Search results for ""Author Sheila Riddell""

This book explores the way in which the pressures of globalisation are shaping higher education funding and access across the world. Higher education is seen as a way of developing human capital and building knowledge economies, but major debates continue about who should attend university; how the costs of higher education should be distributed between the individual student and the state; how students from non-traditional backgrounds can be helped to succeed in higher education; and the intended and unintended consequences of widening access initiatives. Globalisation is not a uni-directional force, but is accompanied by movements to reinforce the local and the regional, often driven by fears of loss of identity. Universities across the world have become more powerful and autonomous from the state, but at the same time students as consumers of education have an increasingly powerful voice. They frequently find themselves in opposition to the business model which infuses higher education systems and student protests have had a strong influence on policy development. This book explores the way in which the twin pressures of globalisation and localisation play out in higher education across the developed world, often reflected in more specific debates on fees regimes, access and culture.

Read more less

There is a growing concern about the social exclusion of a range of minority groups, including people with learning difficulties. Lifelong learning is seen as one of the central means of challenging the exclusion of this group, but also of enhancing their economic status. This book demonstrates that policy based on human capital premises has produced forms of lifelong learning which exacerbate the marginalisation of people with learning difficulties. The Learning Society and people with learning difficulties: reviews the range of policy fields which increasingly intervene in the lifelong learning arena; maps the agencies involved in service delivery and describes their (sometimes conflicting) ethos; provides in-depth accounts of the lived experiences of individuals with learning difficulties as they navigate lifelong learning options. Its exploration of the links between community care, education, training, employment, housing and benefits policies in the context of lifelong learning is unique. This book makes a significant contribution to debates about how people with learning difficulties may achieve social inclusion, and the part which lifelong learning may play in this. It is therefore invaluable reading for policy makers, practitioners and academics interested in these issues.

Read more less

The ongoing economic crisis raises fundamental questions about the political and social goals of the European Union, particularly the feasibility of harmonising social and education policy across member states. The forward momentum of the European project is clearly faltering, raising the possibility that the high water mark of European integration has been achieved, with implications for many aspects of education and social policy, including lifelong learning. This timely book makes a major and original contribution to the development of knowledge and understanding of lifelong learning in an expanded Europe. Its wide range of contributors look at the contribution of lifelong learning to economic growth and social cohesion across Europe, focusing its challenge to social exclusion. It draws on comparative data from the EU Sixth Framework Project Lifelong Learning Policy and Practice in Europe (LLL2010), which ran from 2005 - 2011 and involved twelve European countries and Russia. Very little research has been conducted to date on the nature of lifelong learning in post-Soviet countries, and this book provides important insights into their evolving education and lifelong learning systems. The book will be of interest to researchers and academics in the UK and Europe, especially those from social policy, adult and comparative education, equality studies and practice of lifelong learning.

Read more less