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"Article"

The relationship between university students' motivation and their learning environment is the focus of this article. Following self-determination theory (SDT) and the theory of interest, it is proposed that perceived support of basic psychological needs (support of autonomy, competence and social relatedness), as well as aspects of a constructivist learning environment (teachers' interest, relevance of contents, and quality of instruction, as well as transparency and fit of requirements) are associated with self-determined motivation and with study interest. The responses of a sample of undergraduate students in psychology (N = 123) to measures of these variables were analysed. The students were asked about their motivation to learn, their interest in psychology and about the perceived learning environment in psychology. The results showed that most of the students were motivated on an intrinsic and identified level, and displayed high study interest. Study interest, intrinsic motivation and self-determined forms of extrinsic motivation were particularly associated with perceived support of autonomy and competence, as well as with the relevance of the contents, the quality of instruction and with the perceived transparency of requirements.

[No abstract available]

This article presents findings from a three-year research study looking at the experiences of students with disabilities who participated in the Wisconsin Youth Apprenticeship program. Specifically, we examined the provision of supports and accommodations. Using in-depth interviews with former program participants and stakeholders and document analysis of participants' school records, the authors discuss type and extent of supports provided to youth apprentices and adequacy of those supports for ensuring students could successfully complete the program. Researchers also examined the perceptions and practices of youth apprenticeship coordinators and instructors concerning accommodation of youth with disabilities in the program. Results suggest a need for stronger and more systematic planning for providing supports and accommodations within youth apprenticeship programs. © 2004, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.

This article explores questions of labour reproduction and skill development under different contract arrangements within the UK construction and civil engineering industry. The central concerns of the article relate to the impact skills shortages within the sector have had on recruitment practices, training provision and the use of contract alternatives in terms of both direct and non-standard labour. The argument primarily draws on data from a national postal survey conducted in 2002, covering firms of all sizes within this key economic sector. The article reveals some interesting findings regarding recruitment and training practices which, despite encouraging headline figures on the existence of training, reveal an over-dependency on contingent labour and low levels of apprenticeships – particularly among small firms, which are predominant in the industry. This suggests that the recognised problems of labour shortages within the sector are ongoing, and that the aim of attracting new workers into the industry remains unrealised. © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

In the Dutch Vocational Education and Training (VET) system, competence-based education is the leading paradigm for innovation, both at the system level and at the level of learning environments. This article provides an historical analysis of the development of competence-based education in various countries and explores the concept of competence and its popularity. Possible pitfalls with respect to the concept of competence, standardisation, school and workplace learning, determining learning activities, assessment of competencies, changing teacher roles/identity and competence-based management will be discussed. Taking these pitfalls into account, roads for future development will be sketched. A learning policy connecting governance, practice and research is believed to be the most fruitful way to develop flexible VET systems that are suited to the emerging knowledge-based economy. © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

[No abstract available]

This article is concerned with the politics of lifelong learning policy in post-1997 Hong Kong (HK). The paper is in four parts. Continuing Education, recast as ‘lifelong learning’, is to be the cornerstone of the post-Handover education reform agenda. The lineaments of a familiar discourse are evident in the Education Commission policy documents. However, to view recent HK education policy just in terms of an apparent convergence with global trends would be to neglect the ways in which the discourse of lifelong learning has been tactically deployed to serve local political agendas. In the second part of this paper, I outline what Scott has called HK’s ‘disarticulated’ political system following its retrocession to China and attempts by an executive-led administration to demonstrate ‘performance legitimacy’—through major policy reforms—in the absence of (democratic) political legitimacy. Beijing’s designation of HK as a (depoliticized) ‘economic’ city within greater China must also be taken into account. It is against this political background that the strategic deployment of a ‘lifelong learning’ discourse needs to be seen. In the third section of this paper, I examine three recent policy episodes to illustrate how lifelong learning discourse has been adopted and has evolved to meet changing circumstances in HK. Finally, I look at the issue of public consultation. The politics of education policy in HK may be seen to mirror at a micro-level, the current macro-level contested interpretations of HK’s future polity. © 2004, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

In Austria, the apprenticeship system provides all citizens, including the less able among them, with a training option. Based on social security data, this article examines earnings and the stability of the occupational career of young workers with an apprenticeship diploma. As control groups, workers with a full-time secondary school education and workers who did not receive any further education after computing their compulsory education were used. One of the main findings is that workers with an apprenticeship diploma are much better off than those without further education. The article finds the following ranking with respect to education: high-school graduates, ex-apprentices and unskilled workers, with more pronounced differences between ex-apprentices and unskilled workers.

AREER THEORISTS EMPHASIZE the importance of the development of career maturity in adolescents if they are to successfully negotiate the school-to-work transition. Transitions of deaf and hard of hearing adolescents may be especially problematic. The authors examine the implications of current labor market trends for young people, in particular those with hearing loss, and review data on employment outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing people. They discuss the environmental and attitudinal barriers that can influence the career outcomes of this population, consider the impact of hearing loss on adolescents' career maturity, and review the studies on this topic in the literature. The article focuses on the experiences of students with significant hearing loss who are educated in regular classes with the support of itinerant teachers, who communicate orally, and who may be defined as hard of hearing. Recommendations for research and practice are provided.

Since June 1, 2002, only those dental practitioners holding a specific professional title are entitled to independent practice. Those practitioners are the General Dentists, the Orthodontists and the Periodontists who have had additional vocational training of one, four, or three years respectively, after completion of their study programme leading to a Licentiate in Dental Sciences (Transition measures allowed practising dentists and students who were enrolled in a training program prior to June 1, 2002 to obtain one of these titles). This regulation includes provisions to limit access to the profession for graduates holding a degree delivered by a university in the Flemish community (84 per year) or the French Community (56 per year). In the French Community, the implementation of a Numerus Clausus (limitation of numbers admitted) at the end of the first study cycle allowed for a limitation of the number of students admitted to the second cycle, and as a consequence it limited the number of candidates enrolling in vocational training in order to obtain a specific professional title. The non-compliance with - and later the cancellation of - this limitation resulted in the number of candidates seeking a specific professional title to be larger than the numbers in the quotas imposed by the Federal State.