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The level of youth unemployment in Nigeria has always been an issue of concern for Focus Learning Support team, particularly in our interactions with foreign students studying in the UK; and also with our dedication in "Making Education Count for the Youths". This paper examines some of the difficulties experienced by young people in Nigeria when seeking employment opportunities, with a focus on employability skills as a way to overcome these barriers and form a basis for strategies to improve young people's life chances. The paper will also provide a comparison of how employability skills are implemented in schools and colleges in the United Kingdom as compared to Nigerian schools and colleges. Furthermore, this research will present the perceptions and experiences of students on a BTEC Business Vocational course in an inner cities further education college; who attended work experience during their studies. The primary question is to find out whether imbedding work experience programme on their BTEC course has had an impact on their future career choice. Collection of data was done in stages using questionnaires to capture the views of participants. The findings of research clearly confirm the benefits derived from the BTEC students who attended work experience and the link to their future career choices. The findings of this work has therefore created an avenue for the FLS team to carry out further research implementation and imbedding employability skills into the Nigerian education system to support youth employment in the country. [For the complete Volume 14, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568088.]

To examine the challenges encountered by Eastern European students within a sixth form college in the United Kingdom. This paper aims to consider the difficulties encountered by this particular ethnic group examining the impact the challenges may have on their performance, success and achievement. This paper will also highlight equality and diversity implications and examine the social mobility of this particular group. [For the complete Volume 13, Number 1 proceedings, see ED568595.]

This paper will aim to investigate into women's rights pertaining to land in Africa particularly as the case may be envisaged in the Nigerian cultural and legal system. Research has shown that many African women such as in Nigeria are left impoverished once their husbands die or they divorce in West Africa as the land automatically becomes the property of the dead husband family. The case applies also to a polygamist family where a man may be married to four women with many children and if the man dies in many cases, the first son takes over all the wealth of the father according to the native law and custom. It also applies to women born outside marriage and brought up by grandparents, when the granddad or grandmother becomes late, the women does not inherit any land from the family. This obviously has implications for the women and child education, hence may be in breach of human rights Protocol to which Nigeria is a signatory in regards to equality and right to education. The paper will seek to explore the legal framework for equality in Nigeria from the Human Right Protocol in relation to the legal rights of women involved in land disputes. It will look at the implications of this problem to the women and their children education. From the analysis of the key issues, it will aim to make suggestions and strategies to overcome the barriers that many women face in relation to unfair distribution of land or wealth in the absence of their spouse or family member. The paper will draw on relevant case-laws and their compliance to the Human Rights protocol (right to education and equality) as well as recommending strategies for the Nigerian women victims to fight for justice. [For the complete Volume 12 proceedings, see ED597979.]

This paper aims to carry out a mini case-study within an inner city sixth form college to critically examine why Afro-Caribbean males under-achieve. It will aim to investigate the reasons for under-achievement and suggest strategies for improving the retention, achievement, attainment and progression of Afro-Caribbean boys in an inner city 16-19 sixth form college. It seeks to highlight some of the current issues faced by Afro-Caribbean males and the reasons why they often fail to reach their full potential within the sixth form college under investigation. The study aims to examine a combination of factors in terms of parental support and guidance, poor motivation, low expectations, the impact of teaching and learning, socio-economic status, father figures, peerpressure, marginalisation, discriminatory practices, a comparison of grades achieved compared with other minority groups. It will also seek to explore the role of education policy on equal opportunities and whether there is a legal right for the victims undermined in education achievement. The paper also intends to discuss trends with regards to the progression of Afro-Caribbean males in relation to work-placements, apprenticeship and university offers. The paper will also examine the number of Afro-Caribbean males who are accepted at leading universities. It will touch on the exclusion and suspension of Afro-Caribbean males in the 16-19 education sector under investigation. The papers will seek to highlight strategies that may be implemented to improve the retention, achievement, attainment and the progression of Afro-Caribbean males in relation to mentoring, coaching, shadowing, effective pastoral support, teaching and learning, parental guidance, access, widening participation, a re-emphasis of the awareness of the process of social mobility, equality and diversity, opportunities for enrichment, sport and engagement. Recommendation will be made on best practice to positively support the victims of underachievement in education in an inner London City sixth Form College. [For the complete Volume 12 proceedings, see ED597979.]

Considering the rising cost of petroleum products and the widespread demand for clean and renewable energy to lower carbon dioxide pollution to meet global emissions targets in developed and developing countries. For this reason, alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, and thermal have become crucial. This energy must be cheaper, and safer, and contribute significantly to energy development. Nigeria is faced with the problem of poor access to power supply, which contributes to retarded industrial growth, insecurity, and mass unemployment. Alternative sources, such as solar energy, bio-energy, etc are capable of solving the energy crisis in Nigeria with average solar insolation of 7.0KWℎ∕m2 per day in the north and 3.5KWℎ∕m2 per day) in the south. Biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel produced from biomass are also promising alternatives. They can reduce harmful emissions and give Nigeria hope for energy security and sustainable development. This paper reviews the potential of various renewable sources for energy generation in Nigeria. Presently, Nigeria requires thermal power plants from renewable sources capable of providing 13000MW, to meet the daily energy needs in Nigeria compared to the available 4000MW which is insufficient for over two hundred (200) million Nigerians. This study identifies biofuels as a major energy innovation for car engines, gas turbines, power plants, etc. In Nigeria and throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the use of biofuels could prevent energy shortages and promote more sustainable development. Challenges to widespread biofuel adoption in developing countries include deforestation, land scarcity, and the conflict between energy production and food security. It concludes that significant spending on energy research and the right institutional and governmental frameworks are needed to overcome the difficulties in order to realize the potential of alternative energy for sustainable development [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International graduate students in engineering and science deal with cultural shock as they navigate and try to adapt to a new educational system in the United States of America (US) [1]. Many international graduate students deal with multiple challenges which some of their US national peers may not deal with [2]. For different reasons, graduate students may request to change from one research group to another [3]. Switching their research lab is complicated, often bringing many unknowns for the student. However, the experiences warranting a change and transitioning from one research group to another, often filled with trauma and stress, are peculiar for international students. With the additional challenges they have already been facing on campus, switching from one research lab to another puts more challenges on the everyday lives of international graduate students. International students, who join a new research lab and try to balance their research, course studies, and daily lives, have yet to be given a voice in the literature. We do not know the international graduate students' lived experiences in the new laboratories as they try to transition to the new lab's research work, cultural norms, and social interactions. In this phenomenological study, we describe the lived experiences of international graduate students as they pursue their academic and scholarship goals in a new research lab they switched to. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]