Globalisation, Higher Education, the Labour Market and Inequality addresses the global transformation of higher education in relation to changes in the labour market. It focuses on the relative impact of elements of globalisation on social inequality, and provides insights into the ways in which these general forces of change are transformed into specific policies shaped by global forces and the various national values, institutional structures and politics of the specified societies. The book begins with a theoretical conceptualization for a comparative understanding of globalization, higher education, labour markets and inequality. This is followed by a range of mainstream accounts from an international selection of contributors of the ways in which national systems have responded to the forces of globalisation and the increasing demand for higher education graduates – in Australia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and the UK. Finally, contributors explore more specific concerns such as the transition from higher education to the labour market in China and Sweden, the division of the ‘knowledge’ workers into traditional social groups in the US, and the role and salience of Doctoral programmes in South Africa in developing a knowledge economy. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Education and Work.

India's increased exposure to world markets and relaxation of domestic controls has given a spurt to the GDP growth rate, but its impact on poverty, inequality and employment have been controversial. This book examines these aspects of the post-reform scene, discerning the changes in trends which the new developments have created.

Skills and workforce development are at the heart of much research on work, employment, and management. But are they so important? To what extent can they make a difference for individuals, organizations, and nations? How are the supply and, more importantly, the utilization of skill, currently evolving? What are the key factors shaping skills trajectories of the future? This Handbook provides an authoritative consideration of issues such as these. It does so by drawing on experts in a wide range of disciplines including sociology, economics, labour/industrial relations, human resource management, education, and geography. The Handbook is relevant for all with an interest in the changing nature - and future - of work, employment, and management. It draws on the latest scholarly insights to shed new light on all the major issues concerning skills and training today. While written primarily by leading scholars in the field, it is equally relevant to policy makers and practitioners responsible for shaping the development of human capability today and into the future.

This book focuses on current policy discourse in Higher Education, with special reference to Europe. It discusses globalisation, Lifelong Learning, the EU’s Higher Education discourse, this discourse’s regional ramifications and alternative practices in Higher Education from both the minority and majority worlds with their different learning traditions and epistemologies. It argues that these alternative practices could well provide the germs for the shape of a public good oriented Higher Education for the future. It theoretically expounds on important elements to consider when engaging Higher Education and communities, discussing the nature of the term ‘community’ itself. Special reference is accorded to the difference that lies at the core of these ever-changing communities. It then provides an analysis of an ‘on the ground project’ in University community engagement, before suggesting signposts for further action at the level of policy and provision.

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008 and the ensuing Great Recession of 2008 to 2013, the economic debate has begun to shift towards 'rebalancing' the UK economy, away from an over-reliance upon consumerism and the financial sector to generate growth, towards more sustainable productive activities. The fallout from the financial crisis exposed the systemic failings of the dominant neo-liberal model to deliver balanced growth and there is now increasing recognition this 'rebalancing' might best be achieved through the state pursuing an active 'industrial policy'. Thus, after a long hiatus, industrial policy is back in vogue at regional, national, and EU levels driven by concerns over competitiveness, globalisation, de-industrialisation, unemployment, and the comparatively slow growth of the British and EU economies especially in this post-recession phase. At the same time, industrial policy has been seen as a catalyst for designing economic recovery strategies at regional, national, and EU levels as well as being a concerted strategy to develop new 'clean-tech' industries to tackle environmental challenges. This book brings together leading European based experts, each with a long standing interest in industrial policy. The chapters offer a broad set of perspectives on the many facets of industrial policy, including reflections upon past experiences of industrial policy (from across the globe) and critical analysis and advice upon contemporary UK industrial policy issues. They aim to critically inform and challenge policy-makers, policy think-tanks, industrialists, trade unions, academics, and other stakeholders in framing the future course for industrial policy in the UK, and indeed more widely.

The marketisation of higher education is a growing worldwide trend. Increasingly, market steering is replacing or supplementing government steering. Tuition fees are being introduced or increased, usually at the expense of state grants to institutions. Grants for student support are being replaced or supplemented by loans. Commercial rankings and league tables to guide student choice are proliferating with institutions devoting increasing resources to marketing, branding and customer service. The UK is a particularly good example of this, not only because it is a country where marketisation has arguably proceeded furthest, but also because of the variations that exist as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland increasingly diverge from England. In Everything for Sale, Roger Brown argues that the competitive regime that is now applicable to our Higher Education system was the logical, and possibly inevitable, outcome of a process that began with the introduction of full cost fees for overseas students in 1980. Through chapters including: Markets and Non-Markets The Institutional Pattern of Provision The Funding of Research The Funding of Student Education Quality Assurance The Impact of Marketisation: Efficiency, diversity and equity; He shows how the evaluation and funding of research, the funding of student education, quality assurance, and the structure of the system have increasingly been organised on market or quasi-market lines. As well as helping to explain the evolution of British higher education over the past thirty years, the book contains some important messages about the consequences of introducing or extending market competition in universities’ core activities of teaching and research. This timely and comprehensive book is essential reading for all academics at University level and anyone involved in Higher Education policy.

Teaching excellence is a topic of international significance, having importance for higher education worldwide, yet is generally considered to be poorly defined and understood. The current discourse of teaching excellence is narrowly framed, instrumental and performative, with an onus on measurement and quantification. Wood and Su investigate and rethink excellence in higher education, connecting this to the understanding of the role and purpose of higher education. Stakeholder perspectives on teaching excellence are explored, and the authors argue that it is through engaging with higher education constituencies, to examine teaching excellence from different angles and stances, that more inclusive understandings may be built. These stakeholder perspectives, which form the central chapters of the book, include higher education institutions, academics, students, employers and parents. The importance of a commitment to engaging with understandings situated in the diverse experiences and contexts of stakeholders for an 'inclusive perspective' on teaching excellence is affirmed. At the close of the book, the Coda examines some of the implications of the responses to the COVID-19 global pandemic for inclusive perspectives on teaching excellence in higher education.