The overall aim of this study is to contribute to a greater understanding of learning motivation in primary school education. Particular emphasis is given to investigating how various contextual or situational aspects of the classroom/school environment affect motivation. The study, further, strives to identify, describe and interpret the views and perceptions of students enrolled in two international schools in Switzerland and Sweden.As globalization processes, world cultural flows and personal mobility expand and accelerate, school populations are becoming increasingly multicultural in composition. Educators are challenged to develop and adapt educational programs to fit heterogeneous rather than homogeneous groups of learners. In this study, a multicultural, international population of learners was selected as a sample as they may be representative of diverse student populations becoming more common in the future. Four classes of grade five students, a total of sixty-six children, were selected as participants in this comparative, case study investigation.

An eclectic conceptual approach guided the research including principles drawn from problem-based, constructivist and humanistic theories of learning. Bandura’s social cognitive motivational theory also provided a background for the choice of methods and data collection procedures employed. An exploratory, mainly qualitative approach was taken during the two phases of fieldwork. Participant observations were made and in-depth interviews were conducted; a short questionnaire was also administered to provide background information and to function as a screening instrument or guide for subsequent interviews.

The findings indicate that a variety of factors in the classroom/school environment affect students learning motivation. Areas identified and described in the study include what to learn, learning processes, learner autonomy, teacher influences, the physical environment and psycho/social influences. In comparing the results from the two case study schools, notable differences were found in student responses in the areas of learning processes, learner autonomy, teacher influences and overall attitude towards school. Students at the school in Switzerland were consistently more positive than those at the school in Sweden. Most of the differences identified were related to the curriculum model utilized and type of school organization and leadership employed. The findings indicate that the educational program based on constructivist, inquiry-based theories of learning implemented in a cohesive, all-school approach, produced higher levels of motivation in individual students.

Education is not easily converted into human capital and well-being in low-income countries, because these countries do not have a high degree of economic and labour market differentiation that makes it possible to convert acquired knowledge and skills. Consequently, to have completed primary or even secondary education does not necessarily lead to a better life situation than some types of Islamic education. This paper reports findings from an ongoing longitudinal research project in Senegal. The study compares the relationships between educational/learning background, life skills and well-being in adult life among individuals who attended primary school, Quranic, Arabic or Indigenous learning systems at the beginning of the 1980s. The findings illustrate some of the complexities in the relationships between, on the one hand, education and life skills and, on the other hand, individual well-being in a low-income society. Since this study enters into an area that has not been very much researched, this study is explorative and employs concepts heuristically. Some findings in relation to different theoretical approaches are also discussed here.

The nature of European education systems and their respective modes of governing education were principally determined by factors internal to individual countries until the early 1980s. After the extension of the European Union and the acceleration of globalization, European countries have adopted some features that exist in many countries around the world and that are proposed by the European Union (EU) and other international and supranational bodies. The EU has added a social dimension to the predominantly neoliberal world agenda, and the Europeanizing agenda is disseminated through the Open Method of Coordination, among other measures and channels. However, due to cultural, religious, political, and other national and local patterns, there are still a number of differences among the education systems of Europe. This article reviews the changes in the education sector, especially in governing/governance, during the past two decades in some twenty European countries and then focuses on seven country cases: the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.

The notion that the knowledge and skills embodied in individuals contribute to the creation of economic and social benefits is not a new concept. But in practice little is known about the extent and relative influence of how different learning activities contribute to the formation of one's knowledge and skills, and in turn their relative influence in generating different kinds of benefits. Studies either focus on one form of learning or the other, and for the most part they tend to focus on indicators of formal education. To improve the understanding of how education and learning lead to the creation of economic and social benefits, a comprehensive approach drawing on all the potential sources of knowledge and skills should be applied. Accordingly, the primary objective of the present article is to measure the relative influence of engaging in various learning activities--Aspanning the 'life-wide' spectrum of learning--Aon economic and social benefits. The study presents a conceptual framework and uses data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey to estimate corresponding structural models. The findings provide support for the hypotheses formulated; namely, that the relationship between formal education and economic and social outcomes is complex, with confounding effects. The results indicate that different types of learning activities taken for different reasons lead to different kinds of benefits. The latter finding suggests a potential trade-off between attaining economic and social benefits through different types of learning activities that are taken for either job-related or personal interest-related reasons. The article concludes that further in-depth analyses are required to improve the understanding of the complex relationship between various learning activities and the benefits they generate

The aim of this article is to investigate the predictive capacity of major determinants of literacy proficiency that are associated with a variety of contexts including school, home, work, community and leisure. An identical structural model based on previous research is fitted to data for 18 countries. The results show that even after accounting for all factors education remains the most important predictor of literacy proficiency. In all countries, however, the total effect of education is significantly mediated through further learning occurring at work, at home and in the community. Therefore, the job and other literacy-related factors complement education in predicting literacy proficiency. This result points to a virtual cycle of lifelong learning, particularly to how educational attainment influences other learning behaviours throughout life. In addition, results show that home background as measured by parents’ education is also a strong predictor of literacy proficiency, but in many countries this occurs only if a favourable home background is complemented by some post-secondary education.

This thesis is a collection of five independent but closely related studies. The overall purpose is to approach the analysis of learning outcomes from a perspective that combines three major elements, namely lifelonglifewide learning, human capital, and the benefits of learning. The approach is based on an interdisciplinary perspective of the human capital paradigm. It considers the multiple learning contexts that are responsible for the development of embodied potential – including formal, nonformal and informal learning – and the multiple outcomes – including knowledge, skills, economic, social and others– that result from learning. The studies also seek to examine the extent and relative influence of learning in different contexts on the formation of embodied potential and how in turn that affects economic and social well being. The first study combines the three major elements, lifelonglifewide

learning, human capital, and the benefits of learning into one common conceptual framework. This study forms a common basis for the four empirical studies that follow. All four empirical studies use data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) to investigate the relationships among the major elements of the conceptual framework presented in the first study.

Study I. A conceptual framework for the analysis of learning outcomes

This study brings together some key concepts and theories that are relevant for the analysis of learning outcomes. Many of the concepts and theories have emerged from varied disciplines including economics, educational psychology, cognitive science and sociology, to name only a few. Accordingly, some of the research questions inherent in the framework relate to different disciplinary perspectives. The primary purpose is to create a common basis for formulating and testing hypotheses as well as to interpret the findings in the empirical studies that follow. In particular, the framework facilitates the process of theorizing and hypothesizing on the relationships and processes concerning lifelong learning as well as their antecedents and consequences.

Study II. Determinants of literacy proficiency: A lifelong-lifewide learning perspective

This study investigates lifelong and lifewide processes of skill formation. In particular, it seeks to estimate the substitutability and complementarity effects of learning in multiple settings over the lifespan on literacy skill formation. This is done by investigating the predictive capacity of major determinants of literacy proficiency that are associated with a variety of learning contexts including school, home, work, community and leisure. An identical structural model based on previous research is fitted to the IALS data for 18 countries. The results show that even after accounting for all factors, education remains the most important predictor of literacy proficiency. In all countries, however, the total effect of education is significantly mediated through further learning occurring at work, at home and in the community. Therefore, the job and other literacy related factors complement education in predicting literacy proficiency. This result points to a virtual cycle of lifelong learning, particularly to how educational attainment influences other learning behaviours throughout life. In addition, results show that home background as measured by parents’ education is also a strong predictor of literacy proficiency, but in many countries this occurs only if a favourable home background is complemented with some post-secondary education.

Study III. The effect of literacy proficiency on earnings: An aggregated occupational approach using the Canadian IALS data

This study uses data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey to estimate the earnings return to literacy skills. The approach adapts a labour segmented view of the labour market by aggregating occupations into seven types, enabling the estimation of the variable impact of literacy proficiency on earnings, both within and between different types of occupations. This is done using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). The method used to construct the aggregated occupational classification is based on analysis that considers the role of cognitive and other skills in relation to the nature of occupational tasks. Substantial premiums are found to be associated with some occupational types even after adjusting for within occupational differences in individual characteristics such as schooling, literacy proficiency, labour force experience and gender. Average years of schooling and average levels of literacy proficiency at the between level account for over two-thirds of the premiums. Within occupations, there are significant returns to schooling but they vary depending on the type of occupations. In contrast, the within occupational return of literacy proficiency is not necessarily significant. The latter depends on the type of occupation.

Study IV: Determinants of economic and social outcomes from a lifewide learning perspective in Canada

In this study the relationship between learning in different contexts, which span the lifewide learning dimension, and individual earnings on the one hand and community participation on the other are examined in separate but comparable models. Data from the Canadian Adult Literacy Survey are used to estimate structural models, which correspond closely to the common conceptual framework outlined in Study I. The findings suggest that the relationship between formal education and economic and social outcomes is complex with confounding effects. The results indicate that learning occurring in different contexts and for different reasons leads to different kinds of benefits. The latter finding suggests a potential trade-off between realizing economic and social benefits through learning that are taken for either job-related or personal-interest related reasons.

Study V: The effects of learning on economic and social well being: A comparative analysis

Using the same structural model as in Study IV, hypotheses are comparatively examined using the International Adult Literacy Survey data for Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The main finding from Study IV is confirmed for an additional five countries, namely that the effect of initial schooling on well being is more complex than a direct one and it is significantly mediated by subsequent learning. Additionally, findings suggest that people who devote more time to learning for job-related reasons than learning for personal-interest related reasons experience higher levels of economic well being. Moreover, devoting too much time to learning for personal-interest related reasons has a negative effect on earnings except in Denmark. But the more time people devote to learning for personal-interest related reasons tends to contribute to higher levels of social well being. These results again suggest a trade-off in learning for different reasons and in different contexts.

Drawing on the changing view and attitude toward the concept of human capital in recent years, this article empirically investigates the broad effects of learning. Using the structural model presented in Desjardins (in press), hypotheses are comparatively examined using the International Adult Literacy Survey data for Canada, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The model acknowledges all potential sources of knowledge and skills relevant to economic as well as social well being by constructing indicators spanning the entire spectrum of life-wide learning. Moreover, learning undertaken for job-related reasons and personal interest reasons are examined separately to identify heterogeneity in the effects of learning for different reasons. The model is constructed on the premise that initial schooling has profound effects on adults' readiness to learn in their productive years and that this is the mechanism that will affect their well-being. Only the adult populations aged 25 to 55 are considered, in which initial schooling is taken as a stock measure of initial formal learning that has already occurred. The extent of how the stock of initial formal learning affects the flow of subsequent learning and in turn the flow of well-being is examined.

The purpose of this study is to present an empirical pattern of social equity in Chinese higher education by investigating university students. Student socio-economic background influences access to, and socio-economic conditions in, higher education, and this, in turn, influences student career aspirations. The theoretical background of the study is interdisciplinary and a conceptual framework built on theories and previous research is used to analyse Chinese higher education in a historical, social and economic context.

A questionnaire survey was administered at six public universities in the Southwest region of the country to explore students’ socio-economic background, costs and how they finance their studies, as well as their future career aspirations. The relationships between the factors investigated were examined using factor analytical techniques and linear structural relations (LISREL) analysis.

The findings indicate that the students come from all socio-economic strata but a disproportionately large number are from high-income families. Students from urban areas are over-represented while rural girls are significantly under-represented. Although the gap between the lowest and highest study costs is enormous, the findings confirm that the average cost of higher education in China far exceeds the average annual income, even for urban residents. Moreover, about one-third of students and their families utilised financial resources other than family such as student loans, borrowing, and other forms of financial assistance.

A structural model linking student socio-economic background, enrolment in elite institutions, costs and means of financing education with career aspirations is developed and tested in three stages in order to shed light on the conceptual framework and to present a pattern of social equity. The results show that family socio-economic status has only a modest impact on student access to and in higher education. On the other hand, having social origins in a well-developed community exerts an influential effect. Although study and living costs, and means of financing studies, are influenced by student socio-economic background, they intend to have positive impacts on student career aspirations. While enrolment in elite institutions has a strongly positive impact on costs, it has a moderately negative impact on aspirations to pursue advanced degrees.

In conclusion, the study finds that the patterns of socio-economic factors influencing student upward mobility in present-day China are different from those of ancient China and from those previous Communist leaders attempted to achieve only 20 years ago.

People in children’s environment can significantly influence the process of inclusion in regular schools,teachers and their perceptions on students with special abilities are recognized asplaying a key role. As such, this study aims at investigating, comparing and analyzing Greek and Swedish primary school teachers’ attitudes on inclusive education for childrenwith mental disabilities, as well as their experiences concerning the impact students’ environment has on their efficient inclusion and development. To this end, interviews with them have been employed for data collection in this cross-cultural qualitative research.

The principal aim of this study is to examine attitudes and values, through questionnaires, among students and teachers in the last grade of primary school (grade 8) regarding issues related to authoritarianism, democracy, human rights, children rights, conflict resolution and legislation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A second aim is to explore and analyze the role of the international community in the democratization and education processes in the light of globalization in this country through secondary sources of data, site visits and observations.

Analysis of the student sample reveals suspicion towards democracy, especially when democracy was associated with politics and politicians. When the issue of democracy was de-contextualized from Bosnia and Herzegovina realities in the questionnaire, students showed more positive attitudes towards it. Students generally agreed with very strong authoritarian statements. High achieving students were more democratic, more socially responsible, more tolerant regarding attitudes towards religion, race and disabilities, and less authoritarian compared to low achievers. High achievers felt that they had influence over daily events, and were positive towards social and civil engagement. High achievers viewed politics negatively, but had high scores on the democracy scale. High achievers also agreed to a larger extent that it is acceptable to break the law. The more authoritarian students were somewhat more prone to respond that it is not acceptable to break the law.

The major findings from the teacher sample show that teachers who agreed with non-peaceful mediation, and had a non-forgiving and rigid approach to interpersonal conflicts, also agreed with strong authoritarian statements and were less democratic. In general, teachers valued students who behave respectfully, have a good upbringing and are obedient. They were very concerned about the general status of education in society, which they felt was becoming marginalized. Teachers were not happy with the overloaded curricula and they showed an interest in more knowledge and skills to help children with traumatic war experiences. When asked about positive reforms, teachers were highly critical of, and dissatisfied with, the educational situation.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is undergoing a transition from a state-planned economy and one party system to a market economy and a multi party system. During this transition, the country has become more involved in the globalization process than ever. Today the country is a semi-protectorate where international authorities intervene when necessary. The International community is attempting to introduce western democracy and some of the many complexities in this process are discussed in this study. Globalization processes imply contradictory demands and pressures on the education system. On one hand, economic liberalization has affected education policies —a closer alignment between education and economic competitiveness. On the other hand, there is a political and ideological globalization process underlying the importance of human rights, and the inclusiveness of education for all children. Students and teachers are caught between two opposing ideals — competition and cooperation.

The presented research is an explorative study, aimed to identify differences in intercultural sensitivity of Swedish students with international experience, Swedish students with no international experiences and international students studying at Stockholm University. The research is placed within the field of higher education. International experiences are seen to be a key to intercultural competences and it is universities who need to prepare students for the demands of the globalized job market.

The research is of qualitative nature and relevant data was collected by the means of semi- structured interviews. The data was coded according to qualitative thematic analysis and then analyzed and discussed in accordance to the researcher questions and existing literature in this field.

The study revealed that there is no general difference in intercultural sensitivity between the three groups analyzed. However, international students show higher sensitivity in terms of respect of cultural differences and open-mindedness, while students with no international experiences show less sensitivity in terms of interaction involvement and suspending judgment. The identified themes offer valuable information on individual perceptions of cultural differences. This information can be used to improve measures and actions to increase intercultural sensitivity at Stockholm University.

This study sets out the policy frameworks concerning older workers in Sweden and the Netherlands. This will be done by setting out both European and national contextual backgrounds. Further this study will examine whether or not there are specific initiatives taken by trade unions, and if so, what their features are. The results are gathered through a qualitative document analysis, complemented with the results of a self-completion questionnaire that has been sent to trade union confederations. The results of this study show that in both Sweden and the Netherlands policies are in place that strengthen the position of older workers. Sweden has developed multiple policies that aim to motivate people to work longer than the age of 61, and is focused on increasing the employability of workers. Even though in the Netherlands early retirement opportunities were widespread, currently policies and pension reforms discourage people from retiring early. Further, the debate about participation in and access to lifelong learning has regained importance, which shows that there is an increased attention for the development of employability of (older) workers. When it comes to trade unions, in Sweden there are no specific initiatives aiming at older workers. In the Netherlands, on the contrary, all trade unions participate in the development of i.e. the Policy Agenda 2020.

In a fast paced, modern world, with massive volumes of information circulating across mass media and the internet, real time communication through social media allowing for continuous contact and increased peer influence, in a world of high diversity and competition between the best products and the best services, it becomes more and more difficult to make a choice. The pressure of variety and emerging information flows makes any decision process challenging in all areas of human existence: choosing the best job, the best employer, leading the best possible life.

People are faced with the uncertainty of choice from their early years, but the first important step they have to make when entering the adult world is deciding upon their education. Every year high school graduates are troubled with choosing their future studies. Education has a major impact on individuals’ future career, the opportunities they later encounter in life, the people they meet and their personal development.  In their turn, educational institutions are well aware of the challenge this decision process implies. They try to market themselves and attract students, contributing thus to the increased volume of information and the difficulty of selection.

This research takes a close look at what influences students in their choice of post-secondary education. What are the main characteristics of the decision making process? Since it involves many different influences, how do family and friends impact the choice? What is the influence of the mass media? Which are the information sources students rely mostly on? A quantitative approach has been used to explore the influence of external social factors. The study investigates the post-secondary educational choices of 213 high school students, selected from two different high schools in Brăila, Romania. The selection of participants was based on the performance of the high school in the previous years, one of them being considered a top performing high school and the other one a low performing one. From these two high schools, two Humanistic profile classes and two Mathematics/Science classes were randomly selected per high school, thus covering a large number of students with different interests, competencies, performance records, but also socio-economic backgrounds. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed by means of correlations and distribution, percentages and means.

The findings of the research revealed that students value the opinion of their parents, respect the choices the latter made in terms of their own education and ask for parents’ advice whenever needed. They also follow closely their friends, analyze their decisions and take them into consideration when making their own choice. Nevertheless, the data collected in the study proved that family and friends taken as separate influencers do not have a very high impact on the choice of an education. When taken together though, they do represent a significant, strong force, stirring almost half of students’ decisions. The media proved also to be an important influence and source of information, with the internet leading among student preferences and also being ranked as the most reliable source out of all considered media channels.

The study provides important data that facilitates an increased understanding of the selection process and supportive information for those who assist and can guide students through the process. The findings are relevant for both the students themselves, their families and friends, but also for high school management and personnel, teachers, educational planners and study counsellors, as well as universities and higher education institutions that can use the data to improve their marketing strategy and communication with potential candidates, all of the mentioned parties facilitating thus an informed, objective and rational decision making process. 

In today’s world, concern has been raised about that the existing means of development are unsustainable. As a solution Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has been engaged around the world as a step to build a more sustainable society. Throughout the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD), Japan has promoted ESD through addressing it in the national educational law and plans as well as emphasizing it in course of study. As the DESD reached its end, this study aims to shed light on how ESD, an international framework, is understood and implemented on a micro level. Through a qualitative case study focused on the selected elementary and junior high schools in Kesennuma City, Miyagi, Japan, the findings show that local unique characteristics such as environmental and social factors influence the implementation of ESD. Furthermore, the findings also illustrate that learning of ESD takes place at various locations beyond the classrooms where the participants get involved in the local community that provides various professional knowledge and skills. Through the learning of ESD, which emphasizes experience and interaction with the learning partners, the aim is to foster the students’ abilities to think critically, identify a problem independently and take actions as well as to cooperate with others. At the same time, the study also shows that a holistic understanding of ESD from the teachers’ is needed in order to integrate ESD into the entire education.