study also examined the impact of the machines on pupils' levels of independence and the practicalities of using the machines. This report describes the project's objectives and management, criteria for selection of students, and student preparation and machine set-up. Use of the computers was analyzed in terms of frequency of use and diversity of use. Emphasized throughout the project was student control of machine use. Frequency of use was sometimes limited by the machines' weight, as well as by individual student personality and group dynamics. Diversity of use was somewhat dependent upon the student age and type of written work expected at different stages in the educational setting. The study found that students improved substantially in their notetaking skills, attitudes toward work, attitudes toward spelling, writing skills, and keyboarding skills. Other changes included increased independence in learning style. Minimal organizational accommodations were required of the schools involved. Factors determining success of such a project are noted, along with implications of the project in terms of the relationship of computers to teaching style, handwriting in the National Curriculum, and requirements for "written" assessment. (Contains 22 references.) (DB)

A study was done to explore the role of senior and middle managers in British Further Education (FE) about a year after these institutions had been incorporated and gained their independence from local funding authorities. The research examined administrator attitudes at a large broadly based urban college providing a wide range of educational and training opportunities and at a smaller, more rural college with a typical range of courses and in the process of developing a center for performing arts. Comparison of the views of senior and middle managers revealed a mixture of different perceptions, opinions and attitudes as well as different institutional responses to change under the new conditions. A critical area of change identified was that senior managers are now responsible for understanding and shaping the organizational culture. The analysis also found that institutions are being challenged to become "thinking organizations" where innovation is supported. Further the data suggest that the challenge may be to release managers from functionalism, to open up the strategic dimension of each manager's work and encourage new ideas about the future. A diagram of the McKinsey framework used in the data analysis is included. (Contains 28 references.) (JB)

The report summarizes a British research project, part of a larger initiative on educational quality, concerning the extent of secondary students' knowledge about the nature of language, native and foreign, alongside development of practical language skills. The main study was an empirical investigation of the teaching of English and foreign languages at year 9 in three schools. It documented teachers' beliefs and practices with regard to knowledge about language (KAL) and the current state of year 9 pupils' knowledge in five areas (language as a system, language learning/development, language variation by use and by user, language change). The pupils' use of KAL in language performance and the relationship between their developing understanding of language and language learning were also studied. Results of another study were also re-analyzed for data concerning these issues at year 7. Overall, the project revealed substantial levels of KAL-related activity in English and foreign languages within the schools, and some suggestions of its positive contribution to learning, especially in writing. It is concluded, however, that given the fragmented and episodic nature of mush KAL work, its full potential contribution to pupils' development as language users is not being realized. Suggestions for improvement are made. (MSE)

This report examines how the "good practice" model of work-based learning (WBL) and its tools can be used with students having learning difficulties and disabilities. The model is a partnership model involving three prime partners: production professionals (employers), learning professionals (trainers and teachers), and the worker-learners. Although developed for use in the workplace, the model can be used with full-time students in settings which involve work experience or practical assignments. The way that the model addresses the need for vocational qualifications is briefly outlined. Various learning routes available in the community are listed and the specific functions of the learning professional in guiding the process are explained. Eight appendices include: a definition of WBL, the Individual Development Plan, a list of strategies for structuring learning in the workplace, the job competence model, the WBL core skills, an assessment matrix, and suggested resources and references. (Contains 12 references with annotations.) (DB)

This paper discusses the increasing interest in quality assurance in British education including its measurement and management through the introduction of a quality assurance system. The reasons and benefits of beginning a quality assurance system are discussed, and questions of what constitutes quality, whether it is quality in fact (specification adherence), or quality in perception (consumer viewpoint), are considered. Three quality assurance systems are examined: British Standards 5750 Quality Systems Total Quality Management; and a system of the Staff College's devising. Also examined are two issues surrounding the implementation of a quality assurance system, namely, the type of college culture that exists, and the resources which the college is prepared to commit to quality assurance. Finally, the report outlines the stages for introducing a quality assurance system in the college setting. Stage 1 discusses the appraisal and diagnosis process and provides a checklist to assist the college in assessing its existing quality culture. The second stage examines the measurement of managerial commitment, and stage 3 focuses on costing considerations and analysis. The last three stages cover establishing a plan of action; involving everyone in the quality process; and review and evaluation. Contains 11 references and a 20-item bibliography. (GLR)