This book examines questions in the intersections of narrative, teaching, communities of learning, knowledge, women teachers and teacher development. Stories constitute the heart of this book and the glue that holds the pieces together. This book explores the ways women educators understand and make sense of their lives and develop their personal practical knowledge of teaching through narrative texts and experiences in informal learning groups.

The development of generic skills (often referred to as 'soft skills') in accounting education has been a focus of discussion and debate for several decades. During this time employers and professional bodies have urged accounting educators to consider and develop curricula which provide for the development and assessment of these skills. In addition, there has been criticism of the quality of accounting graduates and their ability to operate effectively in a global economy. Embedding generic skills in the accounting curriculum has been acknowledged as an appropriate means of addressing the need to provide 'knowledge professionals' to meet the needs of a global business environment. Personal Transferable Skills in Accounting Education illustrates how generic skills are being embedded and evaluated in the accounting curriculum by academics from a range of perspectives. Each chapter provides an account of how the challenge of incorporating generic skills in the accounting curriculum within particular educational environments has been addressed. The challenges involved in generic skills development in higher education have not been limited to the accounting discipline. This book provides examples which potentially inform a wide range of discipline areas. Academics will benefit from reading the experiences of incorporating generic skills in the accounting curriculum from across the globe. This book was originally published as a themed issue of Accounting Education: an international journal.

The concept of individual responsibility has taken on a signi?cance comparable to that of 'choice' in the global rise of neo-liberalism of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The rise of neo-liberalism is most often analysed through the lenses of theory, governmentality and societal structures. There has been a tendency for an- ysis to become overly abstract with the subjective experiences of the social actors missing dimensions in the literature. This book draws on more than 20 years of international research that has focused on the subjective experiences of people as actors in changing social landscapes. These landscapes are differently positioned politically, economically and socially, in relation to the rise of neo-liberalism. Comparisons enable the differences in people's experiences to be located, explored and explained in relation to different soc- economic landscapes, thus throwing into relief the effects of neo-liberal policies where they are found. My approach is to create an extended dialogue between ideas and evidence, starting close to home, and then extending to speci?c international comparisons and to wider explorations of the central themes of the book: human agency and social responsibility. Finally, I return to social landscapes of Britain, to review the position and potential for social change in societies that exemplify what Sennett has termed 'Anglo-American regimes', in contrast to 'Rhine regimes' as exempli?ed by Germany.

In advancing the vision of adult learning articulated at the International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA V) held in Hamburg in 1997, the UNESCO Institute for Education has been conducting studies on the different areas and dimensions of 'Adult Learning and the Changing World of Work'. One question that has been central to this area is: What constitutes adult learning for those who traditionally secure their survival in the informal economy, as well as for those school leavers and dropouts who are forced to work in this sector? In answering this question, the informal sector or popular economy may be defined in various ways, but there is an increasing recognition that it is a phenomenon that has come to stay and that government policies aimed at economic and social development, including national education and training policies and programmes, should target those who work in this sector. In particular, basic education and continuing education and training are being seen as key to empowering people and as crucial to strategies for reducing poverty. Moreover, there is a growing awareness that education is a human right of fundamental siginificance to promoting decent work and humane living conditions. It is in view of such considerations that UIE and the ILO planned to conduct studies in South Asia (Nepal, Bangladesh, India) to develop an understanding of the quality provision of education and skills development in and for the informal sector.

Rethinking a Sustainable Society Alan Mayne The world has already passed the midway point for achieving by 2015 the eight Millennium Development Goals for a "more peaceful, prosperous and just world" that were set by the United Nations in the wake of its inspirational Millennium Dec- 1 laration in 2000. These goals range from combating poverty, hunger, and disease, to empowering women, and ensuring environmental sustainability. However Ban Ki-Moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, conceded in 2007 that progress to date has been mixed. During 2008 the head of the United Nations World Food P- gramme cautioned that because of the surge in world commodity prices the program had insuf?cient money to stave off global malnutrition, and the World Health Or- nization warned of a global crisis in water and sanitation. Depressing news accounts accumulate about opportunities missed to achieve a fairer world order and ecolo- calsustainability: themanipulationofelectionresultsinAfrica, humanrightsabuses in China, 4000 Americans dead and another nation torn apart by a senseless and protracted war in Iraq, and weasel words by the world's political leadership in the lead-up to negotiations for a climate change deal in 2009 that is supposed to stabilize global carbon dioxide emissions. It is clear that the parameters of the debates that drive progressive policy change urgently require repositioning and energizing. As is shown by the contributors to Rethinking work and learning, experts in the humanities and social sciences (HASS) couldhaveanimportantroletoplayinthisprocess.

Teacher Professional Learning in an Age of Compliance: Mind the Gap examines ways in which practice-based inquiry in educational settings, in a number of different countries and contexts, can transcend current ways of working and thinking such that authentic professional learning is the result.

The authors contend that education policy, under pressure from a number of quarters, is retreating into a standardized, audited, and backward-looking arena, with the advances of more progressive educational philosophy being rolled back.

In an age where practitioner inquiry and action research have often been 'hijacked' for the purposes of broad-based policy implementation, this book offers a rationale for reclaiming the critical edge so fundamental to inquiry-based professional learning. It examines the potential of inquiry-based forms of teacher professional learning to contribute to the growth of professional knowledge for and about teachers' work.

The authors intend that the book will assist in building new forms of professional knowledge that go beyond the current compliance model - engineered from less enduring materials - to inform a new model with its foundations in a strong ethical and moral framework. They also believe that this new model, if implemented, will help to reverse today's conservative educational trends and make teacher professional development a force for genuine progress once again.

They have consciously moved away from the celebratory tone of much of the academic reporting of teacher professional learning, adopting instead a genuinely critical edge. In covering a wide range of policies and practices from across the international spectrum, they have allowed themselves the freedom to engage in serious epistemological arguments about the nature of professional knowledge, as well as how it is constructed and employed.

This book is the first that provides a comprehensive overview of the way countries, education systems and institutions have responded to the call for an integration of learning for work, citizenship and sustainability at the Second International Conference on Technical and Vocational Education which was held in Seoul in 1999. Discussions on the central theme of the Seoul Conference - lifelong learning and training for all, a bridge to the future - led to the conclusion that a new paradigm of both development and Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) was needed.

This book showcases the wide range of international initiatives that have sought to put such exhortations into practice. It includes: case studies of national TVET policy reforms, reoriented curricula, sustainable campus management programs, and examples of innovative approaches to integrating learning in TVET with on-the-job training and in community service. It also focuses on the issues and challenges being faced and ways of moving forward.

Case studies feature initiatives in a wide range of world regions and countries, and include authors from: UK, Germany, Finland, Canada, USA, Australia, South Africa, China, Republic of Korea, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Work-related learning can be broadly seen to be concerned with all forms of education and training closely related to the daily work of (new) employees, and is increasingly playing a central role in the lives of individuals, groups or teams and the agenda s of organizations. However, as this area of study becomes more prominent, debates have opened about the nature of the field, as well as about its configurations and effects. For example, some authors have a broad definition of WRL and define it as learning for work, at work and through work, ranging from formal, through semi-structured to informal learning. Others prefer to use the concept of WRL mainly in connection to informal, incidental learning processes during work, leading to competent workplace learners. Formal and informal learning are distinguished from each other with respect to the level of intention (implicit/non-intentional/incidental versus deliberative/intentional/structured). Another point of discussion originates from the different theoretical backgrounds of the authors: the learning theorists versus the organizational theorists . The first group is mainly interested in the question of how learning comes about; the second group is predominantly interested in the search for factors affecting learning.

I have long admired the mythopoetic tradition in curriculum studies. That admiration followed from my experience as a high-school teacher of English in a wealthy suburb of New York City at the end of the 1960s. A "dream" job-I taught four classes of 15-20 students during a nine-period day-in a "dream" suburb (where I could afford to reside only by taking a room in a retired teacher's house), many of these often Ivy-League-bound students had everything but meaningful lives. This middle-class, Midwestern young teacher was flabbergasted. In one sense, my academic life has been devoted to understanding that searing experience. Matters of meaning seemed paramount in the curriculum field to which Paul Klohr introduced me at Ohio State. Klohr assigned me the work of curriculum theorists such as James B. Macdonald. Like Timothy Leonard (who also studied with Klohr at Ohio State) and Peter Willis, Macdonald (1995) understood that school reform was part of a broader cultural and political crisis in which meaning is but one casualty. In the mythopoetic tradition in curriculum studies, scholars labor to understand this crisis and the conditions for the reconstruction of me- ing in our time, in our schools.

With a highly accessible and lucid text this book reviews the political shift toward neo-liberal ideology and explores its tremendous impact on education. It maps out in careful detail the theoretical foundations of democratic citizenship by asking the question: What does it mean to learn and live in a democracy and what responsibilities, capacities and knowledge does a citizen need to fulfill these requirements?

Developed within a network of Canadian researchers and their community partners, this book is a collection of case studies that explore the learning that people do through community engagement. The crucial work here explores learning that is organized by the learners themselves, collectively, rather than as individuals. Reflecting the contributors political priorities, the volume covers groups that are highly marginalized in our society and moves on to examine more mainstream citizens.

This book describes the use of problem-based learning (PBL) in management education. The authors draw upon their experience in using PBL in a broad array of management education programs at the Bachelor, Master, Doctoral and Executive levels, in North American and in Asia. The book explores how PBL can make knowledge about management locally relevant, and clarifies how PBL can enable students to apply their knowledge to real problems.

Gerry Stahl Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA The theme of engaged learning with emerging technology is a timely and important one. This book proclaims the global relevance of the topic and sharpens its focus. I would like to open the book by sketching some of the historical context and dimensions of application, before the chapter authors provide the substance. Engagement with the world - To be human is to be engaged with other people in the world. Yet, there has been a dominant strain of thought, at least in the West, that directs attention primarily to the isolated individual as naked mind. From classical Greece to modern times, engagement in the daily activities of human existence has been denigrated. Plato (340 BC/1941) banished worldly engagement to a realm of shadows, removed from the bright light of ideas, and Descartes (1633/1999) even divorced our minds from our own bodies. It can be suggested that this is a particularly Western tendency, supportive of the emphasis on the individual agent in Christianity and capitalism. But the view of people as originally unengaged has spread around the globe to the point where it is now necessary everywhere to take steps to reinstate engagement through explicit efforts. Perhaps the most systematic effort to rethink the nature of human being in terms of engagement in the world was Heidegger's (1927/1996). He argued that human existence takes place through our concern with other people and things that are meaningful to us.

In Sub-Sahara Africa, the sector of informal micro-enterprises (IMEs) is already employing a large share of the labour force in both urban and rural areas. This study reviews the ways in which the owners and workers of IMEs have acquired their vocational and management skills. It reviews the contributions of all the different training providers, including public sector training institutes, private sector training providers, and training centres run by NGOs and other non-profit organizations. The study finds that informal apprenticeship training is by far the most common source of various skills - in some countries it is likely to be responsible for 80-90% of all ongoing training efforts. Informal apprenticeship training presents a number of important advantages. At the same time it has a number of limitations. The study concludes that there is a major challenge to improve the transfer of relevant skills to IME operators, both through pre-employment training and skills upgrading. In view of the scope of the challenge to provide hundreds of thousands IME owners and workers, as well as large numbers of out of school youths with relevant practical and management skills, it suggests to build upon the strengths of the existing practices of informal apprenticeship training and to remedy its weaknesses by involving professional training providers in upgrading its training organization and delivery, quality and efficiency, and final training outcomes. It reviews the results of a number of innovative interventions in different African countries that are working in this direction. Finally, the study suggests that there is an interesting potential in business-embedded training provided by private companies as part of their regular business operations.

This book examines continuity and change of identity formation processes at work under conditions of modern working processes and labor market flexibility. By bringing together perspectives from sociology, psychology, organizational management, and vocational education and training, it connects the debates of skills formation, human resources development, and careers with individual 's work commitment and professional orientations.

Around the turn of the millennium, a young woman with outstanding academic achievements in science and mathematics applied to study engineering at a Eu- pean university. She had chosen to study engineering particularly because of the opportunities she expected it would give her to make a contribution to the well- ing of others. It happened that the university engineering department to which she applied had just been involved in the design of a vehicle for a world speed record attempt. When the young woman visited the university for interview this "triumph of technology" was presented as being a quintessential example of good engine- ing. However, though it was clear to her that the vehicle was technically ing- ious, she also recognised that it was of no practical use. She concluded that she had misunderstood the nature of engineering, and still wishing to help others she changed her plans and studied medicine, at which she assuredly excelled. This young woman's change of career was undoubtedly a specific loss for en- neering. Additionally, it had a broader, tragic dimension; for her understanding of the purpose of engineering was more mature than that of the academics she - countered. Moreover, their imbalanced prioritisation of technical ingenuity over helping people is not uncommon within parts of the profession.

ThiscasestudyreportprovidesageneraldescriptionandanalysisofGhana's efforts at diversifying its secondary school curriculum, and the lessons that might be learnedfrom this experience. The report focuses on the vocationa- sation policy of the 1987 education reforms. Not muchhas been written about the impact of vocationalised secondary education inGhana with the resultthat there is very little documentation on issues pertinent to TVE at that level. D- cussions with Ministry of Education (MOE) of?cialsrevealed that investment inthe technicalinstitute and polytechnic sector is currentlyof more immediate concern than investment in vocational secondary education-an indication of perhaps growing dissatisfaction with the vocationalised secondary education policies of the 1987 reforms. Ministry of?cials feltthat a few senior secondary schoolsneededtobespeciallydesignatedassecondarytechnicalorvocational, with the rest concentrating on providing general education. Furthermore, they argued that thiswould facilitate specialfunding of specially designated TVE secondary schoolsand thus improve theiref?ciency and effectiveness. A f- quentcriticismfromministryof?cialswasthattheseniorsecondarysectorwas still too narrowly focused on university requirements, thus undermining their ability to address the practical goalsof TVE. Some of the information sought by the terms of reference (TOR) of this study was not readily available partly because vocational secondary education had not attracted as much interest as, for example, basic education where s- eral reviews and studies have been conducted. Recent policy literature on TVE in Ghana re?ects concerns with the informal and formal vocational schools sector (Japan International Cooperation Agency/MOE, 2001). Also, docum- tation on implementation stages of vocational policies is dif?cult to ?nd.

Empowerment is the overarching idea used in this book. The term has a variety of meanings in different sociocultural and political contexts, including "self-strength, control, self-power, self-reliance, own choice, life of dignity in accordance with one's values, capable of fighting for one's rights, independence, own decision making, being free, awakening, and capability" (The World Bank, 2002, p. 10). However, the World Bank report observed that most definitions focus on issues of "gaining power and control over decisions and resources that determine the quality of one's life" (p. 10). This interpretation of empowerment provides a useful starting point for the development of the series of interconnected arguments explored here. Establishment of the basis for understanding, identifying and developing strategies through education necessary for individuals to be able to make choices that inf- ence the quality of their lives is the main aim of this book. There are a number of assumptions and boundaries that frame this analysis. First, the book focuses on "agents"; however, empowerment is often conceptualised in terms of relationships between agency and structure (e. g. , Alsop, Bertelsen, & H- land, 2006). Agency could be defined as "an actor's or group's ability to make purposeful choices - that is, the actor is able to envisage and purposively choose options" (p. 11).

The essays in this collection are based on papers originally presented at the sixth meeting of the European-American Consortium for Legal Education, held at the University of Helsinki, Finland in May, 2007. EACLE is a transatlantic consortium of law faculties dedicated to co- eration and to the exchange of ideas between different legal systems and cultures. Each year the EACLE colloquium considers a speci?c legal qu- tion from a variety of national perspectives. The 2007 initiative on "The Internationalization of Law and Legal Education" was coordinated by the staff of the University of Helsinki Faculty of Law and the Academy of F- land Centre of Excellence in Global Governance Research. We would like to thank those who attended the 2007 meeting for their insightful remarks, and for their inspiration, suggestions, and encouragement in making this volume and the EACLE consortium so effective in fostering greater trans- lantic cooperation on law and legal education. Thanks are also due to the faculty, staff and students of the Center for International and Comparative Law who prepared this volume for publication, and particularly to Morad Eghbal, James Maxeiner, Kathryn Spanogle, Jordan Kobb, Astarte Daley, Suzanne Conklin, P. Hong Le, P- tima Lele, Nicholas McKinney, Shandon Phan, T.J. Sachse, Katherine Si- son, Toscha Stoner-Silbaugh, Bjorn ] Thorstensen, Ryan Webster, and Cheri Wendt-Taczak."

Today, a substantial portion of higher education is provided outside of the traditional universities in non-university institutions with a multitude of varied characteristics. In recent decades, higher education systems have been subjected to many changes and reforms throughout the world. One of the most important was undoubtedly the expansion of higher education in the second half of the last century from an elite system to one for the masses. While institutions of higher learning have been in existence for approximately 1,000 years, this exponential growth has been much more recent. This movement toward mass higher education has created substantial national impacts on the development of the systems of higher education. While common denominators of change and adaptation can be identified globally, there remain important differences from country to country. There are many factors challenging higher education today and in the foreseeable future. In one form or another, these issues and trends can be seen in higher education systems throughout the world. They include chronic underfunding, marketisation and competition, alternative providers, massification, internationalisation, governance, leadership, strategic management, accountability, accreditation, and social relevance. Another key factor for many countries, especially in Europe, and the focus of this book, is the current and future status of the higher education systems that differentiate the university and non-university sectors.

Many resources are invested in the development and introduction of Quality Assurance Systems in educational institutions all over the world. Our assumption is that, as a result of quality assurance activities, practitioners obtain information about their own functioning and institutional performance which is new and valuable to them and which therefore will form a basis for them to improve performance. This assumption proves to be naive; too often performance feedback is under-utilized, and evaluations become void, legitimizing rites instead of a basis for organizational learning and the improvement of institutions. The aim of this book was to find out when educational institutions do transform Quality Assurance data into actions to improve performance, and how the use of such data can be promoted. This volume reports on the study of Quality Assurance structures and activities in 36 educational institutes in 6 European Countries and presents guidelines for Quality Assurance.

Pursuing a teaching career is noble, rewarding, and challenging. Yet, few books focus on the process of becoming an educator, with the majority of available education resources geared towards in-service teachers, especially first-year teachers. This book, Pathway to Teaching, uses a holistic approach to demystify the journey of becoming an educator. This resourceful guide provides valuable and straightforward strategies to the aspiring teachers at each crucial stage: teacher training, student teaching, and finding a job. Themes of differentiation, networking, and organization are interwoven throughout the book and aim to better prepare the soon-to-be teacher at each step. The strategies address a range of pressing topics for teacher candidates that include preparing for the edTPA - a nationwide teacher assessment - to providing classroom management techniques during student teaching to ideas on self-care. Pathway to Teaching also supports the aspiring teachers in finding their dream teaching job through strategies on building a professional network to preparing for that all-important job interview. In addition, several contributors - a teacher, an administrator, an university field supervisor, and a career counselor - share their insightful perspectives and advice to the readers. The curated strategies and advice will undoubtedly help guide any aspiring teacher in achieving their career and professional goals.

Significant changes were made to the way psychiatric trainees' skills are assessed for the MRCPsych examinations in 2007. Much teaching, learning and assessment now occurs in the workplace in real clinical situations, with the emphasis being on outcome as reflected by the performance of the doctor. This book outlines the workplace-based assessments (WPBAs) that are required by the current competency-based psychiatry curriculum. It has been updated, taking into account the experience gained since these assessments began. The authors explore the theory and practice of different assessment methods such as case-based discussion, long-case evaluation and directly observed practice, changes in the MRCPsych examinations and multi-source feedback. The second edition includes new chapters on Direct Observation of Non-Clinical Skills (DONCS), educational supervisor reports, the new online portfolio for trainees, workplace-based assessments in psychotherapy and views from trainees themselves. This book is essential reading for psychiatric trainers and trainees.

This volume explores the challenges of educating professionals to succeed in a complex, uncertain and global business world. The book contains intellectual concepts and practical advice from leaders in innovative education around the globe. It will help educators and the educational enterprise become more innovative, efficient, and effective in addressing the teaching/learning challenges associated with helping students prepare to face their own challenges.

The experience of an untenured faculty member is highly dependent on the quality of the mentoring they receive. This mentoring may come from a number of different sources, and the concept of developing a constellation of mentors is highly recommended, but a mentoring relationship that is guided by the mentee's needs will be the most productive. Often, however, the mentee does not know their own needs, what questions to ask, and what topics they should discuss with a mentor. This book provides a guide to the mentoring process for untenured faculty. Perspectives are provided and questions posed on topics ranging from establishing scholarly expertise and developing professional networks to personal health and balancing responsibilities. The questions posed are not intended for the mentee to answer in isolation, rather a junior faculty member should approach these questions throughout their untenured years with the help of their mentors. Survive and Thrive: A Guide for Untenured Faculty will help to facilitate the mentoring process and lead junior faculty to a path where they can move beyond just surviving and truly thrive in their position. Table of Contents: Tough Questions About Why You Are Here / Joining Your Department and Discipline / Establishing Expertise / Developing Networks, Relationships, and Mentoring Activities / Getting Support and Evaluating Your Personal Health / Planning for the Future / Conclusion