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This study compares the way IVET and CVET sub-systems interact to support the learning of adults, and thus facilitate lifelong and life-wide learning. By comparing the interaction between IVET and CVET sub-systems in the countries covered, the study analyses the extent to which IVET systems are opening up to adults, and questions whether national and regional policies and practices support or prevent a closer link between CVET and IVET. The study builds on concrete national case-studies, allowing for an in-depth, qualitative comparison and analysis of practices and policies. This allows for a better understanding of obstacles and opportunities in this complex area, directly supporting the stakeholders and policy-makers responsible for taking lifelong and life-wide learning in Europe forward. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmungsberatung GmbH (Austria). The consortium includes Ockham IPS (the Netherlands) and the Fondazione Giacomo Brodolino (Italy). The German Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) supported the project as sub-contractor. For "The Future of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 3. The Influence of Assessments on Vocational Learning. Cedefop Research Paper. No. 90," see ED626202.]

This report presents a holistic approach to understanding and comparing vocational education and training (VET) systems. The approach has been developed jointly by a group of interdisciplinary VET researchers over a 5-year period as part of Cedefop's research on the future of VET and has been reviewed several times. The framework introduces 50 dimensions for analysing VET systems, as well as parts of them, structured according to three overlapping main perspectives: epistemological and pedagogical, education system, and socioeconomic or labour market. The framework is particularly suited to 'clearing the ground' for policy work and provides a model for how research can support policy. This model can be flexibly adapted and applied in any comparative research or international policy learning activity related to VET. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmungsberatung (Austria). The consortium includes Ockham IPS (the Netherlands) and the Fondazione Giacomo Brodolino (Italy). The German Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) supports the project as sub-contractor. For "The Changing Nature and Role of Vocational Education and Training in Europe. Volume 1: Conceptions of Vocational Education and Training--An Analytical Framework. Cedefop Research Paper. No 63," see ED586251.]

This synthesis report is based on a survey carried out during 2022 with Cedefop's reporting network ReferNet. It makes an important contribution to understanding the magnitude of early leaving from VET (ELVET) in those European countries where relevant data are available, and the mechanisms and support measures countries employ to measure and monitor the phenomenon at national and regional levels. The report puts special focus on the main factors leading to early leaving from initial VET as reported by EU Member States, Norway and Iceland. It details the support measures teachers, trainers, school principals and companies providing work-based learning received to overcome the challenges society faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This research is part of Cedefop's pioneering work within the VET for youth team to support policy-makers and VET practitioners tackling early leaving from VET in Europe. For more than a decade, Cedefop has led research, promoted peer learning through its policy learning fora, and developed and managed online toolkits to benefit learners at risk of dropping out, early leavers from VET and young NEETs. The VET toolkit for tackling early leaving and the VET toolkit for empowering NEETs offer a platform of intervention approaches, good practices and interactive tools designed for both policy-makers and VET teachers and trainers. The community of ambassadors tackling early leaving from VET, created and coordinated by Cedefop since 2017, plays a vital role in enriching and disseminating the toolkit resources. The findings of this survey feed into Cedefop's project on Tackling early leaving from VET. It aims to support EU Member States and the European Commission in the implementation of the Council recommendation on pathways to school success (Council of the European Union, 2022) and the achievement of Education and training 2030 strategic target to lower the rates of early leaving from education and training (Council of the European Union, 2021).

Principals (policy makers) have debated the progress in U.S. student performance for a half century or more. Informing these conversations, survey agents have administered seven million psychometrically linked tests in math and reading in 160 waves to national probability samples of selected cohorts born between 1954 and 2007. This study is the first to assess consistency of results by agency. We find results vary by agent, but consistent with Flynn effects, gains are larger in math than reading, except for the most recent period. Non-whites progress at a faster pace. Socio-economically disadvantaged white, black, and Hispanic students make greater progress when tested in elementary school, but that advantage attenuates and reverses itself as students age. We discuss potential moderators.

The feedback between vocational education and training (VET) and the labour market can provide important input for the review and renewal of qualifications. A feedback loop that is based on learning outcomes helps provide deeper insights into what is required on the labour market, what is offered in training provisions and assessed at the end of a learning programme. The aim of this study is to contribute to strengthening the quality and relevance of qualifications and completing the feedback loop between education and the labour market. It examines methods of collecting data on the match/mismatch between qualifications and labour market requirements, including analysis of how achieved learning outcomes are applied and perceived in the labour market (for example methods of collecting the experience of employers with holders of these qualifications). This report addresses the following two questions: (1) which data already exist in the countries, providing insight into the relevance of qualifications to employees, employers and other labour market stakeholders?; and (2) how can survey methodology be designed to systematically capture the experiences and appreciations of employers as regards the content and profile of qualifications? To what extent, based on limited testing, can scalability of the methodology be achieved?

The European Union is likely the most far-developed cross-border public space for higher education. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and the European Research Area (ERA) both span an even larger number of countries including associate and partner countries of the EU. Based on shared European values, such as academic freedom, cross-border cooperation, and mobility, these policy frameworks have been developed in Europe over the last decades and with much success. HE systems in this area are thus well-positioned to benefit from cross-border mobility and collaboration but may at the same time face a certain loss of control over HE, for instance with respect to access due to the cross-border flows of students. This seems to make them vulnerable to populist tendencies and neo-nationalist politics seeking to inhibit the free movement of students, scholars, and data. Such tendencies have never been completely absent on the "old continent" but resurged over the uneven outcomes of globalization, the effects of the global financial and consequent Euro crisis, and the refugee crisis. Meanwhile, the impact of the coronavirus crisis is still by and large unknown. Populist tendencies seem now to be turning against the EU, with its freedom of movement for persons (i.e. open borders) as one of its cornerstones and are therefore of concern for the HE sector. Countries such as the UK, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Netherlands have a different position in the European landscape but are all struggling with the complexity of combining the virtues of an open system with constrained national sovereignty. Sovereignty is required in terms of steering capacity in order to balance access, cost, and quality, i.e. the well-known "higher education trilemma." In open systems this is challenged by the "globalization trilemma", which states that countries cannot have national sovereignty, (hyper)globalization and democracy at the same time. How are the EU, its Member States, and the HE sector responding? Will the Union stay united (i.e. Brexit)? Are the legal competencies of the EU in HE strong enough? What about the many European university associations, leagues, and networks? And what do the millions of (former) Erasmus students have to say?

Validation and guidance help individuals, organisations and Member States adapt to career challenges and create successful lifelong learning systems. However, little is known about how they are linked in practice and how this connection can be made more efficient. Building on Cedefop's expertise in the two areas, this study -- based on analysis of 13 practices from 12 countries -- explores how coordination between career guidance and validation of non-formal and informal learning can be improved. Results point to three factors: (a) comprehensiveness: provision of adequate information and guidance before a decision to undergo validation is taken, throughout the entire validation process, as well as after it; (b) coherence: use of common qualifications or competence standards, occupational standards or other reference frameworks in all the stages of the practice to identify, document and assess skills; and (c) quality of staff, resources, competences, and tools used. The study concludes with policy recommendations on how to improve the link between guidance and validation.

This research paper is the fifth in a series produced as part of the Cedefop project The changing nature and role of VET (2016-18). Based on comparative analysis of labour force survey data from 2014, the report analyses the vocational effect on labour market and education outcomes, asking whether any advantages conferred by vocational qualifications in early career would be offset by disadvantages later in life. The report explores the functioning of the safety net and the diversion effects across countries, demonstrating how these vary considerably with the specific institutional structure of schooling and work-based training. The results indicate that VET graduates are potentially sacrificing the longer-term gains associated with further education in favour of short-term benefits. [This research was carried out by a consortium led by 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH and including 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.]

In a highly competitive global landscape, occupations are transformed, new jobs are created and the skills needed for the labour market are constantly changing. European countries are looking at redefining VET [vocational education and training] to respond promptly to such challenges and take advantage of the opportunities ahead. They are reforming to modernise their VET systems and strengthen the relevance of their national qualifications in an international context. This publication explores national responses to globalisation in 15 countries and five economic sectors. It aims to understand how European and international initiatives help VET renewal across Europe. It shows how countries' reactions are embedded in their national traditions but also depend on their interactions with European, sectoral and multinational players that provide training and award qualifications. [The research was carried out by a consortium led by IBE Educational research institute and 3s Unternehmensberatung GmbH.]

This paper investigates how legal cannabis access affects student performance. Identification comes from an exceptional policy introduced in the city of Maastricht which discriminated legal access based on individuals' nationality. We apply a difference-in-difference approach using administrative panel data on over 54,000 course grades of local students enrolled at Maastricht University before and during the partial cannabis prohibition. We find that the academic performance of students who are no longer legally permitted to buy cannabis increases substantially. Grade improvements are driven by younger students, and the effects are stronger for women and low performers. In line with how THC consumption affects cognitive functioning, we find that performance gains are larger for courses that require more numerical/mathematical skills. We investigate the underlying channels using students' course evaluations and present suggestive evidence that performance gains are driven by improved understanding of material rather than changes in students' study effort. [This paper was produced as part of the Centre's Education Programme. The Centre for Economic Performance is financed by the Economic and Social Research Council.]

This study addresses qualifications at level 5 of the European qualifications framework (EQF) in 15 countries (Belgium (Flanders), the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, France, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, the United Kingdom (EWNI and Scotland) that had linked their national qualification levels to the EQF by June 2012. EQF level 5 qualifications play an important role in providing access to employment and career advancement as well as enabling further learning and progression to higher education. This double function makes them attractive to learners and employers. Although the extent to which countries use qualifications at EQF level 5 differs, their importance is growing in all countries investigated for several reasons. First, they are developed as response to increased needs for advanced technical and/or management skills. Second, they seem to be especially attractive to students with VET background and those already in employment. They also contribute to lifelong learning by being accessible and attractive for adults and non-traditional learners. The following are appended: (1) List of working definitions; (2) List of interviewees; (3) Available data on EQF level 5 qualifications; (4) Key purposes and functions of qualifications; (5) Further material on learning outcome descriptions of qualifications; and (6) Duration and mode of delivery. A bibliography is also included. [The research was carried out by Panteia in consortium with 3S under Cedefop service contract AO/ECVL/JBSPEV/Qualifications_EQF_level_5/001/12.]

Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps. However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries. We use unique international assessment data to investigate the role of teacher cognitive skills as one main dimension of teacher quality in explaining student outcomes. Our main identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in teacher cognitive skills attributable to international differences in relative wages of nonteacher public sector employees. Using student-level test score data, we find that teacher cognitive skills are an important determinant of international differences in student performance. Results are supported by fixed-effects estimation that uses within-country between-subject variation in teacher skills.

A strong VET system is increasingly seen as essential to overcoming the current economic crisis in Europe. VET is seen as a powerful tool to assist in balancing labour market inefficiencies, increasing youth employment possibilities, and reducing skills mismatch. Its inherent flexibility and closeness to the labour market place VET in a good position to contribute to a faster economic recovery and long-term sustainable development. However, crucial for this role is continuous and systematic VET renewal that assures its relevance for the labour market. This publication explores 15 European national approaches to feedback mechanisms between VET and the labour market. It illustrates the diversity of solutions currently applied across Europe and how they are embedded in national traditions and education philosophy. The study asks three fundamental questions: how inclusive are national mechanisms for feedback between the VET system and the labour market; how responsive are existing mechanisms; and how transparent? Three annexes provide: (1) Case Studies; (2) List of interviewees; and (3) List of experts responsible for the country overviews. Bibliography and references are included. [This paper is the result of a team effort reflecting the work of a research consortium led by Jörg Markowitsch from 3s Research Laboratory who together with Tanja Bacher, Carol Costley, David Etherington, Gerhard Geiger, Günter Hefler, Jelena Helemäe, Triin Roosalu, Ellu Saar, Auni Tamm, and Odd Bjørn Ure conducted the research and fieldwork and drafted the report. This work was carried out under Cedefop's service contract No 2011-0161/AO/ECVL/JB-IPS/Cooperation Labour market--VET/007/11.]

This paper explores the emergence of selective admission policies in Dutch university education. Such policies are being developed to promote excellence in a higher education system that is generally known to be "egalitarian" and increasingly criticized for a lack of differentiation. The changing policy context of admission in Dutch university education and its driving forces and rationales are discussed in the context of European-wide developments such as the Bologna Process. Especially the emergence of selective liberal arts colleges will be presented as a recent excellence initiative. A review of international trends, methods and criteria in selective admission (notably from systems with extensive experience in this field such as the USA), including historical pitfalls, provides an analytical framework for the discussion of the fostering of excellence in combination with the aim for diversity in the student population. The predictive value of selection methods and criteria used at Amsterdam University College (AUC) are evaluated against the study progress and performance of AUC students. This includes academic criteria such as GPA in secondary school, and AUC's use of interviews. Examining data from AUC's first entering class in 2009, the college has achieved enrolling students from different national and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is also achieving excellence in terms of study progress and academic performance, including an attrition rate of only 13 percent. The question is whether interviews generate sufficient added value, in particular with regard to the time and costs of this model and with a view to the risk of subjective interpretations of "soft variables" such as student motivation. The answer seems to be that interviews provide extra guidance to both the student and the institution as to whether the student is choosing the right study programme (and not so much as whether he or she is able to complete it successfully). Consequently, the combined model of selection on the basis of prior academic achievement at secondary school (GPA) and personal interviews will be continued. However, specific attention needs to be paid to the fact that the interviewer's estimate of academic performance seems to be less accurate to predict study success than the actual secondary school GPA (i.e. based on the former more students could have been wrongly rejected than on the basis of the latter). (Contains 6 tables, 11 figures and 27 endnotes.)

The Netherlands has a long history of parental choice and school anatomy. This paper examines why segregation by educational disadvantage has only recently emerged as a policy issue in the Netherlands. In addition, we document the levels and trends of school segregation in Dutch cities. We find segregation levels that are high both absolutely and relative to those in the U.S. cities. Current efforts to limit segregation in Dutch cities inevitably confront the deeply held Dutch value of freedom of education. (Contains 5 tables, 4 figures and 18 footnotes.)

Policy makers and educators in the U.S. have recently shown considerable interest in the concept of weighted student funding (WSF) as a means of financing primary and secondary schools. WSF appeals both to conservatives, who see it as a way to promote parental choice and school autonomy, and to progressives, who are attracted by the call of extra funds for challenging-to-educate students. This paper draws lessons for the U.S. from the Netherlands, which has long experience with WSF. We find that, while WSF has succeeded in directing significant amounts of additional funds to primary schools serving educationally disadvantaged pupils, this policy has been shaped by contextual factors that differ in important respects from those in the U.S. These include a deeply embedded right to parental choice, a centralized funding system, a political system that fosters policy stability, and a national value system that accepts pluralism and encourages tolerance and fairness. (Contains 12 footnotes.)

In recent years, policy makers and educators in the U.S. have begun to show considerable interest in the concept of weighted student funding as a means of financing primary and secondary schools. Weighted student funding (WSF) has three main elements. Money follows students on a per student basis to the schools they attend, the per student amount of the funding differs with the educational needs of the student, and schools have the flexibility to use the money in whatever way they wish. Although a relatively new idea in the U.S., weighted student funding has a long history in the Netherlands. The Dutch program is impressive not only because many disadvantaged students bring with them almost twice as much funding as regular students, but also because the system has sustained political support over a long period of time. Our analysis of the Dutch system shows that schools with high proportions of weighted students in the country's four big cities have access to substantially more resources that schools with few weighted students. In particular, the high weight schools have 57 percent more teachers per pupil on average as well as almost twice as many additional support staff per teacher. These additional resources notwithstanding, we find that weighted student funding does not assure equal quality schooling, which we take as the minimal goal of such a policy. In particular, the quality of education in the high weight schools, as measured by the standardized evaluations of the Dutch Inspectorate of Education, on average falls short of that in the low weight schools. This basic finding about school quality, as well as other considerations, suggests that although weighted student funding has the potential to generate some major equity gains over the current U.S. system of funding schools, it is not the "100 percent solution" as claimed by some of its U.S. supporters. Moreover, there is no guarantee that any significant movement in the direction of student funding in the U.S would be accompanied by the highly progressive weights that are central to Dutch system. (Contains 43 footnotes, 10 figures, and 7 tables.)

In the international discussion about expanding parental choice and the private delivery of education, the Dutch arrangement is regarded quite often as a "unique" system. This paper discusses the features of the Dutch arrangement as a variation of comparable schemes within the European Union, whereby parents can make a real choice among comparable schools, mostly between public and state-funded private schools, and do not pay very high school fees. School choice was one of the most important political topics in 19th-century continental European societies. These struggles had more or less comparable results, with public and religious-subsidized school sectors offering parents a choice between schools of the same curriculum and usually under comparable financial costs for the parents. Despite the increasing irrelevance of church and religion in the everyday life of most late 20th-century European societies, the religious schools in these societies did not dwindle away in the Netherlands nor in the rest of Europe. (Contains 36 references and 1 graph.) (RT)

This paper examines effects of public funding for religious and private schools in the Netherlands and England over the last century. These two countries were chosen because both have religious schools fully funded by the state. The paper shows that state funding has disadvantages and advantages. Funding has been associated with considerable, yet variable, state control and regulation over such aspects as curriculum, staff, and governance. At various points in the past, both governments have effected powerful shocks to the religious schools that have received funding. There has also been a gradual increase in regulation, especially since the 1990s. This increase in state regulation and control is such that now some religious schools in both countries do not seek state funding but prefer to remain dependent on fees. The benefits of state funding are seen as being outweighed by the decrease in autonomy. A final twist is that private schools not receiving state funding have also experienced increased state regulation at both the country and European levels. Furthermore, all schools have also been influenced by issues of standards and league tables that have brought pressure to conform to a narrow version of schooling. (Contains 57 references.) (Author)

Current educational reforms encompass increasing freedom of parental choice. Parental choice is seen as a stimulus for school improvement and school quality control. One of the central thoughts behind freedom of parental choice is that the quality of education will increase when the educational system has to act using market mechanisms, in which the principle of "demand and supply" prevails and where competition becomes a major feature of the educational system. This study focused on the relative importance of parents' reasons for school choice, hoping to provide insight into how reasons for school choice are imbedded within cultural contexts. Data were gathered regarding the reasons 244 Dutch and 244 Finnish parents choose schools. Results show that people from both countries emphasize social education as a leading reason for choosing a school and that academic achievement and religious values are seen as least important. It is recommended that research on reasons for school choice should pay more attention to social factors influencing school choice than to issues of academic achievement. (Contains 21 references.) (RT)

This paper presents key indicators of educational and employment status for students making the transition from adolescence to early adulthood in selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The data that are presented include international comparisons of student achievement, educational attainment, literacy and unemployment among young adults. Data on expenditures for education are presented as a measure of national investment in education. It is a selective account, presenting data on important educational markers from international surveys and collections, offered as representative of key aspects of transitioning from education to the workforce in each country. To ensure comparability of data across countries, the data are derived from international surveys, or data collection efforts in which data have been harmonized. The time frame to which the data refer is the middle of the 1990s, between 1994-96. The countries chosen for comparison are OECD members that are representative of the regions of Europe (Northern, Central, Southern, and Eastern), English-speaking countries, and Asia. The coverage of countries varies by source, as the same countries did not participate in each of the surveys and data collections. However, every effort was made to include seven countries that are of particular interest, and they are the focus of the discussion in the text and appear in the figures when data are available: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Italy. An appendix presents: Description of School Systems in Seven Countries.

This study investigated the early labor market experiences of second generation immigrants in the Netherlands, focusing on Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese, and Antilleans. Researchers examined those leaving school and their job experiences. Data came from a 1998 nationwide survey involving the four minority groups and a Dutch reference group in 13 large cities. Respondents described household composition, immigration history, neighborhood, parental education, work status while in school, leaving school, job search, job characteristics, wages, and type of contract (steady jobs, full-time jobs, and job level). Overall, ethnicity was not an important determinant of labor market position among ethnic minorities. Turkish and Moroccan immigrant children did not perform as well as native Dutch children. Young Surinamese and Antillean children also performed less well than their Dutch counterparts, but the difference was not as large. When leaving school, the average educational level of these ethnic groups was lower, participation in the labor market was lower, and finding a job was less likely than among Dutch natives. Ethnic makeup of the neighborhood did not have a large effect on immigrants' labor market position. Employed workers had jobs with similar characteristics irrespective of ethnicity. Information about the research is appended. (Contains 9 tables and 20 references.) (SM)

The conclusion of a 1999 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report that wage gains for training are higher for workers with lower levels of education was revisited using data for males from the 1997 Australian Survey of Education and Training (SET). The study used methods similar to the OECD report (ordinary least squares and treatment effects model) with the following findings: (1) earnings effects for workers with Skilled and Basic Vocational Qualifications were slightly higher than for completers of Year 12; (2) years of occupational experience strongly affected earnings, though effect size declines with experience; and (3) structured training had a positive effect and unstructured training mixed effects. No evidence of a pattern of earnings effects consistent with the OECD results was found. A second study conducted further analyses of the 1997 SET data within the context of the OECD results. For Australia, the OECD had used 1995 Australian Workplace and Industrial Relations Survey (AWIRS). SET results were compared with AWIRS and other results for Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. The reanalysis highlighted limitations of the OECD report: focus on employer-sponsored formal training, incumbent employees aged 25-54, and cross-sectional rather than longitudinal data. With multivariate analyses to correct for selection biases, the second study did not support the conclusion of the OECD report. (Study 1 contains 10 references; study 2 contains 24 references.) (SK)

Given the growing need to look across national borders in order to be prepared for global challenges confronting higher education in the coming decades, it can be expected that institutional administrators in the U.S. and other western countries will need information on the quality and efficiency of their activities, including an international comparative perspective. This paper discusses the methodological and structural problems institutional researchers confront when trying to compare the attributes and quality of activities across institutions of higher education in various countries. The comparison of the efficiency and quality of doctoral education is used as an example. The paper defines the attributes of doctoral education as found in the Netherlands and the United States. Similarities and differences across the two nations are discussed and particular attention is given to methodological and structural problems that arise for institutional researchers making comparisons across the two nations' systems of doctoral education. (Contains 57 references.) (GLR)

Research tested the hypothesis that preemployment vocational education is a major contributor to enterprise productivity, because it raises workers' skills that are then applied in more effective work practices. An intercountry comparisons approach involving Britain and Germany and Britain and the Netherlands or France identified medium-sized establishments that produced similar products and compared and contrasted the following: worker productivity; management styles and practices; technologies used; workplace organization; on-the-job training; level and type of vocational qualifications of workers; and curriculum content relating to the qualifications. Findings were as follows: the average productivity of the British enterprises was below that of their counterparts; percentages of British personnel holding intermediate qualifications were much lower; in contrast to British manufacturing, German manufacturing was withdrawing from producing bulk quantities of standard goods; German companies were more inclined to use numerically controlled machinery; and machine breakdowns were rare in Germany, but common in Britain. The different productivity levels were also due to workers' capabilities, which could be explained as a consequence of differences in work preparation. Implications for Australia were to emphasize skilling to increase productivity in customized, high-quality products; to develop technological competence; and to implement rigorous student assessment. (Contains 46 references.) (YLB)

This paper investigates the role of the budget as an instrument for realizing strategic change and as an influencing factor on the behavior of university faculty within the decentralized educational environment of the Netherlands. It distinguishes between a base component (lump sum allocation) and a special-purpose component (earmarked allocation) in budgeting. It also analyses several approaches to budget development in relation to the implementation of change. Major conclusions are: (1) that in Dutch higher education the budget is a limited instrument for the implementation of strategic change with some use in strengthening developments already initiated within a faculty but ineffective to implement change in a top-down manner; and (2) that change at the faculty level is more effectively stimulated by control devices than by detailed planning instruments. Section 1 of this paper provides a brief introduction to the Dutch higher education system. Section 2 describes some relevant aspects of university organization. Section 3 makes some general remarks about university budgeting and distinguishes a number of budgeting systems. Sections 4 and 5 analyze these budgeting systems as management tools for the implementation of strategic change, using experiences at the University of Utrecht as background. Section 6 presents some general conclusions. Contains 31 references. (GLR)

This study explored quality assessment and accountability in Dutch university education using a case study approach. The Dutch national system of quality assurance is described, and developments since the mid-1980s are traced. The university case studies illustrate models which are being employed to implement the quality assurance system including Total Quality Management (TQM) and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). Comparisons are made between the Dutch and American approaches to achieving educational quality and the role of the respective governments in the process. While the American system emphasizes peer review, the Dutch process emphasizes external assessment but begins with an internal self-study. Interviews were conducted with educational leaders responsible for designing and implementing the system at the national level, as well as with students, faculty members, and administrators of departments, divisions, and institutions at four Dutch Universities. At the University of Groningen, the process of quality assessment was managed by influencing existing structures, while at the University of Amsterdam new structures and group process consultants were employed. The University of Limburg at Maastricht model is one in which the assessment of teaching and learning is embedded in existing faculty structures. The Dutch system is characterized as egalitarian, autonomous, democratic, and federated. Implications for American higher education include constraining the role of government and borrowing selectively from other systems of self-regulation. (Contains 31 references.) (SW)

Focusing on minority group children, ages 2 to 4 years, and their mothers, the Netherlands' Samenspel project is intended to be a link between the home environment and the preschool or primary school. Mothers and children go to playgroups once a week, most of which are held in a community center or preschool. This summary report describes a study from September 1994 to June 1995 of mothers' experiences with Samenspel. Thirty-five mothers were interviewed, most of whom do not have a Dutch background, and their experiences and thoughts formed the focus of the study. After describing Samenspel's background and objectives, this report presents reasons for the study, its objectives, and the process of decisions about problem formulation and methodology. The bulk of the report presents results from the study. Findings include the following: (1) the most significant motivation for participating in Samenspel is enabling children to meet other children; (2) mothers especially appreciate activities that they do together with their children; (3) the presence of play leaders who speak the mothers' own language as well as those who speak Dutch is considered important for learning and speaking languages; (4) meeting other women at Samenspel has been a positive experience; (5) the opportunity to discuss child-rearing with other women is appreciated; (6) mothers believe Samenspel is good for their child's, and often their own, language development; (7) mothers are dealing with their children's socio-emotional development with more awareness; (8) positive changes in the children's and mothers' independence are occurring; and (9) the majority of participants are satisfied with Samenspel. (EV)

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)

This study is a comparative analysis that addresses the question: to what extent has the relationship between parental socioeconomic characteristics and educational opportunities changed over time and why? The document suggests six hypotheses regarding change in the effects of social origins on education transitions: (1) modernization hypothesis: the effects of social origin on all transitions decline; (2) reproduction hypothesis: the effects of social origins decline on earlier transitions but not on later transitions; (3) hypothesis of maximally maintained inequality: the effects will only decline at those transitions for which the attendance rates of the privileged classes are saturated; (4) socialist transformation hypothesis: socialist transformations brought about an initial reduction in the effects, that will then be followed by increased effects; (5) life course hypothesis: the effects decline across transitions but are stable across cohorts; and (6) differential selection hypothesis: the effects decline across cohorts, but the effects on later transitions increase across cohorts. The 13 industrialized countries included in the study may be classified according to their basic cultural and economic systems into three major groups: (1) western capitalistic countries: United States of America, (former) Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Israel; (2) non-Western capitalistic countries: Japan and Taiwan; and (3) western socialistic countries: Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Study results show that educational expansion facilitates the persistence of inequalities in educational opportunity. Tables summarize the major findings with respect to educational expansion and attainment, change in the effects of social origins on highest education attained, and cohort differences. (DK)