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This paper presents a rationale for using professional and continuing education (PaCE) units at post-secondary institutions throughout California to design and implement talent-pipelines, research and development collaborations, and other knowledge ecosystems where emerging and returning professionals can acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), as well as the experience, they need to address the challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The paper provides an analysis of the reasons why PaCE units are uniquely positioned to address the needs of industry and job seekers, and on a timetable that keeps pace with 4IR velocity.

This publication is the sixth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on analysis of developments over the past two decades (1995-2015), the report provides important insights into developments and change processes related to vocationally oriented education and training at higher levels (levels 5 to 8 of the European qualifications framework). Building on detailed national case studies, the report demonstrates the expansion and diversification of vocationally oriented education and training offered at higher levels in European countries and the variations in how countries use the higher levels: there is evidence for strengthening vocational principles at higher levels in various ways as well as for strengthening academic principles. It also covers current debates and potential future challenges, including juggling labour market demands and wider societal values, finding the right balance between academic and vocational principles, and achieving parity of esteem between academically oriented and vocationally oriented qualifications at higher levels, by improving awareness and visibility of the latter. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH, and includes the Danish Technological Institute, the Institute of Employment Research (University of Warwick), the Institute of International and Social Studies (Tallinn University) and Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini. The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) in Germany is supporting the project as a subcontractor.]

This paper examines evidence from the HESA DLHE six-month Censuses and 3½ year ('longitudinal') surveys relating to three aspects of the flows of those who have left university with Higher Education Engineering qualifications, to test the robustness of the conclusions of SKOPE Research Paper No. 122 (Dixon, 2015), which showed strong evidence that most Engineering graduates do not go on to work in the sectors of the economy that might be expected, in particular in the 'natural' Manufacturing sub-sector. Specifically, the paper examines three questions: (1) whether evidence of starting salary levels for those from particular disciplines going into particular sectors could explain the relative flows (on the assumption that higher salaries for graduate vacancies in a particular sector would attract more applications); (2) whether evidence of sector destinations three years on from the (six-month after graduation) Census data analysed in Dixon (2015) would show up significantly different levels of 'leakage'; and (3) whether those entering employment having completed Taught Masters (as opposed to First Degree) courses in particular Engineering disciplines would tend (in the light of their apparent greater interest and deeper understanding in the specific discipline) to enter the "expected" sectors more than their Bachelors colleagues. The "bottom line" answers to these questions is that -- with rather minor exceptions -- none of the relevant broader evidence from HESA DLHE data over a ten-year period significantly questions the very considerable 'leakage', away from the 'natural' Manufacturing sub-sector, that was found and presented in Dixon (2015). (1) There is "some" correlation between the "average salaries offered" (by employers in each 'destination' sector to cohorts from each Engineering discipline examined) and the "size of the flows" from each discipline into each sector, but it is limited and rarely strong. While there might be reasons why average salary differences might not be large enough to provide a sufficient incentive for Engineering graduates to choose one sector over another, evidence of considerably greater correlation would have been helpful to justify the traditional response of classical economics to employers' concerns about shortages: "offer more money"! (2) While there are sample size issues constraining the statistical precision of comparisons between the two DLHE surveys, these have been addressed, and comparisons of the "linear flows" of graduates from each discipline into the natural Manufacturing sub-sector show (a) comparatively very small differences, and (b) on balance, slightly "greater" 'leakage' three years on; and (3) More MSc's in "Automotive" and "Aerospace Engineering" have, over the ten years examined, then gone into the "Manufacture of Motor Vehicles"... and "Air and Space craft manufacture" (respectively) than BEng's from these disciplines. However, for the other disciplines compared, there is little difference, and -- in terms of entry into Manufacturing as a whole, for the most recent year in the period - the fraction of the disciplinary cohorts entering "any type of Manufacturing" is slightly "higher" for MSc's than First Degree (FD) graduates in "three" Engineering disciplines, though "lower" for MSc's than FD's in "four"! This new evidence, therefore, only serves to "strengthen" the great importance of NOT assuming linear flows of Engineering graduates into the "natural" Manufacturing sub-sectors corresponding to their discipline, in particular in policy responses to reports of shortages from such sub-sectors.

This case study presents and discusses the English for Academic Study Telecollaboration (EAST) project, carried out between Science, Engineering, and Technology (SET) students from different higher education institutions. In this telecollaborative project, the students work across borders and cultures on real-life SET discipline-specific scenarios and develop a number of soft skills and attributes alongside. The paper shows how the telecollaborative exchange has been set up and what changes were required to adapt the existing course, particularly its assessment procedures, to ensure the project was well integrated into the curriculum. It also attempts to evaluate the project, taking into account the differing outcomes and learning experiences of the participants from the partnering institutions. It concludes that adding the telecollaborative project to the existing course resulted in a richer educational experience for the participants and development of a number of skills but points out imbalances in the treatment of the participants from the assessment point of view and suggests how these inequalities could be addressed in the future. [For the complete volume, "Assessing Virtual Exchange in Foreign Language Courses at Tertiary Level," see ED624433.]

A defining characteristic of current U.S. educational policy is the use of data to inform decisions about resource allocation, teacher hiring, and curriculum and instruction. Perhaps the biggest challenge to data-driven decision making (DDDM) is that data use alone does not automatically result in improved teaching and learning. Research indicates that translating raw data into useable information and actionable knowledge for teachers requires not only adequate technical and social supports, but also an awareness of how educators in real-world settings actually use information to make decisions. Yet, little is known about DDDM in higher education, in general, and how postsecondary faculty make sense of and use data in their instructional decision-making processes, in particular. In this paper, we use naturalistic decision-making theory to generate practice-based descriptions of how 59 STEM faculty at three large public research universities used data as part of their course planning. Interview transcripts and notes taken while observing planning meetings were analyzed using an inductive approach to content analysis. In practice, respondents used different types of data and other information obtained from, for example, student assessments, end-of-semester evaluations, and conversations with colleagues. Results indicate that faculty generally collect and analyze data in informal, ad hoc scenarios ungoverned by institutional policy. Exceptions include disciplines with accreditation pressures and team-taught courses where structured (and supported) opportunities exist for faculty to collect, analyze, and reflect upon data about student learning. Thus, while numeric data are clearly viewed by this population of faculty as the most rigorous, in practice, even those that use quantitative data also use other sources of information. These results suggest an opportunity for educational leaders to design policies and professional development initiatives that facilitate a more formal collection of and reflection on data by faculty. In pursuing such technical solutions, however, policymakers and educational leaders must carefully negotiate the tension between rigor and relevance, and learn from the challenges experienced in the K-12 sector regarding DDDM.

This paper presents a case study in which the authors attempted to understand the impact, on student choice, of reforms in tertiary education in Australia, namely, a shift towards a demand-driven system and the blurring of the distinction between vocational education and training (VET) and higher education. The authors compared the advanced diploma and the associate degree in engineering and related technologies offered as a pathway to a four-year degree, using data available in October 2011 on the websites of providers and from the Victorian Government, the first jurisdiction to adopt an entitlement model and the state in which most mixed-sector tertiary institutions operate. The authors show that, while higher-level VET qualifications may come at a cheaper up-front cost, they are increasingly being seen as a poorer investment than a university course of study. In particular, the cost of delayed entry to the labour market, curriculum mismatch, and the greater ease of getting a loan for a university qualification will influence a student's decision to undertake higher-level VET qualifications. Appended are: (1) Overview of the operation of government-supported places and income-contingent loans; (2) The tuition costs a government-subsidised student has to pay to convert an advanced diploma or an associate degree into a bachelor degree in engineering, 2012; and (3) Tuition fees per year for Associate Degree in Engineering Technology at RMIT University. (Contains 1 figure and 14 tables.)

Using data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey, we show that study time and academic conscientiousness were lower among students in humanities and social science majors than among students in science and engineering majors. Analytical and critical thinking experiences were no more evident among humanities and social sciences majors than among science and engineering majors. All three academically beneficial experiences were, however, strongly related to participation in class and interaction with instructors, and participation was more common among humanities and social sciences students than among science and engineering students. Bok's (2006) influential discussion of "underachievement" in undergraduate education focused on institutional performance. Our findings indicate that future discussions should take into account differences among disciplinary categories and majors as well. (Contains 4 tables and 13 footnotes.)

There is wide demand for engineering graduates to be capable of working well in teams. The engineering accreditation body (ABET, www.abet.org) has responded to this need by requiring engineering programs to demonstrate that their graduates have "an ability to function on multidisciplinary teams" (Haag, Froyd, Coleman, & Caso, n.d.), and many engineering instructors have integrated the use of student teams into their courses. The characteristics of effective student teams have been widely studied, and there is ample research on what makes student teams succeed. Johnson, Johnson, and Smith (2007), for example, define five traits of effective student teams, and they note that each one is critical for success. The five traits are: (1) positive interdependence; (2) individual accountability; (3) face-to-face interaction; (4) interpersonal and small-group skills; and (5) assess its performance. The purpose of this Occasional Paper is to provide instructors with a framework for ensuring that student teams possess these five traits and are set up for success. A sample peer evaluation form is appended.

There is strong interest in broadening engineering education, bringing in more liberal arts content as well as additional subjects such as economics, business and law, with which engineers now have to be familiar. There are also cogent arguments for balancing against what is now the almost exclusively quantitative nature of the curriculum, adding more elements that relate to the actual practice of engineering, and structuring engineering education so as to provide multiple and later entry points, which should enable more informed career choices and make engineering attractive to a more diverse range of the population. Many have also sought a change in the level of the professional engineering degree from the bachelor's to the graduate level, which would logically, and probably also necessarily, accompany these changes. However, progress towards such changes in the United States has been marginal, in large part because incentives on the micro- and meso-scales do not match those on the macro-scale. On the other hand, there is much more substantial change in other countries, driven in part by the Bologna process. For the United States to be the last to change would be counter to the goal of retaining higher-functioning engineering jobs in the U. S. What needs to happen in order for the U. S. to change is evaluated. (Contains 37 endnotes.)

Although the University of California, Berkeley has increased efforts to involve undergraduates in scientific research, little data exists regarding the number of undergraduate researchers. The University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (UCUES) presents an opportunity to investigate the extent of undergraduate research involvement at the UC Berkeley. The data (N=5,347) show that the frequency of student participation in research under the direction of a faculty mentor varies significantly based on whether students are receiving course credit, pay, or working as a volunteer. Undergraduate research participation also varies between STEM majors and social science or humanities majors (non-STEM), with slightly more STEM majors participating. The data show that women are participating in STEM research opportunities at a lower rate than men but participating in non-STEM research opportunities at a higher rate than men. The data also show that Asian, Filipino, and Pacific Islanders (AFP students) account for 50% of all undergraduate researchers in STEM fields and 35% of all non-STEM researchers. However, the data also reveal that African American, Chicano-Latino, AFP, White, American Indian, and international students are all participating at almost the exact same rate in undergraduate research (between 24% and 27% by ethnic or racial category). Further analysis regarding the relationship between undergraduate research experience and the highest parental education level reached, as well as high school grade-point average and standardized test scores (SAT I and ACT) is presented. Implications for higher education administrators, education researchers, faculty mentors, and undergraduate students are discussed. (Contains 10 tables.)

Using data on upper-division students in the University of California system, we show that two distinct cultures of engagement exist on campus. The culture of engagement in the arts, humanities and social sciences focuses on interaction, participation, and interest in ideas. The culture of engagement in the natural sciences and engineering focuses on improvement of quantitative skills through collaborative study with an eye to rewards in the labor market. The two cultures of engagement are strongly associated with post-graduate degree plans. The findings raise questions about normative conceptions of good educational practices in so far as they are considered to be equally relevant to students in all higher education institutions and all major fields of study. (Contains 4 tables, 13 notes and 1 footnote.)

This paper recounts the process of integrating industry into the assessment process in engineering education developed by the Synthesis Coalition, a group of colleges and schools working together to improve engineering education through development and implementation of curriculum reforms. Originating in the Coalition's efforts to introduce mechatronics into the curriculum, the process involved use of an advisory industrial board, the Mechatronics Industry Board (MIB). This Board broadened its mission to become involved in the entire process of the outcomes based assessment program. This paper describes the two track planning process developed to capitalize on the different expertise of the faculty and the MIB: first, to identify valued student learning outcomes and, second, to validate the Synthesis Assessment Framework, a document laying out the Coalition's student learning goals, learning outcomes, and criteria for measuring these outcomes. Twenty scenarios describing situations which engineers commonly encounter were developed and analyzed for necessary skills and abilities. The project also developed four assessment tools to measure student learning including two self and peer assessment questionnaires related to teamwork and oral presentation, a design project report, and a scenario assignment for which a scoring rubric was developed by MIB and the Coalition. (Contains 14 references.) (DB)

This paper describes the joint collaboration of Broome Community College (BCC) (New York) and the State University of New York at Binghamton to help their engineering students become self-directed learners (SDL). Gerald Grow's model for staged self-directed learning is presented as a framework for the collaboration, with its four stages of student ability: (1) dependent; (2) interested; (3) involved; (4) self-directed. At each level, the role of the instructor complements the student's ability. To optimize the student's learning and promote development of SDL skills, a course needs to start where the student functions competently and then stretch them through activities that call on more active, independent learning. Self-directed learners, when confronted with a new topic which they need or want to learn, are capable of setting educational goals, establishing a program for learning the desired information/skills, adapting the learning program to their preferred learning styles, and evaluating their own level of achievement. At BCC, training in SDL skills is being built into second-year traditional, as well as asynchronous, courses through use of group projects. Binghamton integrates instruction in communications, computers, graphics and design, and provides a natural platform for developing SDL skills and attitudes. Joint development and the sharing of experiences has assisted both colleges in this project in building more effective programs and more self-directed students. (Contains 18 references.) (JA)

This document reports on the results of an ad hoc workshop called "S.E.E.ing the Future: Science Engineering and Education" Held at Dartmouth College in November of 2000 and sponsored by Dartmouth, the National Science Foundation, the Dow Chemical Company, and Science Service of Washington, DC. This transdisciplinary conference was one of a series of events that took place across the country to mark of the National Science Foundation's 50th Anniversary (NSFSO). The conference brought together leading thinkers in the sciences and arts-winners of National Medals of Science and Technology, Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, leaders in industry and small business, university presidents and deans, writers, theologians and financiers--discussed the future of government funding of basic science and engineering research in the United States. Representing a diverse spectrum of those affecting and affected by science and engineering research, this grassroots group's findings and recommendations for the best uses of public monies are reported here. Among those findings are: (1) a deteriorating national infrastructure that may threaten U.S. leadership in science and technology; (2) public funding needs to balance the shift of industry research and development dollars from new research to short-term product development and profits; (3) funding agencies must expand their traditional definition of cost and benefit analyses for scientific research beyond dollars spent, discoveries made, and products developed to include the intellectual vitality of science, U.S. responsibility as a leading global citizen, and the fate of areas that are not founded; (4) in order to maintain its leadership positions in science and in the world economy, the U.S. must encourage, recruit, and retain a wide range of American young people--especially women and minorities--in science and engineering careers; (5) all Americans must be educated in the fundamentals of science; (6) the U.S. executive branch must establish a plan to promote long-term funding and evaluation of research initiatives and projects of benefit to the entire nation; and (7) the need for the federal development of a program to renovate the laboratories and teaching facilities at small and medium size non-research colleges. A list of conference participants is appended. (Contains 15 references and 39 endnotes.) (YDS)

This study used grounded theory methodology to investigate the institutional and departmental climates of women engineering faculty. Seven female engineering faculty from two universities completed semi-structured interviews that were coded for common themes. All the participants indicated that they had had a natural interest or talent for science and mathematics and had been encouraged by family, teachers, or friends to pursue engineering. The participants also indicated that family considerations and the flexibility afforded by a faculty position influenced their academic career choice. The data revealed that women engineering faculty have made few strides in the academy, and that they continue to encounter barriers which make it difficult for them to survive and succeed, including hostility from male faculty, lack of support from administrators, lack of respect from colleagues, the feeling of being an outsider, and overt sexist behavior. It is concluded that until engineering departments take measures to address these barriers, women engineering faculty will continue to be bombarded by obstacles such as "gendercentrism" and the "outsider" phenomena in the form of micro- and macro-inequities. (Contains 42 references.) (MDM)

Cyclical and structural issues in engineering skills formation in Great Britain were studied through a review of recent employment patterns, income patterns, employment projections, recent trends in education and training, and recent developments in technology and work organization. The review focused on the following issues: (1) the extent and nature of mismatches between the supply of and demand for engineering skills; (2) the extent to which engineering skill problems are cyclical as opposed to structural; and (3) the adequacy of current arrangements for engineering education and training. The following were among the main conclusions: (1) engineering skill problems are most apparent when they manifest in the form of external recruitment difficulties at the peak of each business cycle; (2) long-term trends in training levels and recruitment difficulties in the past 3 decades reflect structural rather than merely cyclical weaknesses in the British system of engineering training; (3) recent changes in markets and work organizations have significantly increased engineering employers' expectations of graduates; and (4) one way to expand modern apprenticeship (MA) numbers would be to develop preapprenticeship courses to prepare underqualified 16- and 17-year-olds for later entry to MA schemes. (Fourteen tables/figures are included. The bibliography lists 34 references.) (MN)

This study examined factors influencing master's degree attainment in various disciplines. Discrete-time survival analysis was used to examine the records of 3,189 graduate students in business, engineering, health and human sciences, and visual and performing arts at a large midwestern university for 6 years. It was found that 2,070 students had received a master's degree within 6 years. Students in business tended to receive their master's degrees later than did students in the other three areas, while students in health and human sciences received their degrees more quickly. Older graduate students took more time to receive their degrees than younger students. It was also found that first-semester grade-point average had a significant positive effect on degree attainment, while gender, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores had no impact on master's degree attainment. Five data tables and four figures appended. (Contains 19 references.) (MDM)

The National Institute for Science Education (NISE) is an organization in which scholars from different disciplinary backgrounds work collaboratively to address the important issues in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology (SMET) education. This document reports on NISE Fellows' experiences based on these questions: (1) How did you learn about the NISE Fellow opportunity? (2) Why did you want to be a NISE Fellow? (3) How has the experience affected you? (4) What is your assessment of the value of the experience? and (5) How might NISE improve the quality of the Fellow experience? Appendices include: "Call for Applications and Nominations for Fellows"; "NISE Fellows and Affiliations"; and "Bibliography of NISE Fellows' Products." (YDS)

A meta-analysis of research on college students in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) was undertaken to clarify the effects of small-group learning at the undergraduate level. The focus was three broad categories of outcomes among SMET undergraduates: achievement, persistence, and attitudes. Research concerns included: potential sources of bias in the methodology; whether the effects of small-group learning differ for various groups of students (majors or nonmajors, first-year or other students, men or women, predominantly white or predominantly underrepresented groups); and whether the characteristics of different small-group learning procedures (time spent working in groups) are related to the outcome measures. Using 39 studies from 1980 or later, the study demonstrated that various forms of small-group learning are effective in promoting greater academic achievement, more favorable attitudes toward learning, and increased persistence. The magnitude of effects reported in this study exceeded most findings in comparable reviews of research on educational innovations and supports more widespread implementation of small-group learning in undergraduate SMET. Three figures and five data tables are appended. Also appended is a bibliography of the characteristics of various meta-analyses studies. (Contains 86 references.) (SW)

This study examined the possibility that not only women but also men, face a chilly classroom climate when they are students in a major that is considered nontraditional for their gender. Male and female junior and senior students (total n=426) majoring in accounting, education, engineering, or nursing at one university responded to the College Classroom Climate Survey. Analysis of variance was used to examine the relationships between the independent variables of gender and academic discipline and the interaction of gender and academic discipline and the dependent variable of perception of classroom climate. Findings indicated that, regardless of their gender, students in these majors did not perceive the climate to be "chilly." However, there was a difference in perception of classroom climate as a function of major. Specifically, both education and nursing students perceived a "warmer" classroom climate than accounting and engineering students. The pattern was the same for both males and females since there was no interaction of gender and academic discipline. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/DB)

The role played by the institutional research office in the successful re-engineering of the University of Miami (Florida) college of engineering is described. The private research university's engineering school was at risk of closure due to declining enrollment and a changing job market. A committee of engineering faculty and other university administrators wrote a strategic plan using ideas from internal and external sources and site visits to other institutions. The plan outlined objectives for enrollment, external funding, overall college quality, faculty commitment and development, quality of overall student experience, fiscal solvency, and institutional image. The university's institutional research office provided five types of analyses: student and faculty demographic data; projection models; results of student surveys; focus group data; and credit hour and financial data breakdowns. In addition, the institutional research administrator assisted in interpretation of data and in preparation for a planning retreat. The services provided by the office were found useful. Recommendations included: provision of a listing of institutional research reports and customized analysis services to university deans; more use of focus groups; and identification of development of reports on key issues. (MSE)

Retention and graduation rates of underrepresented minority students were studied during 1985-91 with first-time freshman cohorts at 67 U.S. colleges and universities. Data were also collected from 17 institutions for science, engineering, and mathematics (SEM) majors by race and gender. Research areas included: headcounts, average admission test scores, retention rates after one and two years, and graduation and continuation rates within 4, 5, and 6 years. Findings included: underrepresented minorities constituted 14 percent of 1985 entering freshman and 19 percent of 1991 freshmen; 6-year tracking of the 1985 and 1986 cohorts of 312,795 first-time freshmen indicated that 80 percent continued to the second year and 69 percent progressed to the third year of college; after the first year, retention rates were 73 percent for Blacks, 72 percent for Hispanics, and 69 percent for American Indians compared with 81 percent for the other ethnic groups; after the second year, the retention rates were about 59 percent for Blacks, 62 percent for Hispanics, and 54 percent for American Indians. Additional information is provided on the effects of gender and institutional selectivity on retention and graduation rates. (Contains 28 references.) (SW)

This study looked at how Total Quality Management (TQM) is being adopted in institutions of higher education. A questionnaire was developed seeking information on: (1) leadership of the TQM movement and timing of events; (2) the training, educating, and informing of employees; (3) specific areas using TQM and the specific statistical tools being used; and (4) benefits realized and frustrations experienced in the adoption process. About 50 percent of 414 institutions responded to the survey. Preliminary results indicated that 77 percent of respondents indicated that TQM is being adopted on their campuses, of which 85 percent had adopted TQM in 1990 or later. Within institutions, the support staff most frequently receive training (90 percent), followed by administration (85 percent), and faculty (68 percent). The areas most likely to be using TQM were top-level administration, registration, physical plant, admission, and accounting. The top ranked statistical tools used in the TQM process were flow charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, and nominal group process. In business and engineering schools a majority of respondents indicated that TQM is being taught but far fewer reported that TQM is being practiced. Improved communication and customer satisfaction were cited by 65 percent of respondents as key benefits of TQM while perceptions of TQM as a fad and time consuming were cited as major frustrations. (Contains 24 references.) (JB)

A study was done of faculty perceptions of the accuracy and validity of various time-related personnel activity and productivity reporting measures, and of faculty's willingness to participate in these measures. In the first stage of the study 1,000 randomly-selected faculty from 200 institutions of higher education that have the highest levels of total separately budgeted science/engineering research and development expenditures were mailed a survey instrument entitled "Faculty Perceptions of Activity and Productivity Reporting." Faculty responses included suggestions for activity and productivity measures and those suggestions appeared in a followup survey, "Faculty Perceptions of Measures of Productivity," sent to the original cohort and an additional 10,000 science and engineering research and development faculty. The first survey received a 24 percent response rate; the second a 21 percent response rate. Results indicated that faculty think that reporting the percentage of time spent in various activities or the number of hours in the classroom is not a valid measure of their productivity. However, reliance on time-based reporting systems must prevail until institutions of higher education and faculty become accountable to their sponsors and begin to develop, implement, and make external and internal reports based on measures of faculty productivity. (Includes 13 references.) (JB)

This study examined the extent to which graduate students in science and engineering fields subscribe to the norms of research behavior which have been the basis of the freedom, self-direction, and self-regulation which characterize academic research. In particular the study focused on the relationship between academic departments' climates and structures, and the extent to which graduate students subscribe to either norms or counternorms of research. The norms have been defined as universalism (separation of scientific knowledge from personal characteristics), communality (sharing of findings and techniques), disinterestedness (separation of research from personal motives) and organized skepticism (critical, public examination of scientific work). Using a random sample of 2,000 graduate students, 500 each from 4 disciplines (microbiology, chemistry, sociology and civil engineering) from 98 graduate departments, surveys were sent to all by mail and a final response rate of 74 percent was achieved. Analysis demonstrated substantial ambivalence among graduate student about the traditional norms of academic research and also revealed the influence of departmental structure and climate on subscription to the norms. Significant differences were found in the normative orientations of the native versus international students. Included are six figures and 14 references. (JB)

We estimate the labor market return to an MBA, a JD, and master's in engineering, nursing, education, psychology and social work, and thirteen other graduate degrees. To control for heterogeneity in preferences and ability, we use fixed effects for combinations of field-specific undergraduate and graduate degrees obtained by the last time we observe an individual. Basically, we compare earnings before the graduate degree to earnings after the degree. We find large differences across graduate fields in earnings effects, and more moderate differences in internal rates of return that account for program length and tuition. The returns often depend on the undergraduate major. The contribution of occupational upgrading to the earnings gain varies across degrees. Finally, simple regression-based estimates of returns to graduate fields are often highly misleading.

The OECD Secretariat, at the invitation of the AHELO Group of National Experts, contracted the Tuning Association to undertake initial development work on learning outcomes to be used for valid and reliable assessments of students from diverse institutions and countries. The two disciplines selected for the AEHLO Feasibility Study are engineering and economics. Following the Tuning approach, academics from various regions and countries in the world reached consensus on definitions of expected learning outcomes for bachelor's-type programmes in both disciplines. This Working Paper presents the outcomes of their work for the engineering discipline. Members of the Engineering Tuning-AHELO working group defined general learning outcomes for all engineering programmes supplemented by branch specifications for the fields of mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, taking into account different degree profiles and relevant occupations. In addition to the agreed upon learning outcomes, the paper presents an overview of the field of engineering, the typical degrees and engineering occupations associated to the first and second cycle degrees. The paper also discusses the role of learning outcomes and presents the approach used to defining them. A comparative summary of some of the most influential learning outcomes frameworks in the engineering field is also provided. Appended are: (1) Indicative Overview of Specialisations/Branches in the Subject Area of Engineering; and (2) Comparison of Learning Outcomes Frameworks/Statements for Engineering Degree Programmes. (Contains 1 table and 34 footnotes.)

Strengthening the innovation system in the Netherlands is a priority for raising productivity growth, which has been relatively weak in recent years. Knowledge creation in the Netherlands is strong -- scientific publications per capita are the sixth highest in the OECD -- but innovation activity is only around the average for OECD countries according to the EIS Summary Innovation Index. The main weaknesses are in business R&D intensity, the share of the population with tertiary education, and in commercially applying new knowledge. This paper discusses reforms being implemented to overcome these weaknesses and suggests directions for building on such reforms. Co-operation between public research organisations and innovating firms is being strengthened, support for innovation is being rationalised and measures are being taken to increase both the current and prospective supply of scientists and engineers with a view to making the Netherlands a more attractive location for R&D investments. To increase the tertiary attainment rate, the authorities are considering introducing shorter tertiary courses and are experimenting with greater competition among tertiary education suppliers for public funds. To strengthen performance in commercial application of new knowledge, barriers to entrepreneurship are being reduced but more should be done to strengthen incentives for entrepreneurship. This Working Paper relates to the 2005 OECD Economic Survey of the Netherlands (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/netherlands). (A bibliography is included. Factor Analysis information is annexed. Contains 27 notes, 12 figures, 5 boxes and 8 tables.)

The lack of human capital in Portugal has become a key obstacle to higher growth. This paper discusses the performance of education and training services in Portugal and shows that improvements are needed to narrow the significant human capital gap with other OECD countries. Despite progress in the past decades, Portuguese children spend comparatively few years in formal education, and they do not perform as well as children from other OECD countries. Adults, especially the least educated, do not participate enough in lifelong learning and training programmes. This situation does not stem from a lack of resources devoted to education and training but from inefficiencies and misallocation of spending, and weaknesses in the quality of the services that compound the low starting point of Portugal regarding education. Modernizing the Portuguese economy therefore requires a broad reform which increases human capital at all levels. The ongoing efforts of the authorities in the three areas -- basic and upper secondary education, tertiary education and adult training -- go in the right direction but implementation remains a challenge. (A bibliography is included. Diagrammed synopsis and comparative information with other European countries are annexed. Contains 66 footnotes, 14 figures and 4 boxes.)

This qualitative case study reports on processes and outcomes of the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded System-Wide Change for All Learners and Educators (SCALE) project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). It addresses a critical challenge in studying systemic reform in complex organizations: the lack of methodologies that incorporate technical, social, cultural, and cognitive elements. Guiding questions include (a) how the institutional context influenced the project, (b) whether project activities affected science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction, interdisciplinary collaboration on preservice programs, and inter-institutional collaboration on in-service programs, and (c) if and how change initiatives are accepted and incorporated. In-depth interviews (N = 47), relevant documents, and observation data were collected in early 2006 and late 2007. Contextual factors relevant to SCALE were assessed. Findings identified several factors that supported and several that inhibited achievement of SCALE goals. Supportive factors included the presence of a cohort of faculty and academic staff who were previously engaged in STEM education reform; inhibiting factors included pervasive beliefs (and their structural instantiations) that discourage teaching innovations at the expense of research productivity. Into this context, SCALE introduced nine primary activities, involving 25 STEM faculty, 8 education faculty, 15 graduate students, and 14 academic staff as designers and implementers, and 867 K-12 math and science teachers as participants in professional development activities. The most promising activities--two interdepartmental committees charged with revising math and science course requirements for teacher candidates; science immersion unit design and implementation--engaged the designers and implementers in cross-institutional forums for forging new social networks, surfacing deeply held assumptions, and developing new STEM curricula and policy. An enduring lesson from this study is that efforts to change the culture of teaching and learning in STEM departments should focus on illuminating and then shifting the pervasive cultural schema that faculty hold for teaching and learning. To accomplish this, leaders are encouraged to (a) create officially sanctioned venues in which a skilled facilitator or "culture broker" leads individuals from different disciplinary backgrounds to focus on commonly shared pedagogy-related challenges and (b) become aware of and constantly take into account the deeply entrenched nature of cultural schema and the ways in which these are embedded in the local institution. (Contains 4 tables, 5 figures, and 22 footnotes.)