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Undoubtedly, it is every teacher's life quest to find the best way to teach; there are no universal formulas to accomplish that. A committed teacher is a life-long learner, which shows why being an educator is not an easy career. A teacher is indeed like a candle that lights the students' path as it consumes itself. Such abnegation comes at a high price. Particularly, English teachers in a Country such as Costa Rica are faced with various challenges, ranging from deeply ingrained negative attitudes towards teachers and the education system itself, their own well-being which tends to be neglected a little too often, unequal access to resources and teaching materials, heterogeneous student populations, emotional factors in the classroom, among many others. An English teacher in a developing country (and probably elsewhere) has to be prepared to deal with the unexpected, learn, relearn, and unlearn, and whenever something new is learned, it is every (English) teacher's duty to share it using different means; getting published is but one way to do so. This ebook comprises a collection of essays written by students from the Master's Program in Education with an Emphasis on English Learning from Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica as part of their graduation project. In each of the manuscripts contained here, a Costa Rican English teacher reflects on some of his or her educational experiences and encountered challenges and proposes strategies to tackle them so that any English teachers out there facing similar situations may benefit from these ideas. [This book was published by the Centro de Investigación y Docencia en Educación (CIDE) Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica. It is provided in the format of an e-book.]

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education provision at an unprecedented scale, with education systems around the world being impacted by extended school closures and abrupt changes to normal school operations. The Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS) investigated how teaching and learning were affected by the health crisis, and how education stakeholders responded to the educational disruption across and within countries. The study aimed to provide a systemic, multi-perspective, and comparative picture of the situation at the secondary education level (grade eight) in 11 countries spanning Africa, Asia, Arab region, Europe, and Latin America. While many other efforts exist that collect and provide similar information, they are mostly derived from non-representative rapid surveys and lack internationally comparable information from schools, collected in a systematic and scientific manner. The REDS International Report presents unique data, collected from countries, schools, teachers, and students for the first time, in chapters that cover several themes on which data were collected which include student and teacher well-being, students' academic progress during the school closures, and the measures countries have implemented to keep all children learning. Initial findings provide evidence for better orienting and tailoring policy responses to crisis and provide invaluable information on what may be required to accelerate education, recover from crisis, and to strengthen the resilience of education systems in the future. [Foreword written by Stefania Giannini and Dirk Hastedt. For "Responses to Educational Disruption Survey [REDS]: User Guide for the International Database," see ED618544.]

This book discusses national school policy reforms in a number of key European countries and shows how these are framed in transnational collaborations that meet with national particularities and contestations. It gives an overview of school policy developments that represents the diversity of Europe within a comparative framework. It takes point of departure in the fact that European countries in their school and education policies have been increasingly aligning with each other, mostly via transnational collaborations, the OECD, EU, and the Bologna Process. Even the IEA has been instrumental to motivate alignments by means of influential surveys, knowledge production and methodological development. This alignment in terms of common standards, social technologies, qualification frameworks and so forth have aimed at facilitating mobility of students, workers, business and so forth as well as fostering a European identity among citizens from Europe's patchwork of small and medium-size countries, representing a patchwork of different languages, cultures and societal contexts. In national recontextualizations, however, alignments have been continuously contested according to the particularities of what has been possible educationally and politically in the different national contexts. Furthermore, the return of national(isms) as well as the rise of edubusiness and digitalization have been increasingly influential. This book thus concludes that increasing transnational alignments have to be observed with meticulous attention to different national contexts that matter greatly.

This book discusses principals' prerequisites and work within the five Nordic countries and focuses on schools as formal institutions that carry out functions delegated to them by the social collective. It includes a discussion about what kind of state policy demonstrates autonomy in Nordic schools, as well as the ways in which school leaders as sense makers in local schools possess and enact policy in a globalized economy and a changing world. The book draws both on a range of theoretical frameworks and educational leadership and policy research to provide multiple comparative perspectives of school leadership in the Nordic countries, the moral purpose of schooling, school governance and power relations, expectations towards school leadership, handling of crises, and cultures of trust. The chapters range from in depth-case studies and policy document analyses to large-scale data sets and literature reviews. All chapters have multiple messages for practitioners, policy makers and researchers as they seek to engage with school leadership as a core activity in times of societal changes. As democratic welfare states, the five Nordic countries have many similarities, but also differences which makes it interesting to understand more about various ways to strive towards democracy and well-educated citizens.

This open access book presents an in-depth analysis of data from ICCS. An international group of scholars critically address the state of civic and citizenship education in the four Nordic countries that participated in the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) in 2009 and 2016. The findings are of particular relevance to educators at all levels, from school education through to teacher education. Nordic countries have long traditions of democracy and their students have performed relatively well in the ICCS assessments. Nonetheless, citizenship education continues to evolve and has received increasing attention in recent educational reforms, indicating policymakers understanding that schools play an important role in establishing democratic values among future citizens. Data from ICCS can be used to analyze, discuss, and reflect on the status of civic and citizenship education and can contribute to the discourse on the potential role of education in contributing to sustainable democracies for a common future. However, teaching citizenship and learning democracy are two different things. While young people can be taught about democracy in school, it is vital that schools work together with the wider community in which youth operate to strengthen civic understanding and values for all young people regardless of their social and economic background. [For Volume 10, see ED609759.]

Reflects on cross-national differences in contemporary research, policy, implementation, and teaching practice in civic education across a wide range of countries in Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia Provides interdisciplinary perspectives on advances as well as enduring and emerging challenges for civic education in educational policy, practice and research Discusses students' civic knowledge, attitudes, and engagement in national, regional, and international contexts based on nationally representative surveys at three points in time. [The book is published by Springer.]

In a context of considerable interest in apprenticeship in recent years, Cedefop and the OECD decided to explore its future from the perspective of a number of megatrends, including sociodemographic changes, the accelerated adoption of emerging technologies and new forms of work organisation. They also considered how these trends have affected, and will continue to affect, the design and delivery of apprenticeship in European and OECD countries. The combination of the emerging economic crisis as an aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, together with long-term structural trends affecting global economies, will entail a profound transformation of the world of work and require effective policy responses in the years to come. This publication provides insights from 16 papers by researchers from Europe, Australia and the United States; nine were presented and discussed among policy-makers, practitioners and researchers during the joint Cedefop-OECD symposium on the future of apprenticeship held in October 2019 in Paris. Evidence and analysis in these papers will help inform political decisions shaping the future of apprenticeship.

Exploring multilingualism as a complex, context-related, societal and individual phenomenon, this book centres around perspectives on how multiple languages are made (in)visible within educational settings in the Global North. The authors of each chapter compare and contrast findings across geographical contexts with the goal of understanding the facets of multilingualism that, on the one hand, conform across contexts, and on the other, diverge context-specifically. The chapters range from contributions with a focus on national/state planning for the development of sustainable multilingual and intercultural educational policies, to chapters that deal with multilingual practices and identities of students and student teachers as well as the consequences for language practices, strategies and policies in diversifying societies. This cross-contextual, comparative and interdisciplinary exploration of multilingualism will be of great interest to researchers, administrators, practitioners and students within the fields of multilingual education, sociolinguistics, youth culture and identity studies. The book is open access under a CC BY NC ND licence.

This open access book challenges international policy 'groupthink' about lifelong learning. Adult learning -- too long a servant of business competitiveness -- should be reimagined as central to democratic society. Young adults, especially from disadvantaged backgrounds, engage more in education and training, and learn more day-to-day at work, if provision is democratically organised and based on enduring and inclusive institutional networks, and when jobs encourage and reward the acquisition of skills. Using innovative qualitative and quantitative methods, the contributors develop a critical perspective on dominant policies, investigating -- across the European Union and Australia -- how 'vulnerable' young adults experience programmes designed to improve their 'employability', and how 'skills for jobs' policies squeeze out wider -- and wiser -- ideas of what education and training should do. Chapters show why some provision works for those with poor educational backgrounds, why labour market and educational institutions matter so much, how adult education can empower and expand people's agency, and the challenges of using artificial intelligence in lifelong learning policy-making. Several investigate the pivotal role of workplace learning in organisational life, and in learning during 'emerging adulthood'. Important comparative studies of workplace learning in the metals, retail and adult education sectors show the role of management, trade unions and social movements in young adults' learning.

This work discusses how the complex relationship between welfare policies of equity and market efficiencies/deficiencies of education policies is handled in local practices. It offers contributions from the five Nordic countries - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland - and pays special attention to questions about access and diversity in upper secondary education. The book draws on a wide range of theoretical frameworks and research projects and provides multiple perspectives of how upper secondary staff and students have experienced reforms of education governance during the last two or three decades. The research projects range from in-depth case studies to the analysis of large-scale data sets and inform practitioners, policy makers and researchers about practices of education policy that are highly influenced by market forces.

This book explores how everyday life within educational institutions changes in response to ideas of interdisciplinarity at policy level. It provides new insights into different configurations of interdisciplinarity, which traverses all levels of the Danish educational system. Offering a novel perspective to interdisciplinarity in terms of its configurations, the book discusses the Danish educational system and its current transformations, showing how progressive ideas are entangled with new forms of accountability and complex responsibilities. It identifies the concrete challenges that interdisciplinarity is expected to solve, and the organizational changes resulting from the solutions introduced, arguing that interdisciplinarity in education is neither a uniform or consistent process, nor are the kinds of disciplining it may yield. This book will appeal to academics, researchers, and post-graduate students in the fields of interdisciplinary education, pedagogy, comparative education and northern European educational and welfare systems.

The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement's (IEA) mission is to enhance knowledge about education systems worldwide, and to provide high-quality data that will support education reform and lead to better teaching and learning in schools. In pursuit of this aim, it conducts, and reports on, major studies of student achievement in literacy, mathematics, science, citizenship, and digital literacy. These studies, most notably Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), and International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), are well established and have set the benchmark for international comparative studies in education. The studies have generated vast datasets encompassing student achievement, disaggregated in a variety of ways, along with a wealth of contextual information which contains considerable explanatory power. The numerous reports that have emerged from them are a valuable contribution to the corpus of educational research. Valuable though these detailed reports are, IEA's goal of supporting education reform needs something more: deep understanding of education systems and the many factors that bear on student learning advances through in-depth analysis of the global datasets. IEA has long championed such analysis and facilitates scholars and policymakers in conducting secondary analysis of these datasets. The IEA Research for Education series represents a further effort by IEA to capitalize on these unique datasets, so as to provide powerful information for policymakers and researchers. Each report focuses on a specific topic and is produced by a dedicated team of leading scholars on the theme in question. This eighth volume in the series deals with an issue that is especially timely in an information era--that of gender differences in computer literacy. Given the importance of technology in our day-to-day lives and the dominant role that computers and digital devices play, examining the existence of a gender-based digital divide is crucial by any measure. This is especially important, as the impact of digital gaps can be severe. To gain a better understanding about computer and information literacy, the authors use data from the 2013 cycle of the IEA's International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS). ICILS is a survey of grade eight students, designed to answer the question "How well are students prepared for study, work, and life in the digital age?" The sorts of issues taken up in this volume include (1) gender differences in computer literacy, (2) gender differences in attitudes toward computer use, and (3) how male and female teachers differ in their use of technology in teaching. This list is not exhaustive, but it offers some examples of what readers will find. As with much cross-cultural research, this volume shows that the answer to many of the queries is "it depends"; cross-country differences are ubiquitous. The ICILS database is rich and interesting and offers a treasure trove of material for research. Besides adding to the literature on the digital divide, we find this volume to be an example of the ways in which ICILS can be used to answer pressing and timely questions around technology literacy in the modern era. [For Volume 7, see ED599016.]

This book addresses what is, perhaps, the single most important issue for vocational education; its relatively low standing in an era of high aspiration. The work explores the nature, extent and consequences for an educational sector that whilst having an increasingly important role in contemporary societies is seen to be of low standing across both countries with developed and developing economies. Some of the standing is associated with the occupation it serves and this is highlighted in an era of high aspiration by young people and their parents. The consequences are far-reaching. This includes how governments and community view and support vocational education, parents and familiars advise about participation in it and young people's decision-making associated with their post-school pathways. More than describing this problem, the focus of this collection is how this issue can be redressed through the actions of supra-government agencies, governments, schools in tertiary education institutions, industry and professional bodies and employers. It sets out the quality and extent of societal sentiments in shaping how vocational education and the occupation it serves are projected, across countries, continents and cultures, and offers a range of perspectives and contributions from scholars on how this issue might be redressed. These contributions are drawn together and synthesised into sets of propositions, practices and approaches directed towards governments, schooling and tertiary education institutions, educators, researchers, industry and professional bodies and employers. In this way, the book seeks to provide an authoritative, seminal, comprehensive and central text to understand and respond to this central issue for vocational education.

"Education at a Glance" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems across OECD countries and a number of partner economies. More than 100 charts and tables in this publication -- as well as links to much more available on the educational database -- provide key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; access, participation and progression in education; the financial resources invested in education; and teachers, the learning environment and the organisation of schools. The 2021 edition includes a focus on equity, investigating how progress through education and the associated learning and labour market outcomes are impacted by dimensions such as gender, socio-economic status, country of birth and regional location. A specific chapter is dedicated to Target 4.5 of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on equity in education, providing an assessment of where OECD and partner countries stand in providing equal access to quality education at all levels. Two new indicators on the mechanisms and formulas used to allocate public funding to schools and on teacher attrition rate complement this year's edition. [For "Education at a Glance 2020: OECD Indicators," see ED615322.]

The papers in the monograph address different topics related to mathematics teaching and learning processes which are of great interest to both students and prospective teachers. Some papers open new research questions, some show examples of good practice and others provide more information about earlier findings. The monograph consists of six chapters. In the first chapter, the author studies the relation between the surface approach and the strategic approach to learning outcomes according to the results of research conducted with a group of university students in Denmark. This chapter presents the results of research carried out with the students who were required to recognise and interpret mathematical concepts that could be interpreted from the graphs in different contexts. It also provides an insight into a detailed analysis of the tasks of the Croatian State Matura exam related to the functions. In the second chapter, the authors discuss the topic of the importance of spatial reasoning and the effect of computer technology on geometry education. They study regular and semiregular polyhedrons in Euclidean space and compare geometric properties of Euclidean and hyperbolic planes. In the third chapter, the authors examine teachers' classroom practices and beliefs about mathematics and the use of textbooks as curriculum resources. The results of textbook analysis on an asymptote and the asymptotic behaviour in the two most common series of high-school mathematics textbooks in Croatia are presented. The language of mathematics textbooks is analysed in the third paper. In the fourth chapter, the author investigates the impact of using the proposed computer-guided discovery learning model on students' conceptual and procedural knowledge of mathematics. The application of the computer program Graph is illustrated. The advantages of introducing software to the teaching process are considered. In the fifth chapter, the author examines whether there is a connection between the attitudes towards mathematics and the performance in mathematics exams. In the second paper, the authors describe a method for selecting a group of students that is supposed to receive additional teacher attention in order to improve their performance in the course. This chapter presents research results on the relations between the use of mathematics tutoring services at the university level and building student profiles. The problem of mathematical anxiety is also researched. An inclusive approach to mathematics curriculum can be revealed through the presence of curriculum accommodations for pupils with disabilities. The author of the last paper in this chapter provides content analysis of national curricula of five European countries: Great Britain, Finland, Germany, France and Croatia. In the last chapter of the monograph, the authors suggest some useful approaches to teaching mathematics. Learning through games increases student motivation and encourages positive attitudes towards mathematics. The characteristics of problem solving in mathematics education are listed in the last paper of this monograph. Papers in Chapter 1 include: (1) The study approaches of university students in a calculus class (Bettina Dahl); (2) Searching for a common ground in mathematics and physics education: The case of integral (Zeljka Milin Sipus, Maja Planinic, Ana Susac, and Lana Ivanjek); and (3) Functions in the 2015 and 2016 Croatian State Matura in higher level Mathematics (Matea Gusic). Papers in Chapter 2 include: (4) Spatial reasoning in mathematics (Nikolina Kovacevic); (5) The football {5, 6, 6} and its geometries: from a sport tool to fullerens and further (Emil Molnar, Istvan Prok, and Jeno Szirmai); and (6) Holes in alien quilts (A. S. Leeds, Natasa Macura, and Zachary Moring). Papers in Chapter 3 include: (7) Teachers' beliefs on mathematics as a background for their teaching practice (Ljerka Jukic Matic and Dubravka Glasnovic Gracin); (8) Asymptote as a body of knowledge to be taught in textbooks for Croatian secondary education (Aleksandra Cizmesija, Ana Katalenic, and Zeljka Milin Sipus); and (9) Language of Croatian mathematical textbooks (Goran Trupcevic and Anda Valent). Papers in Chapter 4 include: (10) The impact of using GeoGebra interactive applets on conceptual and procedural knowledge (Zeljka Dijanic and Goran Trupcevic); (11) The use of the computer program "Graph" in teaching application of differential calculus (Bojan Kovacic and Mirela Katic Zlepalo); and (12) Applications of free computational software in math courses at Zagreb University of Applied Sciences (Luka Marohnic and Mandi Orlic Bachler). Papers in Chapter 5 include: (13) Mathematics attitudes among students of Civil Engineering (Josipa Matotek); (14) Targeting additional effort for students' success improvement: The highest effect group selection method (Dusan Mundar and Damira Kecek); (15) Discovering student profiles with regard to the use of mathematics tutoring services at university level (Ivana Durdevic Babic, Ana Kozic, and Tomislav Milic); (16) Identifying mathematical anxiety with MLP and RBF neural networks (Ivana Durdevic Babic, Tomislav Milic, and Ana Kozic); (17) Standardization of learning outcomes in teaching mathematics (Zoran Horvat); and (18) Teaching and learning mathematics in inclusive settings: Analysis of curriculum of compulsory education in five European countries (Ksenija Romstein and Ljiljana Pintaric Mlinar). Papers in the Chapter 6 include: (19) Enhancing positive attitude towards mathematics through introducing Escape Room games (Amanda Glavas and Azra Stascik); (20) The presence of mathematical games in primary school (Ruzica Kolar-Super, Andrea Sadric, Zdenka Kolar-Begovic, and Petra Abicic); and (21) Problem solving in elementary mathematics education (Edith Debrenti). An index is included. Individual papers contain references. Abstracts are provided in both English and Croatian. [Abstract modified to meet ERIC guidelines.]

This book offers an original contribution to the area of international research on comparative education policies and the influence of transnational agencies on national school policy and reform. With a focus on grasping what "the Nordic model" or "the Nordic dimension" means in school and educational policy, the book explores in depth the school policy contexts of the five Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. It demonstrates how these particular national contexts engage with and contextualize transnational collaboration on issues like school reform, accountability, evidence and what works, and digitalization. The book situates these policy issues over a long period of time while integrating the latest developments and reforms. It demonstrates how context matters. It shows how the often elusive, but pervasive Nordic dimension can only be fully understood by painstaking scrutiny of the five national contexts, their particular trajectories and mutual interactions in formal and informal education.

This book identifies the cultural and moral foundations of country-specific educational governance and school leadership and presents the principles of justice and the diversity of common goods that guide leadership practices in schools. It contributes to an existing research field that studies diversity and ethical leadership in schools. The social dimension of school leadership is not limited to issues related to equality and equity, or social inclusion. The capacity of leaders to promote civic-mindedness and social cooperation, consensus and acceptance of others, the right balance between freedom and duties, and reciprocity of obligations, are essential to maintain democratic rights and facilitate the life together while respecting ethnic and cultural differences. Therefore, the book gathers contributions from a range of international authors capable of reporting these moral and cultural features, while broadening the research perspectives on school leadership. [Individual chapters are indexed in ERIC.]

"Education at a Glance" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems across OECD countries and a number of partner economies. More than 100 charts and tables in this publication -- as well as links to much more available on the educational database -- provide key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; access, participation and progression in education; the financial resources invested in education; and teachers, the learning environment and the organisation of schools. The 2020 edition includes a focus on vocational education and training, investigating participation in vocational education and training at various levels of education, the labour market and social outcomes of vocational graduates as well as the human and financial resources invested in vocational institutions. Two new indicators on how vocational education and training systems differ around the world and on upper secondary completion rate complement this topic. A specific chapter is dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goal 4, and investigates the quality and participation in secondary education. [This edition was revised April 2021. For "Education at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators," see ED615321.]

This book explores learning in the arts and highlights ways in which art and creativity can ignite learning in schools, informal learning spaces, and higher education. The focus is on learning in, with, and through the arts. Written from a range of international perspectives, "Multidisciplinary Approaches to Art Learning and Creativity" draws upon the fields of cognitive science, art education, technology and digital arts; the learning sciences; and museum studies to explore the theoretical underpinnings of artistic creativity and inspiration, and provide empirical explorations of mechanisms that support learning in the arts. Critical factors that help to facilitate the creative process are considered, and chapters highlight connections between research and practice in art learning. This volume offers a rich variety of positions and projects which underpin creativity in schools, museums, and other venues. An illustrative text for researchers and educators in the arts, "Multidisciplinary Approaches to Art Learning and Creativity" demonstrates how artistic ways of thinking and working with artists empower art learners and support their needs and opportunities across the lifespan.

This book analyses selected critical concepts of policy and practice in educational leadership in five European countries. The editors and contributors cover Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Denmark and Norway, spanning a wide geographical region as well as diverse historical and political contexts. The analyses primarily consider the issues of convergence and divergence in local educational leadership policies and practice that are developing and emerging from traditional structures and discourses under global, trans-national and regional influences. Focusing on both the macro and micro levels, this book examines a range of topics including international benchmarking, inclusive education practices and digital transformation. It will be of interest and value to scholars of educational leadership in Europe, particularly within smaller countries.

This book explores European governance and policy coordination within lifelong learning markets. Using an instruments approach, the editors and contributors examine the ways in which governance mechanisms employed by the European Union influence policy to regulate lifelong learning, and intervene in lifelong learning markets, at both European and national levels. Filling an important gap in the current literature, this book examines how strengthened policy coordination at the EU level contributed to the blurring of boundaries between policy fields and the redefinition of the function of adult education after the 2008 recession. Divided into three parts, this book draws on a range of case studies from countries including Spain, Denmark, Bulgaria and the UK. It will be of interest and value to students and scholars of education policy and governance, adult education and lifelong learning. [Individual chapters are indexed in ERIC.]

Many countries are struggling to reconcile greater flexibility in school choice with the need to ensure quality, equity and coherence in their school systems. This report provides an international perspective on issues related to school choice, especially how certain aspects of school-choice policies may be associated with sorting students into different schools. A key question fuelling the school-choice debate is whether greater competition among schools results in more sorting of students by ability or socio-economic status. At the macro level, school segregation can deprive children of opportunities to learn, play and communicate with other children from different social, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, which can, in turn, threaten social cohesion. The report draws a comprehensive picture of school segregation, using a variety of indicators in order to account for the diversity of the processes by which students are allocated to schools.

There is no doubt that universities have a vital role to play in promoting lifelong learning. This publication presents possible ways of expanding and transforming higher education to facilitate lifelong learning in different socio-economic contexts. Nine articles address the various dimensions of the role of higher education in promoting lifelong learning from a global perspective. The goal is to give the reader a better understanding of the theoretical frameworks and practical implementation of lifelong learning in higher education in different regions of the world. After a preface and introduction, the following articles are included: (1) Adult access to higher education: An international overview (Michael Osborne, Russell Rimmer, and Muir Houston); (2) From university lifelong learning to lifelong learning universities: Developing and implementing effective strategies (Francoise de Viron and Pat Davies); (3) The social efficiency of tertiary lifelong learning: Initial insights from a European research project (Karsten Kruger, Nestor Duch, Marti Parellada, Michael Osborne, Michele Mariani, and Laureano Jimenez); (4) Higher education in lifelong learning in South Africa (Shirley Walters); (5) Higher education and lifelong learning in Japan: Why is it so difficult to promote recurrent education? (Yukiko Sawano); (6) The role of universities in elder education: The experience of Shanghai and Shanghai Normal University (Minxuan Zhang and Jinjie Xu); (7) Lifelong learning in practice (Allie Clemans); (8) The parallel adult education system: A Danish contribution to lifelong learning at university level (Bjarne Wahlgren); and (9) From Marx to Market: Limitations of university-led "collaboration" in the Yangpu (Shanghai) Innovation Zone (Roger Boshier).

The present document on the Sixty Years of CONFINTEA was inspired by the desire to register the long fecund history of a global movement which has spanned six decades. Official records and documents produced by and for the conferences, in particular the final reports, elaborated by UNESCO were used as an important source. This process of historical recovery became equally important as a means of undertaking a transversal reading of the development of the concept of adult education, embracing the post-war years, the period of decolonization, the Cold War and the attack on the twin towers in New York. In Knoll's words, it "(…) demonstrates the changes in perceptions of adult education, from literacy to lifelong learning, in which adult education is seen as both part of the continuum of education and an entity in itself." In addition to the CONFINTEA documents, other documents were included which possess a fundamental link with the Conferences and what they represent in terms of the struggle for the right to education, in the spirit of education for all and in the perspective of lifelong learning and education. Following an introduction, the following papers are included: (1) "The history of the UNESCO International Conferences on Adult Education--From Helsingör (1949) to Hamburg (1997): international education policy through people and programmes (Joachim H. Knoll); (2) Sixty years of CONFINTEA: a retrospective analysis (Timothy D. Ireland); and (3) The CONFINTEA agenda: work in progress (Timothy D. Ireland). Nine annexes include the following summary reports: (1) Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (2) First International Conference on Adult Education (1949); (3) Second International Conference on Adult Education (1960); (4) Third International Conference on Adult Education (1972); (5) Recommendation on the Development of Adult Education adopted by the UNESCO General Conference at its 19th session (Nairobi, 26 November, 1976); (6) Fourth International Conference on Adult Education (1985); (7) Fifth International Conference on Adult Education (1997); (8) Recommitting to Adult Education and Learning: Synthesis Report of the CONFINTEA V Midterm Review Meeting; and (9) Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (2009).

"Education at a Glance" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems across OECD countries and a number of partner economies. More than 100 charts and tables in this publication -- as well as links to much more available on the educational database -- provides key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; access, participation and progression in education; the financial resources invested in education; and teachers, the learning environment and the organisation of schools. The 2019 edition includes a focus on tertiary education with new indicators on tertiary completion rates, doctoral graduates and their labour market outcomes, and on tertiary admission systems, as well as a dedicated chapter on the Sustainable Development Goal 4. [For "Education at a Glance 2018: OECD Indicators," see ED588641.]

This volume brings together the work of a wide range of scholars to explore the long and complex history of the relationships between churches and education. Christianity has always been involved in education, from the very earliest teaching of those about to be baptised, to present-day churches' involvement in schools and higher education. Christianity has a core theological concern for teaching, discipleship and formation, but the dissemination of Christian ideas and positions has not necessarily been an explicitly didactic process. Educational projects have served not only to support but also to question and even reconfigure particular versions of the Christian message, and the recipients of education have also both received and subverted the teaching offered. Under the editorship of Morwenna Ludlow, this volume explores the ways in which churches have sought to educate, catechise and instruct the clergy and laity, adults and children, men and women, boys and girls. The book features: (1) Explores the long and complex history of the relationship between the Church and education; (2) Features a wide range of leading scholars in the field; and (3) Contains contributions on a diverse range of historical, social and regional contexts, including the early Quaker movement, the Ma¯ori education system in the nineteenth century and British Sunday Schools in the early twentieth century. After an introduction by the editor, Morwenna Ludlow, the following chapters are in the volume: (1) Education and Pleasure in the Early Church: Perspectives from East and West (Presidential Address) (Morwenna Ludlow And Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe); (2) Dialogue in The Monastery: Hagiography as a Pedagogical Model (Lucy K. Pick); (3) 'Instructing Readers' Minds in Heavenly Matters': Carolingian History Writing and Christian Education (Robert A. H. Evans); (4) Penitential Manuscripts and the Teaching of Penance in Carolingian Europe (Eleni Leontidou); (5) Educating the Local Clergy, c.900-c.1150 (Sarah Hamilton); (6) Prelacy, Pastoral Care and the Instruction of Subordinates in Late Twelfth-Century England (Rebecca Springer); (7) 'I Found This Written in the Other Book': Learning Astronomy in Late Medieval Monasteries (Seb Falk); (8) Peter Canisius and the Development of Catholic Education in Germany, 1549-97 (Ruth Atherton); (9) Nature and Nurture in the Early Quaker Movement: Creating the Next Generation of Friends (Alexandra Walsham); (10) Convent Schooling for English Girls in the 'Exile' Period, 1600-1800 (Caroline Bowden); (11) Preachers or Teachers? Parish Priests and Their Sermons in the Late Enlightenment Habsburg Empire (Alena A. Fidlerová); (12) Danish Catechism in Action? Examining Religious Formation in and Through Erik Pontoppidan's "Menoza" (Laurel Lied); (13) 'The Glory of the Age We Live in': Christian Education and Philanthropy in Eighteenth-Century London Charity Schools (W. M. Jacob); (14) Catechizing at Home, 1740-1870: Instruction, Communication and Denomination (Mary Clare Martin); (15) Saving Souls on a Shoestring: Welsh Circulating Schools in a Century of Change (Paula Yates); (16) The Political Dimension of the Education of the Poor in the National Society's Church of England Schools, 1811-37 (Nicholas Dixon); (17) Schools for the Poor in Mid-Nineteenth-Century Devon: Towards an Explanation of Variations in Local Development (Frances Billinge, Gail Ham, Judith Moss, and Julia Neville); (18) They 'Come for a Lark': Ragged School Union Teaching Advice in Practice, 1844-70 (Laura M. Mair); (19) Religious and Industrial Education in the Nineteenth-Century Magdalene Asylums in Scotland (Jowita Thor); (20) Scottish Presbyterianism and the National Education Debates, 1850-62 (Ryan Mallon); (21) Exporting Godliness: The Church, Education and 'Higher Civilization' in the British Empire from the Late Nineteenth Century (Mark Chapman); (22) Conversion and Curriculum: Nonconformist Missionaries and the British and Foreign School Society in the British West Indies, Africa and India, 1800-50 (Inge Dornan); (23) The Rise, Success and Dismantling of New Zealand's Anglican-Led Ma¯ori Education System, 1814-64 (Paul Moon); (24) 'The One for the Many': Zeng Baosun, Louise Barnes and the Yifang School for Girls at Changsha, 1893-1927 (Kennedy Prize) (Jennifer Bond); (25) British World Protestant Children, Young People, Education and the Missionary Movement, c.1840s--1930s (Hugh Morrison); (26) 'In Perfect Harmony with the Spirit of the Age': The Oxford University Wesley Guild, 1883-1914 (Martin Wellings); (27) Churches and Adult Education in the Edwardian Era: Learning from the Experiences of Hampshire Congregationalists (Roger Ottewill); (28) 'The Catechism Will Save Society, without the Catechism There Is No Salvation': Secularization and Catholic Educational Practice in an Italian Diocese, 1905-14 (Fabio Pruneri); (29) 'War to the Knife'? The Anglican Clergy and Education at the End of the First World War (Mark Smith); (30) Fighting the Tide: Church Schools in South Buckinghamshire, 1902-44 (Grant Masom); (31) British Sunday Schools: An Educational Arm of the Churches, 1900-39 (Caitriona McCartney); (32) Western Establishment or Chinese Sovereignty? The Tientsin Anglo-Chinese College during the Restore Educational Rights Movement, 1924-7 (President's Prize) (Marina Xiaojing Wang); and (33) The British Council of Churches' Influence on the 'Radical Rethinking of Religious Education' in the 1960s and 1970s (Jonathan Doney).

Inclusive teacher preparation varies greatly in format and practice, yet programs grapple with the same underlying challenges: which practices work and where do they work. As children with disabilities are increasingly being included in schools, it is essential that guidance is put into place on how best to adapt inclusive practices into the classroom and create new practices based on the cultural context. "Global Perspectives on Inclusive Teacher Education" summarizes existing research on inclusive practices globally while presenting emerging research and opportunities for cementing change in inclusive teacher education locally, including examples of how inclusive practices are integrated in and adapted to diverse cultural contexts. Covering topics that include critical pedagogy, religious schooling, and teacher education, this publication is designed for curriculum developers, instructional designers, administrators, higher education faculty, educators, policymakers, and students. This book contains the following chapters: (1) Ontologies of Inclusion and Teacher Education (Ben Whitburn and Tim Corcoran); (2) Finding Their Voice: Action Research and Autoethnography in Inclusive Teacher Preparation (Bethany M. Rice); (3) Secondary School Teacher Preparation in the Age of Inclusive Education (Emmanuel Adjei-Boateng and Joseph Ezale Cobbinah); (4) Thinking Outside the Box: Using Virtual Platforms to Collaboratively Co-Plan Effective and Engaging Instruction (Sara Scribner and Megan E. Cartier); (5) An Exploratory Study on Teacher Training: The Use and Impact of Technologies Within a Specialization Course for Special Needs (Laura Fedeli and Valentina Pennazio); (6) Building a Conceptual Framework for Culturally Inclusive Collaboration for Urban Practitioners (York Williams); (7) Evidence-Based Transition Practices: Implications for Local and Global Curriculum (James L. Soldner, Dimity Peter, Shahrzad Sajadi, and Maria Paiewonsky); (8) Inclusion and Exclusion: Global Challenges Within Deaf Education (Jessica Armytage Scott, Hannah M. Dostal, and Tisha N. Ewen-Smith); (9) The State of Education and Employment of People With Visual Impairment in Malaysia (Ismail Hussein Amzat and Chen Ann Li); (10) Multiliteracies Professional Development Practice: Design and Evaluation of an Online Professional Development Program to Support Inclusive Teaching (Stefania Savva); (11) The Aotearoa New Zealand Curriculum Te Whariki as a Basis for Developing Dispositions of Inclusion: Early Childhood Student Teachers Partnering With Families as Part of Their Pedagogical Practice (Michael Gaffney and Kate McAnelly); (12) Burmese Refugee Students in U.S. Schools: What Educators Should Know (M. Gail Hickey); (13) Disability Awareness in Teacher Education in Singapore (Levan Lim and Thana Thaver); (14) Assessment and Culturally Relevant Inclusive Education: The Case of Tanzania (Angi Stone-MacDonald and Japhari Robert Shehaghilo); (15) Divergent Agendas Within the Danish School Policy and the Dilemmas This Creates for Teachers Working With Inclusive Education (Lotte Hedegaard-Soerensen and Bjørn Frithiof Hamre); and (16) Examining Teachers' Professional Development for Promoting Inclusive Education in Displacement (Gwadabe Kurawa).

This publication is the outcome of the international conference organized by UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), in collaboration with the Centre for Validation of Prior Learning at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands, and in partnership with the French National Commission for UNESCO that was held in Hamburg in March 2010 with participants (experts and officials) from governmental organisations from more than twenty UNESCO Member States in all regions of the world. The reports contained in this book demonstrate the many ways that recognition, validation, and accreditation of prior learning can help to make lifelong learning for all a reality. The concept of lifelong learning has become a vital component in developing and utilizing human potential and capabilities. Lifelong learning covers the full range of learning opportunities, from early childhood through school to higher and further education. Qualification systems across the globe are generally well equipped to deal with learning acquired in institutional settings. One of the greatest challenges, however, is how to recognize learning that occurs outside the formal education sector. In this book, the recognition, validation, and accreditation (RVA) of learning in formal, non-formal, and informal settings is examined within a variety of national and regional contexts. In reviewing the implementation of RVA, this book focuses on five key factors: (1) national reference points for RVA; (2) policy and legislation; (3) the contribution of recognition to social inclusion; (4) stakeholder involvement; and (5) features of recognition processes. Following a foreword by Arne Carlsen, the book contains the following chapters, which are divided into 23 country-specific reports: (1) Burkina Faso: A New Paradigm for Skills Development (Boubakar Savadogo and Richard Walther); (2) Gambia: GSQF and Recognition of Non-Formal and Informal Learning (Saffiatou Savage-Sidibeh); (3) Ghana: Integrating Non-Formal and Informal Learning into the New TVET Qualifications Framework (Daniel Baffour-Awuah); (4) Mauritius: The Mauritian Model of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) (Kaylash Allgoo); (5) Namibia: Challenges of Implementing the RPL Policy (Heroldt V. Murangi); (6) South Africa: Contextual and Institutional Arrangements for Lifelong Learning (Joseph Samuels) (with input from SAQA's research directorate); (7) Jordan: Non-Formal Education Pathways (Jawad Al-Gousous); (8) Syria: Adult Education and Recognition Practices (Abed Al Fattah Al Obeyd); (9) Afghanistan: National Qualifications Framework Assisting Citizens Excluded from Education (Abdul Rahim Nasry); (10) Bhutan: Non-Formal Education Programmes (Ugyen Tshomo); (11) India: The NVQF and Skills Recognition (Ram Lakhan Singh); (12) Republic of Korea: The Academic Credit Bank and the Lifelong Learning Account System (Eun Soon Baik); (13) Malaysia: The Malaysian Qualifications Framework and the Recognition of Prior Learning (Vikneswaran Gobaloo and Zita Mohd Fahmi); (14) New Zealand: The NZQF and Support for Lifelong Learning (Avril Keller); (15) The Czech Republic: The Qualifications System and the National Lifelong Learning Strategy (Jakub Starek); (16) Denmark: The Linkage between RVA-NQF and Lifelong Learning (Benedikte Maul Andersen and Kirsten Aagaard); (17) Finland: An Outline of the NQF Development and the Recognition of Prior Learning (Carita Blomqvist and Saara Louko); (18) France: The Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE) (Marie-Odile Paulet); (19) The Netherlands: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approaches (Ruud Duvekot); (20) Norway: Linking Validation of Prior Learning to the Formal System (Hanne Christensen); (21) Portugal: Formalising Non-Formal and Informal Learning (Maria do Carmo Gomes); (22) Mexico: The National System of Competence Standards (NSCS) and Recognition (Sergio G. Garcia-Bulle); and (23) Trinidad and Tobago: Institution-Based Recognition of Prior Learning (Lalita Ramlal-Chirkoot). Contains a list of acronyms and an index. Individual chapters contain tables, figures, and references.

"Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems in the 35 OECD and a number of partner countries. With more than 100 charts and tables, Education at a Glance 2018 imparts key information on the output of educational institutions, the impact of learning across countries, and worldwide access, participation and progression in education. It also investigates the financial resources invested in education, as well as teachers, the learning environment and the organisation of schools. The 2018 edition presents a new focus on equity in education, investigating how progress through education and the associated learning and labour market outcomes are impacted by dimensions such as gender, the educational attainment of parents, immigrant background, and regional location. The publication introduces a chapter dedicated to Target 4.5 of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on equity in education, providing an assessment of where OECD and partner countries stand in providing equal access to quality education at all levels. Finally, new indicators are introduced on equity in entry to and graduation from tertiary education, and the levels of decision-making in education systems. New data are also available on the statutory and actual salaries of school heads, as well as trend data on expenditure on early childhood education and care and the enrolment of children in all registered early childhood education and care settings. More data are available on the OECD educational database. [For "Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators," see ED580867.]

'Alternative education' encompasses a diversity of schooling types and organizations. "International Perspectives on Alternative Education" explores alternative forms of schooling from the position of academics, policy workers, and those working and studying in such schools across the world. The first-hand accounts by those working and leading in alternative schools, and the analyses by those working at the policy level, bring alive their dilemmas and challenges. Complementing these are the academic contributions, which examine over-arching questions about social justice and the meanings of achievement, success, choice, and purpose across education. The issue of 'alternative education' and why it is relevant in today's educational landscape is an international one, and the book draws on contributions from Australia, Indonesia, Korea, Denmark, England, Germany, Scotland, and the United States. The book will be of interest to all educators, teachers, academics, students, policy workers and others concerned about issues of social justice and education. This book is divided into three parts. Part 1, Approaches to alternative education, contains the following chapters: (1) Alternative schools in the United States: Understanding the landscape (Gavin Tierney); (2) Alternative education in the South Korean policy context (Chulkyung Yoon and Jungwon Kim); (3) Alternative provision in England: Problematizing quality and vulnerability (Jodie Pennacchia and Pat Thomson); (4) Alternative schooling in Australia: Policy and practice (Martin Mills and Glenda McGregor); (5) Alternative schooling for disadvantaged young people in Indonesia (Ila Rosmilawati, Carol Reid, and David Wright); and (6) Free school systems in Denmark (Lars Erik Storgaard and Maren Skotte). Part 2, Alternative education in international context, contains the following chapters: (7) Flexi-learning in Australia: The Youth+ approach (Dale Murray); (8) Leadership in flexi-schools: Issues of race and racism in Australia (Marnee Shay); (9) Haedoji School: Supporting refugees in South Korea (Sujin Yoon and Myungsook Cho); (10) Making the difference in a primary SEBN Scottish school (Leanne Hepburn); (11) Making the difference in a Scottish SEBN secondary school (Terri Dwyer); (12) Waldorf education in Germany (Wulf Saggau); (13) Holistic Community College in Australia (Richard Waters); and (14) Den fri Hestehaveskole in Denmark (Annegrete Zobbe, Trine Martens, Rikke Rasmussen, Niels Nielsen, Thilde Graulund, and Vibeke Helms). Part 3, Alternative education and the mainstream, contains the following chapters: (15) Alternative education in Germany: Influencing the mainstream? (Anne Sliwka and Britta Klopsch); and (16) What can a socially just approach to education learn from alternative schools? (Martin Mills and Gillean McCluskey). Contains an index.

The first years of life lay the foundations for a child's future development and learning. Many countries have increased their financial support for provision of early childhood education and care (ECEC) over the past years. More recently, the focus of debate has been shifting from expanding access to affordable ECEC to enhancing its quality. A growing body of research suggests that the magnitude of the benefits for children will depend on the level of quality of early childhood services, with especially strong evidence in the case of disadvantaged children. In light of budgetary constraints, policy makers require the latest knowledge base of the quality dimensions that are most important for ensuring children's development and early learning. However, current research is often narrow in focus or limited to programme-level or national-level conclusions. This book expands the knowledge base on this topic. It draws lessons from a cross-national literature review and meta-analysis of the relationship between early childhood education and care structure (e.g. child-staff ratios, staff training and qualifications), process quality (i.e. the quality of staff-child interactions and developmental activities), and links to child development and learning. This report concludes with key insights, as well as avenues for further research. [This work was written with contributions from Victoria Liberatore, Arno Engel, and Miho Taguma, and was produced with the financial support of the Jacobs Foundation Switzerland. Individual chapters contain references.]

This book examines governance reforms in higher education in six European countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, and Portugal. It focuses in particular on the governance of the systems and institutions in these countries. The book shows that each of the national reform processes has been characterised by its own specific pathways embedded in the country's specific socio-economic contexts and cultures, but also has a number of features in common with the other countries and processes. The first chapter of the book presents a conceptual framework to analyse the reform processes as an 'implementation game' played by several actors with diverse interests. The second chapter describes the national reform processes of the six selected countries, giving a voice to the individual university rectors and officials who played an important role during the reform processes. Their stories constitute a vivid narrative of the government drivers of reform and of the rationales of the institutions as main partners in the reform processes. These narratives are analysed, complemented by, and contrasted with a review of the literature on the subject in the third chapter. The final chapter consist of concluding remarks and lessons learned. [Individual chapters are indexed in ERIC.]

This Handbook provides a wide-ranging frame of reference for researching adult and lifelong education and learning. With contributions from scores of established and newer scholars from six continents, the volume covers a diverse range of geopolitical and social territories across the world. Drawing on the multiple heritages that underpin research on education and learning in adulthood, this Handbook addresses the inner tensions between adult education, adult learning, lifelong education, and lifelong learning, by using current research and theorizations from disciplinary backgrounds, including philosophy, psychology, biology and neuroscience, anthropology, sociology, history, political science, and economics. It provides an explicit discussion of the differences and tensions between adult and lifelong education and learning, and locates these in different policy and historical contexts, theories and practices. It explores a variety of discipline-based theoretical perspectives, and highlights how these have influenced, and been influenced by, research in the education and learning of adults. The Handbook also explores the inevitable frictions and dilemmas these present, and carefully examines the role of the international dimension in researching education and learning in formal, non-formal and informal contexts, beyond traditional schooling. This state-of-the-art, comprehensive Handbook is the first of its kind to explore adult education, lifelong education and lifelong learning fully as distinct activities on an international scale. It will be an indispensable reference resource for students of education at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and for academic researchers, professionals and policy-makers concerned with adult and community education, further and vocational education, or work-based training and human resource development.

The IFLA/FAIFE World Report Series is unique. It is the only source based on a systematic data collection process that provides an overview of how libraries around the world are tackling barriers to freedom of access to information and freedom of expression. This year's edition includes 84 country reports which detail the extent of Internet access in libraries worldwide and address three specific areas of concern: Anti-terror legislation; freedom of information laws; and the social responsibilities of libraries such as raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and increasing women's access to information. This publication contains the following sections: (1) Acknowledgments (Susanne Seidelin & Stuart Hamilton); (2) Authors; (3) Preface (Kay Raseroka); (4) Introduction (Susanne Seidelin & Stuart Hamilton); (5) Libraries, Liberty and the USA PATRIOT ACT (Marc Lampson); (6) Freedom of Information Legislation, Libraries, and the Global Flow of Information (Barbara Jones); (7) IFLA and Social Responsibility: A Core Value of Librarianship (Al Kagan); (8) Methodology (Stuart Hamilton & Susanne Seidelin); (9) Country Reports (Stuart Hamilton & Susanne Seidelin); and (10) Analysis and conclusions (Stuart Hamilton & Susanne Seidelin). Seven appendices are included: (1) IFLA/FAIFE World Report 2005 Questionnaire; (2) The IFLA/FAIFE World Report Series; (3) National Security Legislation; (4) Follow-up of the work of the Social Responsibilities Discussion Group; (5) Women's Information Needs; (6) The IFLA Internet Manifesto; and (7) The Glasgow Declaration on Libraries, Information Services and Intellectual Freedom. Individual sections contain notes. [Funding for this report was provided by the German Library Umbrella (BID).]

This report presents innovative vocational training (VT) initiatives to improve integration of low-skilled workers into lifelong learning and the labor market. Chapter 1 describes study structure and methodology. Chapter 2 addresses the theoretical basis for observing innovations. It analyzes the definition and significance of innovation in system theory and VT; examines the practical definition of innovation and explains differences between good practice and best practice innovation; presents the innovation typology and its significance as an instrument of observation for identifying and evaluating innovations; and introduces the European Commission's definition of lifelong learning and assessment of its relevance for analyzing innovations for integrating the low-skilled. Chapter 3 analyzes innovative case studies with practical relevance for integrating low-skilled workers into lifelong learning and the labor market in these six European countries: Spain, Greece, Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein. Case analysis is divided into three thematic areas: program/project development and its objectives; innovative elements of the project/program; and the initiative's implementation and transfer potential. Chapter 4 summarizes the most important innovations identified and analyzes to what extent and under which circumstances transfer of these innovative practices to other EU states and candidates would be possible. (Contains 72 references) (YLB)

Essays on second-language (L2) listening comprehension include: "On Second Language Comprehension and Acquisition: Interactional and Psycholinguistic Perspectives" (Teresa Cadierno), a general theoretical overview of these processes; "Listening to Lectures" (Anne Jensen), a discussion of some characteristics of lectures and description of a study of linguistic modifications in L2 French lectures addressed to both native speakers of French and first- and second-year university students of French; "A Conversation Analytic View on Listening Comprehension: Implications for the Classroom" (Catherine E. Brouwer), which examines the ways conversation analysis, a methodology for studying talk-interaction, can contribute both to understanding of the interactional aspects of listening in collaborative situations and to listening pedagogy; and "Developing Listening Tasks for Language Learning" (Michael Rost), presenting a pedagogical framework for listening instruction that includes both a set of principles for listening task design and strategy training and outlines five types of listening tasks focusing on specific listening strategies. (MSE)

Vocational education in Denmark began with organized apprentice training in the early 1400s. In 1875, the government and municipalities began providing substantial grants to establish technical and commercial schools. Development of apprenticeship training continued through the 1950s. Since 1977, Denmark has had two parallel systems of vocational training--apprenticeship training schemes and vocational education and training (VET) programs. The 1989 Vocational Training Act established a general framework for the training field that had previously consisted of apprenticeship, VET, and basic technical training programs. Adult vocational training was unknown in Denmark until 1985. The following are among the key problem areas in VET that Denmark's political system is currently addressing: (1) VET's failure to attract enough young people; (2) better provision for both academically weak and strong trainees; (3) transformation of adult and continuing training so that education becomes a natural and recurrent part of working life; (4) provision of greater incentives for adult participation in continuing and further training; and (5) internationalization of VET to respond to the increasing internationalization of business and industry. The following items are appended: lists of abbreviations and acronyms, important institutions/organizations, and 61 print and online sources; definitions of key terms; and overviews of recent initiatives. (Contains 42 tables.) (MN)

This four-part publication contains 19 papers on educational practices and promises for post-16 education in European countries. Part I, the introduction, contains these three papers: "Sharpening Post-16 Education Strategies: Building on the Results of the Previous Projects" (Johanna Lasonen); "'Parity of Esteem' and 'Integrated Learning'--Reflections on the Work of the Two Research Partnerships" (Pekka Kamarainen); and "European Dimension of Surveys and Analyses of Vocational Education and Training; Brief Remarks on Action Research and Evaluation Research from the Perspective of the European Dimension" (Gerald Heidegger). Part II, New Partners' Country Reports: National Reforms in Upper Secondary Education, contains these six country reports: "National Report on Belgium" (Donatienne Colson and Xavier Roegiers); "Reforms in Upper Secondary Education in Denmark" (Soren Nielsen and Steffen Svendsen); "Estonian Educational System: An Overview and the Estonian Approach to Upper Secondary Education" (Hanno Isok); "Reforms in Upper Secondary Education in Greece" (Nikitas Patiniotis and Catherine Spiliopoulou); "Interim Report of the SPES-NET [Sharpening Post-16 Education Strategies by Horizontal and Vertical Networking] Project from Hungary" (Csaba Fejos); and "Reforms in Post-16 Education in Spain and Parity of Esteem in Upper Secondary Education" (Fernando Marhuenda). The following nine papers make up Part III, Old Partners' Contribution to the Project: "'Eastern Reforms' and Their Impact on 'Western Approaches'" (Stefan Humpl and Jorg Markowitsch); "Comments on the Spanish Reforms and Lessons from Them for the Development of Upper Secondary Education in Europe" (Michael Young); "Comments on 'Reforms in Upper Secondary Education in Denmark--A Country Report'" (Kjell Andersen); "On-the-Job Training--A New Development Project in Finnish Vocational Education" (Ulla Numminen); "Links between Educational Establishments and Business Enterprises in Norway" (Kjell Andersen); "Overview of College-Enterprise Links" (Stuart Niven, Gordon Paterson); "SPES-NET Austria: Preliminary Plan" (Stefan Humpl and Jorg Markowitsch); "SPES-NET Finland: Dissemination Plan" (Ulla Numminen); and "Plan for a National Network in France" (Anne Lazar). Part IV, the conclusion, is the following paper: "Reflections on Disseminating Strategies for Reforming Post-16 Strategies" (Marja-Leena Stenstrom). Three appendixes include a list of contributors, contact information, and locations of partner institutions. (KC)

The inclusion of all children in the educational system still poses challenges, and psychologists have long been researching and facilitating effective practice with children who don't adjust readily to school. This book collates the findings and practice of psychologists working in schools and educational settings in 13 European states, and will be essential reading for school psychologists, teachers and school leaders. The authors present enlightening first-hand and up-to-date accounts of the debates, tensions and successes that concern this four-decade-long international movement to keep children in education. Each chapter opens with a table of key facts relating to inclusion in that country, to enable comparison. All are by leading practitioners, who represent their countries in the European Federation of Psychological Associations (EFPA) through the Standing Committee of Psychologists in Education. Following an introduction by Christopher Arnold, this book contains the following chapters: (1) Austria (Luise Hollerer and Elfriede Amtmann); (2) Czech Republic (Bohumíra Lazarová); (3) Denmark (Poul Skaarup Jensen); (4) France (Daniel Mellier and Francine Corman); (5) Germany (Klaus Seifried); (6) Ireland (Jacqueline Horan); (7) Italy (Paola Perucchini and Arianna Bello); (8) Lithuania (Ala Petrulyte); (9) The Netherlands (Margreet Versteeg); (10) Portugal (Sara Bahia); (11) Slovakia (Eva Gajdošová, Veronika Bisaki and Silvia Sodomová); (12) Sweden (Malin Öhman and Elinor Schad); and (13) United Kingdom (Dave Traxson). An index is included.

This report on the funding of school education constitutes the first in a series of thematic comparative reports bringing together findings from the OECD School Resources Review. School systems have limited financial resources with which to pursue their objectives and the design of school funding policies plays a key role in ensuring that resources are directed to where they can make the most difference. As OECD school systems have become more complex and characterised by multi-level governance, a growing set of actors are increasingly involved in financial decision-making. This requires designing funding allocation models that are aligned to a school system's governance structures, linking budget planning procedures at different levels to shared educational goals and evaluating the use of school funding to hold decision makers accountable and ensure that resources are used effectively and equitably. The following Annexes are included: (1) Country profiles; (2) Glossary; (3) Notes on country profiles; and (4) How the School Resources Review was conducted.

Authored by individuals from five Nordic countries, this book focuses on questions about the child's right to live in and learn about an ecologically sustainable world. The first five chapters are theoretical in character, while the final six chapters are derived from work done by early childhood teachers together with children. The goal of the book is to contribute to teacher's knowledge base and also to give some inspiration for new approaches in everyday work with children. Following a brief preface, 11 individual essays are presented: (1) "Wondering--Understanding--Change" (Stefan Edman); (2) "Rio, Iceland and the Child--Environmental Issues and Education in Iceland" (Thor Jakobsson); (3) "Can Children Learning To Protect the Natural Environment, Profit from the Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples?" (Per-Olav Tiller); (4) "Environmental Co-Operation between Children, Adults and Authorities" (Kaija Kess); (5) "This Is, After All, The Water Planet!" (Anne Lea and Inger Hilmo); (6) "Water--Environmental Education for Preschool Children" (Hrafnhildur Sigurdardottir); (7) "The Best Way for the Child To Learn Is by Doing" (Paivi Romppainen); (8) "Learning about Different Aspects of the World Around Us in a Theme of Nature" (Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson and Ann-Charlotte Mardsjo); (9) "Making Children Aware of the Wonders of Nature" (Liselotte Johansson); (10) "You Have To Act To Make Changes" (Erik Thalling); and (11) "Children and Fire" (Karen Vilien). (SD)

This document contains papers from an international project in which models of financing the continuing vocational training (CVT) in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Norway were identified and examined. The following are among the papers included: "Important Results of the LEONARDO-Project (contributions by all project-partners)"; "Structure and Development of the Project" (D. Moraal); "Training Leave as a Precondition for an Integrated Labour Market and Qualification Policy" (D. Moraal); "The Role of the Social Partners and the State Authorities in Financing the Continuing Vocational Training Measures for the Employed and Unemployed" (U. Grunewald); "The Experiences of a Staff Member of the 'Centre for Vocational Training and Promotion of Economic Performance' with Three Workshops, Where Questions of Financing the Continuing Vocational Training Were Discussed" (T. Hintz); "The Experiences of the Representatives of the 'Development Agency Agriculture and Forestry' with Two Workshops, Where Questions of Financing the Continuing Vocational Training Were Discussed" (T. Hentschel, B. Riemer); "Job-Rotation--A New Instrument for the Employment and Qualification Policies in Germany" (B. Uhrig); "Reflections and Open Questions--Inspired by the Danish Experiences with the Financing of the Continuing Vocational Training for Employed and Unemployed" (J.H. Soerensen); "Historical Review of a Case, Which Used Job-Rotation in the Enterprise-'Fibertex'" (J.H. Soerensen); "Proposal for a Reform of the General and Continuing Vocational Training of Adults in Norway" (I. Eidskrem); "Elements of the Norwegian Labour Market Politics" (S. Festoe); "Conclusions--Considerations and Points for the Further Discussion" (B. Hovels, G. Kraayvanger); "Experiences of a Representative of the Dutch OVP-Fund, with Three Workshops, Where Questions of Financing the Continuing Vocational Training Were Discussed" (T. Seip); "Experiences of a Representative of the Dutch OOM-Fund with Three Workshops, Where Questions of Financing the Continuing Vocational Training Were Discussed" (P. Den Hollander); "Description of the National Financing System of CVT and FTU in Germany" (U. Grunewald, D. Moraal); "The Center for Vocational Training and Promotion of Economic Performance Simmerath" (U. Grunewald, T. Hintz); "Financing Model of the Development Agency for Agriculture and Forestry (FLF)/Qualification Fund for Agriculture and Forestry (QLF)" (T. Hentschel); "Description of the National Financing System of CVT and FTU in Denmark" (K. Olesen); "Financing Models of CVT and FTU in Denmark" (K. Olesen); "Description of the National Financing System of CVT and FTU in Norway" (I. Eidskrem); "National Financing System of CVT and FTU in the Netherlands" (B. Hovels, G. Kraayvanger); and "Financing Models of CVT and FTU in the Netherlands" (W. Boonstra, B. Hovels, G. Kraayvanger). (Forty tables/figures are included.) (MN)

The contributors to this volume have collaborated to present their work on introducing competences in intercultural communication and citizenship into foreign language education. The book examines how learners and teachers think about citizenship and interculturality, and shows how teachers and researchers from primary to university education can work together across continents to develop new curricula and pedagogy. This involves the creation of a new theory of intercultural citizenship and a procedure for implementation. The book is written by teacher researchers who aim to help other teachers, and concludes with reflections on the lessons they have learnt which will help others to implement these ideas in their own practice. The book is essential reading for foreign language educators and researchers, students in pre-service teacher training, and teachers in in-service training. This book is is comprised of three sections. Section 1, The Baseline: Learners' and Teachers' Perceptions of Intercultural Citizenship, contains the following chapters: (1) Comparing Students' Perceptions of Global Citizenship in Hungary and the USA (Irina Golubeva, Manuela Wagner, and Mary E. Yakimowski); (2) Exploring Perceptions of Intercultural Citizenship among English Learners in Chinese Universities (Han Hui, Song Li, Jing Hongtao, and Zhao Yuqin); and (3) Intercultural Encounters in Teacher Education--Collaboration Towards Intercultural Citizenship (Ulla Lundgren and teacher students). Section 2, Teachers Cooperating, includes the following chapters: (4) Beyond Language Barriers: Approaches to Developing Citizenship for Lower-Level Language Classes (Etsuko Yamada and Jessie Hsieh); and (5) Incorporating Environmental Action into Intercultural Dialogue: Personal and Environmental Transformation and the Development of Intercultural Communicative Competence (Stephanie Ann Houghton and Mei Lan Huang). Section 3, Learners Cooperating, includes the following chapters: (6) Green Kidz: Young Learners Engage in Intercultural Environmental Citizenship in an English Language Classroom in Argentina and Denmark (Melina Porto, Petra Daryai-Hansen, María Emilia Arcuri, and Kira Schifler); (7) Understanding Intercultural Citizenship in Korea and the USA (Catherine Peck and Manuela Wagner); (8) Mural Art and Graffiti: Developing Intercultural Citizenship in Higher Education Classes in English as a Foreign Language in Argentina and Italy (Melina Porto); (9) Language and Intercultural Citizenship Education for a Culture of Peace: The Malvinas/Falklands Project (Melina Porto and Leticia Yulita); and (10) Human Rights Education in Language Teaching (Leticia Yulita and Melina Porto). The book concludes with Reflections: Learning from the Challenges and Seeking Ways Forward (Michael Byram, Irina Golubeva, Han Hui, and Manuela Wagner).

This collection of lectures, which is the viewpoint that considers writing not only as a thinking tool but also a communication tool, and thus, a tool of interaction. addresses the interactive view of writing. Also included in the collection are two articles by Danish and Turkish writing researchers on writing in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Following an introduction by the editor, papers are entitled: (1) "A Discourse Analysis of Narrative Essays Written in English by Danish Students" (Dorte Albrechtsen); (2) "Should We Always Ask Students to Redraft Their Writing?" (Tim Caudery); (3) "Composing in First and Second Languages: Possible Effects of EFL Writing Instruction" (Ayse Akyel and Sibel Kamisli); (4) "Collaborative Writing: Online and Face to Face" (Stephen Doheny-Farina); (5) "Text and Dynamics: Observations on Text Production at a Technical Workplace" (Karl-Heinz Pogner); and (6) "Pretend Play and Learning to Write" (Helga Andresen). (CR)

Four articles on language, culture, and interlanguage are included in this volume. The first by Karen Risager, "Sprog, kultur, og internationalisering" ("Language, Culture, and Internationalization") takes issue with the very broad perception that foreign language and culture cannot be separated in instruction. The second article, "Kulturforstaelse som eksamenkrav--dansk som et andetsprog for voksne" ("Cultural Awareness as an Exam Requirement--Danish as a Second Language for Adults"), by Anette Hagel-Sorensen and Inger Jacobsen, is drawn from observations at Studieskolen in Copenhagen, where the purpose of instruction is to prepare second language learners of Danish for a language test they must take to participate in further education. "Dansk kultur formidlet gennem Test 1 og Test 2--en kritisk analyse af den skriftilige eksamen i dansk for voksne indvandrere" (Danish Culture Communicated Through Test 1 and Test 2--A Critical Analysis of the Written Exam in Danish for Adult Immigrants), by Karen-Margrete Frederiksen, examines the cultural aspects of two specific Danish tests (Test 1 and Test 2) for immigrant adults. The last article, "Interlanguage Pragmatics," by Gabriele Kasper, focuses on the field of interlanguage pragmatics, reviewing research, discussing problems in establishing pragmatic norms for language teaching and research, and discussing studies examining the effect of instruction on the development of pragmatic competence. (VWL)

The papers included in this issue are from a conference on language policy. The papers are: "Why Promote European Multilingualism? French Experience" (Claude Truchot); "German Attitudes to European Language Policy" (Ulrich Ammon); "Minority Language Rights in Contemporary Europe" (Tove Skutnabb-Kangas); "Teacher Identities in Britain and Denmark in the Europeanisation Process" (Karen Risager); "Sub-Cultural Identities" English-Danish Grassroots Bilingualism" (Bent Preisler); "Danish Scholars and Languages of Scientific Communication" (Robert Phillipson, Kangas); "EU and Danish Support for Linguistic Engineering and Computerised Translation in a 'Small' European Language: Results and Implications for the Relationship between Danish and More Widely Used Languages" (Bente Maegaard);"EU-Supported Studies of Danish Perceptions of the Need for Language Policies in the Business Community" (Annelise Grinsted). Some points from the concluding discussion session are reported by Bente Bakmand, Phillipson, and Skutnabb-Kangas. Excerpts from a White Paper on education and training by the Commission of the European Communities is appended. (MSE)

This booklet reports the findings of a study that focused on the well-being and lifestyle of 479 families of children (ages 2-17) with Down syndrome (DS) in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. A comparative study of families of typical children in the Nordic countries was also done. The results of the study indicate that bringing up a child with Down syndrome is usually well managed in the Nordic countries. There was little parental discord that resulted in separations and the families have a good socioeconomic standard. The vast majority of the mothers were relatively satisfied with their lifestyles and maintained an optimistic view of their children's futures, this being particularly true for rural mothers. Usually, the mother provided the extra support system for the child's daily activities though adolescence, because the child with disabilities develops the self-regulative capacities necessary for autonomous activity more slowly than a typical child. The mothers' opportunities for alternative activities were fewer than those of mothers of typical children and do not increase at the same rate as the children attain adolescence. While the vast majority of mothers were relatively satisfied with their life-situation, this satisfaction decreased as their child entered adolescence. (Contains 66 references.) (CR)

Alcohol is the most widely used drug in the world and its use in the workplace can have serious consequences on safety, productivity, working relationships, and absenteeism. Some of the effects of alcohol consumption on the workplace, along with the types of responses that companies can make, are covered in this review. The text opens with a historical overview of the subject, tracing the development of factories, management styles, and alcohol policies. Effects of alcohol use at work, such as accidents, are then explored, followed by a discussion of the economics of alcohol use. Included in the latter section are estimates of the cost of alcohol use. Some of the factors, such as worksite-specific conditions, related to alcohol consumption in the workplace are covered, followed by workplace alcohol policies. The advent of the testing and screening of workers is then detailed, along with the trade unions' response and some of the legal aspects engendered by testing. Procedural and security standards, test interpretations, test credibility, test program outcomes, and the prevalence of testing in industry are described. The book concludes with an overview of alcohol policies and a discussion of industry's response to alcohol. (RJM)

This book contains the following papers about considerations in developing joint European quality norms for vocational guidance: "Joint Quality Norms in Guidance"; "Careers Guidance in the Information Society" (Frans Meijers); "The Changing Nature of Guidance" (J. Chamberlain); "Quality with Policy: Beyond Calimero?" (Saskia den Broeder); "Ethical Guidelines for Guidance Counsellors. Discussion Paper Draft Version" (Danish National Council for Vocational and Educational Guidance); "Ethics in Careers Guidance" (Frans Meijers); "Internationalisation: Economy and Ecology" (Peter Plant); "Deregulation and Quality" (Frans Meijers); "Quality and Careers Guidance in the UK" (Cliff Spracklen); "Quality Issues for Guidance Counsellors in Ireland: Perspective of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors" (Breeda Coyle); "Quality Management in Vocational Guidance" (Mariet Herle); "ISO [International Standards Organization] 9000 in Vocational Guidance" (Soren Borch); "Quality Improvement and Quality Assurance in Knowledge Intensive Service Organisations" (Eric Mooijman, Ronald Stevens); "Quality Management and ISO Standards in the PMS Centres for Community Education in Flanders" (Anita Faucompret); "Quality Management in a Danish Technical College" (Lisbeth Hojdal); "The Employment Office and ISO Certification" (Frank Witkamp); "Assessing Course Information Material" (Dutch National Careers Guidance Information Centre); "Complaints about Course Information Material"; "A Case Study of Course Information Material--with Transnational Comparison" (John McCarthy); "Quality Norms for Written Information in Denmark" (Ole Dibbern Andersen); "Summary of Contribution to the Enigma Expert Meeting on Quality in Information" (Anne van der Meiden); and "The Enigma [ENhancing the quality of Information and Guidance MAterial] Group." (MN)