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Traditionally characterized by a mixed human capital and human skills and resources model, the German education and training system has come under pressure from structural changes in economy and society. The emerging "new economy" is more than the sector of information technology industries. Beyond global action and rapid exchange of information, it is characterized by a new mode of economic activities in all economic sectors and is based on knowledge as the crucial production factor, on new forms of employment and new organization of work, and on new standards of quality of products and services. The "new economy" must be linked with a knowledge-based society. Against the background of continuous change, a new set of general, personal, and social competencies as complementary to specialized and technical qualifications seems to be needed. The old problem of equal chances in education and training is raised and must be revisited in the New Economy and knowledge-based society. A modern welfare state conception has to provide both promotion of the talented and special support for the disadvantaged. Lifelong learning has become a crucial prerequisite of the knowledge-based society. Facing the knowledge-based society, education and training policies in Europe more and more follow the emerging paradigm that stresses individual responsibility for one's educational career. (YLB)

Developing a youth apprenticeship in the United States would boost productivity, improve the preparation of youths for the skill demands of a global economy, and simultaneously offer minority youth an avenue into the economic mainstream. Germany's "dual system" of youth apprenticeship could be adopted to form a national skill-building partnership between public schools and businesses in the United States that would expand the supply of skilled workers, narrow the earnings gap between college and noncollege youth, create new incentives for youths to stay in school, and offer disadvantaged youths a realistic alternative to early parenthood and crime. One vision of a youth apprenticeship system in the United States includes five steps: (1) changing school curricula to expose students in grades 8-10 to information about various occupations; (2) offering 10th graders a choice between pursuing an apprenticeship or remaining in a purely academic track; (3) creating a 3-year apprenticeship starting in grade 11; (4) giving apprentices a comprehensive test at the end of grade 12 to ensure both job and educational proficiency; and (5) spending at least 75 percent of the third year of apprenticeship on the job while spending the remainder in either a high school or a community college. (Contains 17 references.) (MN)

This document consists of a consultation paper on extending opportunities and raising standards in the 14-19 phase of England's educational system and the Learning Skills Development Agency's (LSDA's) response to the consultation paper. The consultation argues that the existing 14-19 system fails large numbers of young people and values only a limited range of achievement. A comprehensive vision for reform grounded in the following principles is proposed: (1) all young people and parents must have confidence in the system; (2) every young person must have the chance for a decent education; (3) the education system must match the needs of a knowledge economy; and (4) education with character must be promoted. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the proposed vision, and Chapter 2 explains how the beginning, middle, and end of the 14-19 phase will be marked. Chapters 3-9 discuss the following aspects of the envisioned system: curriculum content; recognizing achievement; pace and progression; advice, guidance, and support for young people; drivers for support and change; implementation; and next steps. An illustrative timetable and key facts are appended. The LSDA response paper expresses the LSDA's overall support for the vision outlined in the consultation paper and answers 49 questions regarding specific passages in that paper. (MN)

This paper examines some of the implications of testing for statistical significance. After considering methodological issues raised by two examples from the literature, the paper proceeds to look in detail at a variety of misunderstandings attached to the reporting of "significant" results. It is concluded that significance testing is of limited utility and highly misleading. Implications of abandoning the significance test are considered. (JL)

This paper contributes to the debate over how the federal government can best help state and local authorities improve student achievement by providing examples from other countries of innovations in the role of the national government. The authors believe that the degree to which foreign policy structures parallel those of the United States are significant in such a comparison: Canada, Australia, and Germany also have federal systems of government where authority over most matters of education resides ultimately in state and local rather than the national government. Although such a system has historically constrained the ability of the federal government to influence student achievement, these governments are exploring new ways to improve student outcomes. The central recommendation of this paper is that the federal government, in addition to fostering a culture of accountability, must also help create an environment that enables success. Drawing on the experience of other federal governments, the authors suggest: (1) Expanding access to high-quality early childhood education, perhaps through federally supported vouchers making children ready for schooling; (2) Creating a common system for tracking students (of any age) who transfer between states; and (3) Making it easier for districts to find the teachers and principals they need through a national job databank and pension portability. Each federal government discussed in this paper has an established system of gathering and collecting education statistics, monitoring state performance, and developing standards for accountability, capacities that were built during the most recent wave of education reforms. Ultimate success, the authors conclude, depends on a second wave of reform that will increase the federal government's role not just in setting standards, but in helping states achieve them. (Contains 2 boxes and 1 figure.)

This publication is comprised of 43 papers on the topic of promoting lifelong learning. The papers in Part 1, Overcoming False Dichotomies, are "Lifelong Learning in the North, Education for All in the South" (Torres); "Practice of Lifelong Learning in Indigenous Africa" (Omolewa); "Gender and Information Societies" (Youngs); and "Lifelong Learning for a Modern Learning Society" (Somtrakool). Part 2, Scanning Developments in the Regions, consists of these papers: "Challenges of Lifelong Learning in Africa" (Tapsoba); "Promoting Community-Based Learning Centers in Asia-Pacific" (Oyasu); "European Union (EU) Memorandum on Lifelong Learning" (Smith); "Hungarian Response to the EU Memorandum on Lifelong Learning" (Istvan); "Regional Framework for Action for Adult and Youth Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (2001-10)" (Jauregui de Gainza); and "Lifelong Learning" (Essefi). Part 3, Promoting Democratization, contains these papers: "Learning in a Global Society" (Alexander); "Citizenship and Democracy in Socrates' and Grundtvig's Europe" (Ronai); "Education for Non-Discrimination" (Millan); "Lifelong Learning and Work in Developing Countries" (Pieck); "Globalization, Lifelong Learning, and Response of the Universities" (Peng); and "Combining the World of Work with the World of Education" (Romijn). The papers in Part 5, Making Lifelong Learning Work for Women, are "Gender Equality in Basic Education" (Messina); "Women as Lifelong Learners" (Benaicha); and "Lifelong Learning for Elimination of Violence Against Women" (Kuninobu). The papers in Part 6, Learning Across Generations, are "Achieving Youth Empowerment Through Peer Education" (Wissa); and "Role of Intergenerational Programs in Promoting Lifelong Learning for All Ages" (Ohsako). The papers in Part 7, Learning Across Cultures, are "Cultural Contexts of Learning: East Meets West" (Yang); "Building Community Through Study Circles" (Oliver); "Culturally-Based Adult Education" (Smith); and "Perspective of Lifelong Learning in South Asia" (Bordia). In Part 8, Laying Foundations and Sustaining Achievements Through Literacy and Nonformal Education, are "Literacy Linked Women Development Programs" (Usha); "Lifelong Learning Policy and Practices in the Laos People's Democratic Republic" (Mithong Souvanvixay); "Distance Learning and Adult Education" (Wilson, White); "Role of Partnerships in the Promotion of Lifelong Learning" (Lin); and "Toward the Eradication of Illiteracy Among Youth and Adults in China" (Guodong). Part 9, Creating Environments Conducive to Lifelong Learning, has these papers: "Learning Cities/Region in the Framework of Lifelong Learning" (Doukas); "Adult Education and Lifelong Learning in Sweden" (Salin); "Promoting Lifelong Learning in Beijing for a Learning Society" (Shuping); and "Reorienting Teachers as Lifelong Learners" (Tiedao). (YLB)

This paper gives an overview of censorship in Germany. The paper recognizes that between the human right and constitutional law of freedom of speech, art, and press on the one side and the social life of man which must be ensured on the other side, the right of free expression can clash with human dignity. It discusses which books, films, records, etc. are totally banned in Germany, and the reasons for this occurrence, noting that the main ground for book banning is Nazi propaganda. It also states that the restrictions on the publication and distribution of "suspicious material" in every genre of popular culture demonstrate the desire and the different and often subtle forms of governmental, religious, and social censorship. The book then suggests three books which focus on the media in Germany for further information about the structure, conditions, and function of censorship. (NKA)

Despite the ready admission of historians of the subject that "education" encompasses far more than schools, families, churches, apprenticeships, and other institutions there is no reliable, general account of why schools, especially "academically" oriented ones, have become so cardinal to the U.S. way of life. This paper argues that credentialing, not education, explains the prominence of the school on the U.S. social-cultural landscape. The paper contends that, in many parts of the world, the workplace remains an unambiguous place of learning, and finds that Germany is among the most interesting, for German shops, factories, and offices do not function as education and training sites in the absence of schools, but as explicit, historically constructed alternatives to schools. Whatever the German educational system's relative merits, however, its great advantage, for the purpose of this paper, is the way its evolution and operation problematize received historiographic accounts of U.S. educational development. The paper states that German educational practice makes it clear that the U.S. propensity to identify education with schooling is not universal. The paper asks why vocational education in the U.S. context has been so ineffectual. It suggests that what counts as education in a society is less a product of where or how it is acquired than of the institutions that define and document it. Contains a table of data and a 60 references. (BT)

At its inception, Waldorf education was not to be a special, "boutique" reform. Nor was it to cater to children of a higher social standing. In fact, Waldorf broke out of the hierarchically tracked education system present in turn-of-the-century Germany. The founding father, Rudolf Steiner, called for a "Volks" pedagogy, a schooling of the people for the people that bridged separate castes that had been hardened by emerging industrialization. This paper attempts to answer why this educational reform has such staying power, but also why informed educators now associate Waldorf with a "special education for special children"-special because they were to enjoy a human or "holistic education of the body, mind, and soul." The paper provides a discussion of the movement's founding in a tobacco factory in 1919, describing its "social pedagogy" and the intimate connection made between imagination and social interaction. Good education, in Waldorf philosophy, restores the balance between thinking, willing, and feeling, thus healing the social fabric upset by too much emphasis on thinking alone. The paper argues that the secret of Waldorf's time-resistant identity can be found in its foundation as a "free" school--free from external government constraints and free for imaginative and innovative faculty interaction; the establishment of Waldorf as a faculty-run institution was sharply different from existing models of reform. The paper also touches on three liabilities of the Waldorf philosophy: first, the binding of the "free" pedagogy with time-bound preconceptions of early twentieth century Germany; second, the original German curricular canon, with its nineteenth century definitions of culture; and third--specific to the United States-the translation of "freedom from the Prussian state' into the voucher-based drive for "freedom from the community." Contains 54 references. (EV)

This paper explores the traditional European model of vocational training in light of a new focus on employability and lifelong learning that is becoming more common in Europe. It includes the following four sections: (1) an overview of some examples of vocational training systems in Europe and the proposal that they share enough to be considered a European model that includes a consensus that all young people should be given a basic vocational qualification, the involvement of all companies in vocational training, and social dialogue and a tripartite (trade unions, employer associations, government) approach to regulation of the system; (2) a description of some European trends in industries and companies that are of importance for vocational training; (3) discussion about the question of lifelong access to vocational training provisions; and (4) suggestions about the need for change in the European model of vocational training. (KC)

This paper discusses the following topics: (1) relation between nature-man-technology, (2) methodical means for the goal determination of a nature oriented technology, (3) methodical means for the solution finding of a nature oriented technology, and (4) guidelines for nature orientation as a curricular element. (JRH)

This paper examines the cultural context of day care in Germany and examines the quality of child care within the wider context of child care and education, especially with regard to values defining the roles of families with young children in society. Even parents who use child care question its advantages. Seeking child care is often an exhausting and humiliating experience for parents because of lack of spaces; it is also unpleasant for the day care centers that try to balance the composition of their groups. Parents are considered to be trouble makers if they question day care practices. Problems in day care centers often result from caretaker shortages, training deficits, lack of resources, and administrative inconsiderateness. Insufficient economic means make parents unhappy and force compromises in child care quality. Children's and adults' worlds have become increasingly separate from one another; the cultural underpinnings for a family life connected to day care are missing. Although there have been efforts to form communities within child care settings, day care centers do not conform to hypothesized ideal conditions of home rearing. Those responsible for socialization of offspring are under a great deal of stress. Public subsidies should be offered to parents so they can develop infant care patterns best fitting their personal values and philosophies. (Contains 16 references.) (KDFB)

Until the 1970s, social norms dictated that women provided care for their families and men were employed for pay. The rapid increase in paid work for women has resulted in an untenable model of work and care in which all employees are assumed to be unencumbered with family responsibilities and women who care for their families are dismissed as 'just housewives'. A review of practices in Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and Sweden (based on interviews with government officials, academics, managers, employees and representatives of unions and employers' associations) suggested new ways for work and care responsibilities to be reorganized. A new "shared work valued care" model might structure behavior by tempering employers' demands and shaping the aspirations of workers. 'Shared work' means sharing good jobs through reduced hours, flexible hours, job sharing and sharing care duties between men and women; 'valued care' encompasses flexible scheduling and making day and elder care a public-private responsibility. Policies that are needed in the United States to facilitate such as change include: (1) hours-of-work legislation; (2) adjustment-of-hours legislation; (3) equal opportunity and non-discrimination; (4) sharing of the cost of care; (5) untying of benefits from individual employers; and (6) updating of income security protections. (Contains 15 endnotes and 8 references.) (CG)

Four background papers prepared for an assembly on industry/education cooperation and a summary of discussions and recommendations which came out of the assembly are contained in this report. After Henry Halsted's introduction to the report and to the theme of the relationship of industry and education, Herbert E. Striner's paper, "The Joint Role of Industry and Education in Human Resource Development," is presented. Mr. Striner discusses current approaches to vocational competence in Germany, England, and Japan and their relevance to the United States. Next, Craig D. Musick, in a paper entitled "What Employees Need in Training and How to Promote Cooperation between the American Society for Training and Development, the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, and the American Vocational Association," suggests teaching about the free enterprise system, providing environment training, strengthening basic skills, and underscoring work ethics. In "Community Colleges and Industry: A Stronger Partnership for Human Resource Development," Don C. Garrison recalls that vocational competence was a major educational goal in 1918 and asserts that it is still a challenge today. He focuses on what education offers industry and what community colleges need from industry. The Assembly report concludes the paper. (AYC)

Young people must prepare themselves for lifelong learning and frequent job changes. Optimists predict a new world of work with many creative, interesting, satisfying jobs; pessimists believe society will finally run out of work and foresee unemployment and social downgrading for a majority of people. There are indications at present of both scenarios. What seems certain is that only highly qualified and flexible workers will be eligible for the new economy. Even the service sector, which many hoped would provide more jobs, is downsizing its workforce. The character and organization of work is changing. By as early as the end of this decade, four-fifths of all work will rely on information. Rediscovery of the human factor, the debate on new management concepts with flatter hierarchies, more openness, self-responsibility, and participation are dictated by new economic realities in which the evolution in information technology plays the key role. Networks will define the working society of the future. Electronically-linked freelance providers can work in flexible networks to produce and sell goods and services. When a commission has been completed after a day, month, or year, the network dissolves itself. Sociologists and economists are thinking about a "third sector" outside of paid labor in which honorary or civic work, barter groups, charitable services, neighborliness, and the 'grey' economy all play a part. Questions about how (or whether) civic work should be paid, who should do it, and whether people on social assistance and the jobless can be obliged to participate show that much about this new approach is still unclear. (YLB)

Our increasingly knowledge-based economy and business enterprises depend on education to produce experts who combine knowledge with depth of understanding. Current teaching methods produce students with superficial verbal and technical knowledge, but who may lack the insight of experts. To become experts, learners must have the opportunity to be active and independent. Independent learning can be fostered by an institutional environment characterized by freedom and order, not leading; by problem, not result orientation; by cooperation, not competition. Institutions can create barriers to deeper understanding through the forms of their organization, and assumptions about learning and assessment. Distance education institutions may 'expect independence' (the institution controls the aims and process of learning; teachers are results- and competition-oriented) or 'further independence' (the student is actively involved in developing his or her own program of studies; the institution provides advisors and resources to support the learner). Students who experience institutions that 'further independence' will demonstrate greater motivation, better understanding, more strongly integrated knowledge, and greater creative potential. (Both German and English language versions are provided. There are 54 references.) (YLB/CG)