The World Health Organisation estimates that approximately 600 million people in the world (about ten percent in any country) experience impairments of various types, approximately eighty percent living in low income countries. Worldwide, disabled persons often have limited access to education and training which reduces their opportunities to access the employment market. As a result, disabled persons tend to be among the poorest of the poor. A high percentage of unemployment is seen as one of the central problems facing disabled people all over the world. Despite this, there is rather limited information available on training and employment opportunities for disabled persons especially in developing countries. Even less information is available on the experiences of disabled persons, particularly persons with learning disabilities, who have participated in training or employment programmes. Given this framework, this thesis explores experiences of vocational training and employment in Zambia. Field studies were conducted in Zambia from 2000 to 2003. Primary data consists of interviews with trainees in three different vocational training colleges offering training for persons with learning disabilities. In addition, graduates from vocational training colleges were interviewed. This data was combined with interviews with other relevant stakeholders such as teachers, parents and employment project personnel. There is limited research concerning this sector in Zambia and hence this thesis provides a much needed focus on a neglected area. It focuses on good practices and possible models for vocational training and employment for persons with learning disabilities. Longitudinal data was also collected through six life stories of graduates in order to learn more about the lives of persons who have been labelled as having learning disabilities. The emphasis is placed on putting oneself in the place of the other person and seeing things from her/his viewpoint. In this, the thesis is informed by symbolic interactionism. An important feature of the research was to add to the knowledge of conducting participatory research. Data was collected in co-operation with two research assistants, both having been labelled as having learning disabilities. Their roles included planning and conducting interviews with trainees and graduates, transcribing and translating recorded interviews, and to some extent, the analysis of interview data. The analysis revealed trainees' high motivation for training. Motivational factors included learning skills for employment. Employment in turn was seen as a way to secure a safer future. Most interviewees had lost several close family members, reducing the availability of the safety net of an extended family. Many viewed training as giving necessary skills for independent living. In contrast with common views on persons with learning disabilities, trainees expressed a high motivation for self-reliance and independence. For most trainees, training had had an empowering and positive impact upon their self-confidence. Concerns with regard to training included the lack of parental support and of training materials, and the introduction of training fees through structural changes that were affecting vocational training colleges at the time of data collection. The analysis of data revealed both opportunities and challenges of using a supported employment model in Zambia. Through this approach more than a hundred graduates had been placed in the open employment market and community projects. Factors affecting graduates' employment opportunities were found to include personal characteristics of the job applicant, location, gender, vocational training course, and the level of support available. Through combining data from different stakeholders relevant to vocational training and employment, recommendations are given for the planning of vocational training and employment for persons with learning disabilities. Finally, the analysis of life stories offered an opportunity to share the life experiences of six persons with the label of learning disability in Zambia. These stories raised important issues that became central to this thesis; empowerment, participation and inclusion.

The focus of this study is the provision of Access courses for Irish adults. This interest arose from the researcher's involvement with Access initiatives in one Irish higher education institution. The principal research questions investigate the development of the policies and practices associated with the Access movement in Ireland. The research begins from the theoretical, and narrows down to an examination of policies and perceptions, then to initiatives, and fmally to the experiences and voices of a small number of Access students. Action research methodology, selected as an appropriate approach for a practitioner working in the field, is used to investigate these questions. In attempting to answer the principal research questions, the study examines the defmitions and rationales for Access. This leads to a categorisation of such rationales in terms of equity, economic and social factors, and those connected with personal development. A comparative analysis of world-wide trends and EU educational policy and provision in a number of selected countries is next undertaken, prior to an examination of recent Irish Access policy. The comparative research report commissioned by the Irish government from Professor Skilbeck was not foreseen when this study began, but it is such an important recent influence on Irish policy that it is given serious consideration. The study moves from an examination of policy to that of practice. A national survey of Access course providers is carried out to show the extent and nature of Access provision. At a more local level, the outcomes for a selected group of Access students are examined, including the experiences of a small number of students from this group. From these a number of key issues arise and are considered. The answer to the research questions posed is that a conflation of economic investment in education; social cohesion strategies; membership of the EU; equity awareness, the 'Celtic Tiger' and an increased demand by adults for education are the forces driving Access in Ireland. Analysis of representations by one group, and reinforced by the survey of Access students show that students represent the least source of influence on Access policy and practice. The study demonstrates that education is now conceived as an 'absolute good', capable of tackling many ills in society. The research concludes with a SWOT analysis showing the strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats that arise in relation to the expansion of Access opportunities in Ireland. This is followed by a number of key points for practice and suggestions for further research.

This hermeneutic phenomenological study has sought to uncover the lived experience of work-based learners and their workplace mentors. Eight workplace mentors (all registered nurses) and eleven former Foundation degree students agreed to be interviewed. The research sought to identify whether a mismatch exists between theories of work-based learning as described by educationalists and theorists; compared with how it is actually experienced by a group of work-based learners and their workplace mentors. The former students had all been healthcare assistants (HCAs) working in acute clinical settings and employed within a large NHS hospital. All had completed a two year Foundation degree in Health and Social Care (FdSc) course in preparation to become assistant practitioners (AP). The start of their studies was characterised by managing conflict, establishing an identity as a learner in their own right and making sense of the assistant practitioner role, whilst their concluding lived experience was characterised by becoming an assistant practitioner, receiving recognition from peers in addition to feeling the need to prove the validity of their AP role. Being a novice or an apprentice was not the experience of former Foundation degree student participants. Four models of work-based learning were compared against the lived experiences of participants. While all four models capture the profoundly social nature of work-based learning, none of the models captured the challenge faced by Foundation degree student participants in making the transition from being a healthcare assistant and becoming a work-based learner, to becoming an assistant practitioner. This finding was particularly significant to the lived experience of all participants in this study as the assistant practitioner role was completely new to workplace mentors, their departments and the NHS hospital Trust in which the research was undertaken.

This thesis describes an evaluation of a transition project called the Programme for Alternative Vocational Education (PAVE). The project is designed for young people aged 14 to 16 yrs who have become disengaged from secondary school through non-attendance andlor exclusion. A re-funding bid for PAVE was imminent, and the evaluation was intended to help inform this bid. The evaluation considered both the relative success of an adult led programme, such as PAVE, in re-engaging young people and an examination of the mechanisms which contributed to that success. A detailed consideration of the psychology of change was undertaken as an explanatory framework against which transition projects such as PAVE could be considered. The relevance of these theories to adolescence, Complexity Theory and Chaos Theory is explored in relation to the potentially supportive contexts of family and school. The methodology used drew on a mixed models approach and utilised Realistic Evaluation as an explanatory background for the findings. Four main approaches to addressing the evaluation were as follows: 1. An examination of PAVE's ability to re-engage young people's attendance (n = 91) 2. An analysis of post-school destinations for PAVE participants (n = 191) 3. An examination of any association between PAVE attendance and quality of first destination post-PAVE (n = 89) 4. Analysis of structured interviews with current participants on entry to and completion of their PAVE placement (n = 11). The interviewed group (n = 11) was a subset of the 'attendance' group (n = 91), as was the first destinations group (n = 89), which, in turn, was a subset of the 'post-PAVE' first destinations group (n = 191). PAVE was shown to be effective in re-engaging young people, particularly boys, who had become disengaged from their secondary school programmes, with an adult led structured programme. A significant mechanism which contributed to that success was the focus on building positive relationships between PAVE staff and the participating young people. Feedback from the evaluation to PAVE staff also led to improved transition procedures for young people joining the programme. Consistent with Complexity Theory, PAVE, a relatively short-term intervention, led to unexpectedly large, reported, positive changes in young people's attitudes to learning. It is concluded that change of this nature in young people's attitude to learning will prepare them for long-term employability opportunities rather than only short-term employment. This finding matches the Scottish Executive's drive to reduce NEET statistics and improve social inclusion.

This interpretive study focusses on women's and men's perceptions of their development of 'tacit forms of key competencies', and explores ways in which this learning experience, the development of 'tacit knowledge', takes place. All the research participants had taken, or were taking, time off paid work due to parenthood, caring responsibilities and/or being made redundant. The research combines biographical, ethnographical and phenomenological elements. Data are presented from in-depth, {socio)biographic interviews with 33 adults (25 women and 8 men), aged between 23 and 57 years, living in south east England.

Oman, as with many other countries in the Middle East region, is facing a ‘demographic bulge’ which is resulting in a growth in youth unemployment. A significant increase in the number of graduates entering the labour market also means a more competitive environment for qualified job seekers. While graduates have traditionally sought employment in the public sector, the government is promoting ‘Omanisation’; a range of localisation policies to increase the number of Omanis being employed in the private sector and reduce dependence on an expatriate workforce. Research (Salehi-Isfahani-Dhillon, 2008; Al Lamki, 1998) suggests that despite the government’s efforts, graduates entering the regional job market have not been engaging with efforts to promote localisation. While structural factors and agency have been explored in other transition context research, this study explores these areas within the Oman education to work transition context. This research used a combination of research methods (focus groups and a self-completion questionnaire) with final year Omani students enrolled on business-related degree programmes in four different institutions in Muscat. The findings suggest that while students perceive structural factors such as government, labour market, the education system, gender and socio-cultural factors to be influencing and shaping their transition context, there is a suggestion that their own abilities and efforts have a role to play, reflecting evidence of agency in their transition behaviour. It is proposed that concepts such as Evans (2007) “bounded agency” provide a useful basis to explore the stirrings of active individualisation within the social structures of the Omani education to work transition context.

The majority of research on motivation in the work place focuses on work itself and most educational research looks at motivation in the classroom. There is little research which looks at the motivation to undertake training. With this in mind, the purpose of this research was to look at what motivates individuals to undertake training in the workplace with a view to improving the take up of training within the author's local authority. An initial search was undertaken through literature and the Internet to look at the most common motivational theories. Having completed the search, a literature review was conducted to consider eight of the most common; four need and four process theories. These eight theories were explored, to s.ee if any elements could be utilised in relation to, the motivation to undertake training. Having highlighted several factors that could be used, an Initial Interrelated Model was designed to encapsulate the relevant findings from each theory. The research set out to look at how individual perceptions about the motivation to training compared with the Initial Interrelated Model. It was not possible in the time frame allocated for this research to conduct a large number of interviews and so a two tier approach to research was used. Questionnaires were distributed with statements related to the Initial Interrelated Model to see if the general perception was that the elements of the model were relevant. Once analysis of the questionnaires had been completed several interviews were conducted to explore more in depth these findings and to look at some of the perceptions of individuals on reasons to take up or avoid training. From the research, a revised model of the motivation to undertake and sustain training was developed which combined the large number of reasons into categories. The model provides a cyclic process that can be used as an aide memoire to raise awareness of the diverse motivational needs that could be considered if an organization is looking to improve the take up of training.

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This thesis has studied the vocational education and training of adults in Hong Kong. Informed by the political economy perspective, it argues that social inequality in the city state affects the nature of adult vocational education at different levels, including the formation and implementation of policies. and that it also has an effect on the outcomes of adult vocational education activities. A substantial part of the research was an investigation into the history of vocational education and training of adults in Hong Kong. The primary sources covered the publications of official training bodies and government departments and the records of legislative proceedings. Meanwhile. published survey reports were critically reviewed to provide a comprehensive track record of policies and programmes on adult vocational education. A qualitative case study design was also employed which provided a rich and bottom-up account of the learning experiences of disadvantaged adults in retraining programmes. Data consisted of official curriculum materials. in-depth interviews with the director, teachers and adult learners ora publicly-funded training centre for displaced workers, and field notes from classroom observations. Since 1997 the market has re-emerged as the chief mechanism in the delivery of adult vocational education. but the power of the state relative to civil society actually has increased. Through its policies on adult vocational education and publicly funded retraining programmes, the state has simultaneously served the needs of capital and reinforced the existing class divisions and gender inequality. It has also attempted to control adult vocational education activities carried out by organisations in civil society, and as a result, I ittle space has been allowed for the development of critical perspectives regarding social issues, and the influence of' the dominant groups has been strengthened. Above all, this thesis questions whose interests in Hong Kong the state's involvement in adult vocational education serves. 2

No description available.