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This study, based on Cohorts 9 and 10 of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study (YCS), addresses a number of questions, including: (1) How many students work part-time in Years 12 and 13, and how many hours do they spend in jobs and on their studies? (2) What factors increase the probability of students taking part-time jobs? (3) What kinds of jobs do they do, and how much do they earn? and (4) What impact does part-time employment have on examination results? The extent of part-time employment amongst young people in full time education, both at age 16/17 and age 17/18, is described. Patterns of part-time employment amongst students in different types of courses, as well as the factors that increased theprobability of part-time employment from perspectives of gender, Year 11 results, ethnicity, home background and region, are looked at and a statistical model is fitted to disentangle the impact of these variables. The labour market for students aged 16/17 is analysed, providing information on occupational and industrial structure and wage levels and comparing the student labour market with that of 16/17 year olds who were not in full-time education. Further statistical models that explore the impact of part-time employment on examination results and/or vocational qualifications in Years 12 and 13 are presented. The final section highlights the main findings from the analyses and discusses their relevance to educational policy. Show less

This report examines how a new and alternative approach to workforce development is being used to address skills shortages in the social care sector in the UK. The research investigates the impact of the new regulatory framework for training activity at National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) levels two and three within the sector in England. The framework consists of the Care Standards Act 2000, the related Care Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards (NMS). The report is based on case studies of care homes and considers the likelihood of meeting the NMS, the organisation and financing of training, and the perceived benefits. The research aims to evaluate the impact of the framework on training activity and to provide analysis and comment on the potential for the application of the principles of the social care sector’s statutory arrangements in other sectors. The evaluation reveals that the sector has benefited from regulatory interventions and that the new framework is changing the attitudes and behaviour of employers. There has been a positive effect on training of managers to NVQ level four, on the introduction of more formal induction training and, overall, on NVQ-based training and assessment. There are basic skills problems in the sector that require further attention. Employers are mainly paying for time spent in training, for assessment and in courses although a significant amount of government funding is being accessed. The evaluation suggests that there may be potential to replicate this regulatory approach in other sectors where there are concerns for public health, safety and welfare, where there are market failures leading to skill deficiencies, and where a significant proportion of the sector advocates such regulation. Show less

The ‘Skills for Life’ survey, carried out in the UK between June 2002 and May 2003, aimed to produce a national profile of adult literacy, numeracy, English as a second language (ESOL), and information and communications technology (ICT) skills over five broad levels of competence, and also to assess the impact that different levels of skill had on people’s lives. There were two parts to the survey; the first part collected respondents’ background details and tested literacy and numeracy skills, and the second part consisted of two ICT assessments, including a practical component. The results were assessed against the national framework of standards for literacy and numeracy, and revealed that 16% of respondents had only entry level literacy skills, and 47% had entry level numeracy skills. Other important findings concerned the relationship between low literacy and numeracy skills and socio-economic deprivation, the relative skills of men and women, the differences between age groups, and the association between good literacy and numeracy skills and education and salary level. Show less

The Modern Apprenticeship Advisory Committee was appointed by the Secretary of State for Education and Employment in March 2001 to provide advice to the Secretary and the Learning and Skills Council on a three year action plan for the development, promotion and delivery of Modern Apprenticeships in the United Kingdom (UK). The initial sections of the report provide a rationale for the development of an apprenticeship system, and an outline of the current situation after recent reforms. Recommendations are made in relation to the essential aspects of a national framework for apprenticeships, development in the content and certification of apprenticeships, the delivery of apprenticeships, and pre-employment and 'other training'. The report also provides projections of targets for the eventual place of apprenticeships within the education and training system, suggests basic entitlements to apprenticeship places, and looks at aspects of the task of promoting apprenticeships. The report concludes with a suggested timetable for the implementation of the action plan and a summary of recommendations. Annexes contain the terms of reference and committee membership, representations from various organisations, market research outcomes, participation statistics for apprenticeships by sector and gender, and the timetable for implementation. Show less

The independent 'Post-14 mathematics inquiry' was launched by the UK government on 23 July 2002 to examine the requirements for mathematical skills and understanding in the workplace by undertaking a number of case studies in seven sectors of the economy. Its terms of reference were 'to make recommendations on changes to the curriculum, qualifications and pedagogy for those aged 14 and over in schools, colleges and higher education institutions to enable those students to acquire the mathematical knowledge and skills necessary to meet the requirements of employers and of further and higher education'. The inquiry identified three key issues of major concern: (1) the shortage of specialist mathematics teachers, particularly in England and Wales; (2) the failure of the current curriculum, assessment and qualifications framework in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to meet the needs of many learners and to satisfy the requirements and expectations of employers and higher education institutions; and (3) the lack of resources, infrastructure and a sustained continuing professional development culture to support and nurture all teachers of mathematics. This document outlines the UK government's aims to generate more interest in mathematics among young people and to improve the quality of teaching and learning. It presents the government's proposals for achieving these aims and draws heavily on the analysis and recommendations of the inquiry. The proposals relate to the future of mathematics teaching and learning in England. The devolved administrations of Wales and Northern Ireland are considering the report's recommendations and developing appropriate solutions. Although, the report did not make specific recommendations for Scotland, the Scottish Executive plans to consider the inquiry's analysis.

The inquiry report is indexed at TD/TNC 81.387. Show less

The main purpose of the OECD's 'Thematic review of tertiary education' is to provide policy makers with information and analysis to assist them in formulating and implementing policies to achieve national social and economic objectives through tertiary education. Its key objectives are to: synthesise research-based evidence on the impact of tertiary education policies and disseminate this knowledge among participating countries; identify innovative and successful policy initiatives and practices; facilitate exchanges of lessons and experiences among countries; and identify future policy options. The review, which involved 24 countries (Australia, Belgium - Flemish Community, Chile, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Mexico, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom), 'examines how the organisation, management and delivery of tertiary education can help countries achieve their economic and social objectives'. As part of the review, each of the participating countries was asked to prepare a country background report. This document is the country background report for the UK. Its contents are: The national context of tertiary education in the UK; Overall description of the tertiary education system; The tertiary education system and the labour market; The regional role of tertiary education; The role of tertiary education in research and innovation; Achieving equity in and through tertiary education; Resourcing the tertiary education system; Planning, governing and regulating the system; Assuring and improving the quality of tertiary education; Internationalisation and globalisation of tertiary education; Conclusion.

Documents from this thematic review are indexed from TD/TNC 89.551 to TD/TNC 89.585. Show less

Consultation on the Green Paper '14-19: extending opportunities, raising standards' (indexed at TD/IRD 88.170) revealed strong support for reform of learning opportunities available to 14-19 year olds at school, college and in the workplace. The UK compares poorly with other countries on measures of participation and achievement. The most persistent shortcoming of the system is the weakness of vocational provision. The challenge is to create a 14-19 phase that provides a clearer and more appropriate curriculum and qualifications framework that embraces strong provision for both academic and vocational options. This next steps document builds on the proposals outlined in the Green Paper and the extensive responses to the Green Paper consultation. It sets out the case for reform and outlines the strategy to introduce more flexibility into the system. The aim is to provide greater coherence for schools, colleges and employers, and a clearer understanding of how their qualifications lead to further education or work for students. Short-term reforms relate to curriculum change, the improvement of vocational options, consistency and quality of teaching and learning, an emphasis on local innovation and partnership, raising student aspirations, and support for local delivery. A new working group will be formed to examine longer term reforms in the areas of vocational provision, assessment, and the unification of the qualifications framework.

The Annexes accompanying this report are indexed at TD/TNC 74.145. A summary of the report is indexed at TD/TNC 74.146. Show less

The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) holds its annual research conference as a means of communicating its research and information interests to the research community and to encourage engagement in key policy issues. This report provides details of the papers presented at the conference along with information about the Department’s recently commissioned work and research publications. The report begins with the keynote speech by John Healey, Minister for Adult Skills, in which he emphasised the importance of strong links between policy and research evidence in education and skills. Strategies to achieve this goal include improving accessibility of research evidence to potential users outside the research community, employing a strategic approach to investment in research, and ensuring a coherent research effort and the effective dissemination and impact of research. Charles Desforges, Director of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) teaching and learning research program, outlined the challenges ahead for educational research over the next five years. The report provides summaries of the following seminars: Education and exclusion: multi-agency responses; Childcare; School; 14-21 participation; Skills; Adult participation and basic skills; The wider benefits of learning; Early years: Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE); The teacher labour market; Returns to education; Youth issues; Workforce development; Higher education: widening participation; EPPI-Centre (the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre). The concluding plenary session summarises the contributions of a panel discussion of future directions for education and skills research. The final section of the report lists research funded by DfES in 2000 and 2001. Show less

This document reports on a research project which examined further education (FE) college mergers completed between 1996 and 2000 with the aims of: evaluating the effectiveness of FE college mergers in the short and longer term; establishing how merged FE colleges differ in substance from their pre-merger position and the degree to which this impacts on effectiveness; establishing the extent to which merged colleges serve as an effective model for the delivery of FE provision; and identifying the lessons learnt to assist in the implementation of mergers in the future. The first phase of the research involved interviews with Department for Employment and Science (DfES) and Learning and Skills Council personnel in order to gain background on college merger history and policy. The second phase of the study involved fieldwork visits at each of seventeen case study sites of FE college mergers. The findings of this review suggest that there are a number of key factors which may impact on the success or failure of a merger. These factors include: that the merger is seen as essential to the survival of one of the partners; that a realistic risk assessment has been carried out; that a business plan with measurable outcomes is in place; that there is a strong team supporting the merger, including the board, the principal and senior management; that accommodation strategies are in place; that preparatory training is made available to those who have a strategic responsibility for carrying forward the merger plans; that appropriate financial arrangements, support and guidance must be in place and that there is an experienced financial manager with adequate support systems; that the merger is particularly focused on support for the learner; that enhanced operational support systems are in place; and that a clear post-merger integration strategy is in place. Show less

A two part research project investigating the administration of 17 funds for communities was carried out with the aims of: reporting on the range of methods that exist for allocating government funding to communities; assessing the impact of the different methods of allocation in terms of who they reach and what they support; assessing the delivery of the Community Champions and the Community Development Learning Fund (CDLF) initiatives and their supporting activities; assessing the outcomes of Community Champions and CDLF funding; making recommendations for improving the operation of Community Champions and CDLF; and developing relevant outcomes for linking community activity to education, training and employment activities. This report contains the findings from the first part of the project. It covers the range of methods used for allocating government funding to communities and provides an assessment of the different allocation methods in terms of who they reach and what they support. The chapters are: Introduction; Funding for communities: who does what?; Funding for communities: what works?; Pointers for future government funding policy and programmes.

The second report from this project is indexed at TD/TNC 67.459. Show less