2007
Martin Yarnit (ed), Advancing Opportunity: New Models of Schooling
The book addresses a growing global concern, how to motivate young people for learning and how to design learning systems that prepare them for active roles as workers and citizens.
Michael Osborne, Kate Sankey, Bruce Wilson (eds), Social Capital, Lifelong Learning and the Management of Place: An International Perspective
With contributions from around the world, this book brings together inter-related research from three fields: social capital, place management and lifelong learning regions. Providing valuable insight into the management of place and the development of learning at a regional level, the book presents international research that underpins the development and implementation of policies and practices that improve the quality of living and working circumstances at both local and regional levels.
This authoritative volume is a truly international contribution to the worldwide debate on how best to widen access to lifelong learning.
The first section of the book comprises research studies from around the world, reflecting the diversity of contexts in which widening access is researched and considers issues central to the access debate, including different understandings of the concept of access, organisational and structural change, curriculum development, entry policies, performance and retention and labour market outcomes.
The second section illustrates diverse and innovative methodological approaches that have been employed by researchers in the field, and considers the range of approaches available.
Given the growing concern around the world on the need to combat social exclusion and to improve economic circumstances through access to lifelong learning, this book acts as a unique reference point informing the ongoing debate, exploring the relationships between research, policy and practice.
Mike Osborne, Muir Houston, Nuala Toman (eds), The Pedagogy of Lifelong Learning: Understanding Effective Teaching and Learning in Diverse Contexts
Presenting a snapshot of contemporary international research into the pedagogy of lifelong learning and teaching, this book focuses on a wide range of issues related to lifelong learning, including higher education, community-based learning and literacy practices in continuing education. It highlights the fact that the wide-ranging conclusions they draw have vital implications for this rapidly changing field.
The book reviews the emerging issues from researching teaching and learning in different post-school contexts - an issue which has grown in research importance around the world in recent years - with the concern both to widen participation and improve student attainment. Examining empirically, methodologically and theoretically contemporary research in teaching and learning in diverse contexts, it focuses on three main areas: learning careers and identities; pedagogy and learning cultures and learning beyond institutions.
2006
Chris Duke, Lesley Doyle and Bruce Wilson (eds), Making Knowledge Work
The fundamental issue posed by this book is what kind of partnerships between government, academic researchers and community groups can best work to achieve a range of social and economic objectives. What kinds of objectives, whom they are determined by, and how they are measured, are themes which run throughout the text. In part this book presents an analysis of democratic participation in the different contexts that the writers describe. In part, it is also a call to a common commitment to the importance of policy-making which encompasses social priorities as well as economic pressures.
There is an attempt to facilitate closer, more dynamic and productive collaboration among researchers interacting with regional governments in different parts of the world. The aim is to share insights, and to promote an understanding of key issues that confront governments. The authors believe that we can learn from one another, and that a range of perspectives and experiences is of value. The most valuable insights may emerge where the greatest divergence appears to be.
Learning is seen as an important and a central means of improvement in all parts of public life, both social and economic. Collective learning, the authors argue, contributes to the development of social policies that strengthen communities and enhance their quality of life.
The book will appeal to social planners at all levels of government, as well as to scholars in the fields of social studies, management and administration. It is relevant to those concerned with lifelong learning, and indeed to all who take an interest in how we learn to govern ourselves better.
2005
NIACE, October 2005.
This book examines the challenges facing those who make and implement social policy at a time when free-trade economics reign supreme. It draws on linked ideas of social capital and the management of place, and presents international perspectives from a diverse range of countries, to question the domination of the economic and call for a new balance in making policy and measuring what is achieved.
Lifelong learning is said to be vital for a 'knowledge society' in the 'new economy'. But looking at knowledge and the economy alone short-changes us, making economic growth not a means to happiness, but an end. The book moves from applied philosophical analysis in Canada , through debate about social capital and 'the political' in Australia , to consideration of governance for sustained renewal in Finland .
It examines how these concepts apply as guides to action in a leading English local authority, Kent , and considers the role of universities in developing learning regions in South Africa 's Western Cape Province . It concludes with the 'mother of all challenges', sustainability, with which economic growth must reach a rapprochement if we are to survive.
The book should appeal to the widest possible range of social planners at all levels of government, as well as to scholars in the fields of social studies, management and administration. It is relevant to those concerned with lifelong learning as this spills over the walls of the classroom and the academy. It is also a book for all of us who, as citizens, care about how we succeed or fail to govern ourselves well, and how we learn from our mistakes.
R. Edwards, J. Gallacher & S. Whittaker (Eds.) Learning Outside the Academy. London: Routledge, 2006
Norman Longworth, Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities: Lifelong Learning and Local Government, Routledge, 2006
International in scope and at the cutting edge of research into this growing field that links lifelong learning to place, the book will appeal both to academics undertaking research in this burgeoning field and to those involved in lifelong learning at local, national and international level.
Cambridge University Press, October 2005
[ Contents: 1. Reflections after a very long day in Moscow; 2. On the rational choice of culture; 3. On the theory and practice of social capital; 4. Social capital in the social democratic welfare state; 5. How is social capital produced?; 6. The problem of institutional credibility; 7. Trust and collective memories; 8. The transition from mistrust to trust; 9. The conditions of trust and the capacity of dialogue.]
Cambridge University Press, November 2005 [Contents: 1. The relevance of education; 2. The demand for education; 3. Liquidity constraints and access to education; 4. The supply of education; 5. Education financing; 6. The return to education; 7. Intergenerational persistence; References.]
Cambridge University Press, November 2005
"Durkheim's Ghosts is a fascinating presentation of the tradition of social theory influenced by Emile Durkheim's thinking on the social foundations of knowledge. From Saussure and Levi-Strauss to Foucault, Bourdieu and Derrida, today's criticisms of modern politics and culture owe an important, if unacknowledged, debt to Durkheim. These engaging and innovative essays by leading sociologist Charles Lemert bring together his writings on the contributions of French social theory past and present. Rather than merely interpret the theories, Lemert uses them to explore the futures of sociology, social theory, and culture studies. Durkheim's Ghosts offers the reader original insights into Durkheim's legacy and the wider French traditions for the cultural and social sciences. Of special note is the book's new and exciting theory of culture and semiotics. Provocative, scholarly, imaginative and ambitious this book will be invaluable to anyone interested in social theory, culture, and intellectual history of modern times."
Edward Elgar, November 2005
"Is social capital the 'missing link' in economics? In this vital new book, the authors argue that the 'forgotten' production factor of social capital is as crucial in economic decision-making as the other more traditional factors of production such as physical, financial and human capital. They attempt to bridge the gap between theory and reality by examining the main factors that determine entrepreneurship, co-operative movements and the creation and destruction of social capital."
[Contents: Preface Foreword by Elinor Ostrom 1. Introduction: The 'Missing Link' 2. Social Capital and Entrepreneurship 3. Co-operative Movements and Social Capital in Denmark and Poland 4. Bridging Social Capital and Entrepreneurship in Rural Denmark 5. Bonding Social Capital and Centralization: The Post-War Danish Co-operative Movement 6. Bonding Social Capital and Theory Effects: The Danish Village Society Movement 7. Bonding and Bridging Social Capital: A Contemporary Fieldwork Study]
Edward Elgar, December 2005
"Focusing on emerging technology regions of the US, Canada and Mexico, the authors provide an analysis of firms' innovative milieus in three contexts: national systems of innovation, knowledge regions and incubation mechanisms. An overview of the evolution of each region over the past quarter century is presented, along with an evaluation of the effectiveness of science parks and technology incubators in various regional and national environments."
[Contents: Preface 1. The Key Elements of Innovation Infrastructure and the Evolution of Knowledge Regions: A Framework for Analysis 2. US Technology Infrastructure and the Development of Regional Innovation Poles through Incubation Mechanisms 3. Canada's Innovation Poles and their Role as Technology Incubation Spaces 4. Mexico: The Challenge to Create Regional Innovative Environments 5. Comparative Analysis of the Selected North American Knowledge Regions: Lessons and Conclusions.]
Social Capital in Action: Thematic Policy Studies
The project established interdepartmental working groups to oversee the development of a series of thematic policy studies by experts on the best available evidence in areas of strategic importance to the Government of Canada . Eight specific policy and program areas are examined in a Canadian context: poverty reduction, healthy aging, settlement of new immigrants, educational outcomes of Aboriginal youth, youth civic engagement, community crime prevention, policing in First Nations communities, and the role of local associations in community development. September 2005, Policy Research Initiative, http://www.policyresearch.gc.ca/
Measurement of Social Capital: Reference Document for Public Policy Research, Development, and Evaluation
This report provides an analysis of efforts to measure social capital and concludes with key recommendations for future measurement efforts in a public policy context. 5 Policy Research Initiative Projet de recherche sur les politiques Social Capital as a Public Policy Tool Project Report. September 2005, Policy Research Initiative, http://www.policyresearch.gc.ca/
["The focus of this book is on how public policy - and especially the planning system - both shapes and reflects the essential characteristics of land and property markets. It challenges the common misconceptions that property markets operate in isolation from public policy and that planning permission is the only significant form of state intervention in the market.
Planning, Public Policy & Property Markets contends that effective state-market relations in land and property are critical to a prosperous economy and a robust democracy, especially at a time when development aims to be sustainable and environmental protection needs to be matched by urban and rural regeneration.
The book thus reflects an increased realisation among academics and practitioners of the importance of theoretical integration and 'joined-up' policy-making. Its rounded perspective addresses a significant weakness in the academic literature and will encourage broader debate and a more pluralist agenda for property research."]
[Contents: 1. The Social Capital of Structural Holes; 2. Creativity and Learning; 3. Closure, Trust, and Reputation; 4. Closure, Echo, and Rigidity; 5. Images of Equilibrium]
Mark Curtis Distraction: Being Human in the Digital Age
"Obsessed with what we can do with our mobile phones and the web, it's easy to lose sight of the big picture, because so much is changing and so fast. We are distracted by it. This book steps back to look at our use of new technology and draws some uncomfortable and challenging conclusions about what society may need to do to get the best, not the worst, out of the digital era."
FutureText, July 2005
"We do know that social capital–the store of goodwill that helps us have easier relationships with people–is in decline. Will digital halt this or change its course?" Read the rest of the interview with Mark Curtis on Blogcritics.org
["Sustainable development is often viewed as having three imperatives: ecological, economic, and social. A Dynamic Balance illuminates the importance of understanding the social dimension as it examines the links between social capital and sustainable development within the overall context of local community development.
Looking at case studies in both Australia and Canada, it draws upon lessons that can be learned to reconnect large urban centres and smaller communities. Given the number of small communities in both countries struggling to diversify from single-resource economies in a context of increasing globalization, the analysis touches on several critical public policy issues. The contributors argue that the key strategies for communities must be embedded in the dialectics of sustainable development. Unless this critical imperative is met, single-resource economy communities will continue to face ecological, social, and economic collapse.
A Dynamic Balance is a timely and provocative call for reconciliation and reconnection within and between communities. It makes unique links between two schools of thought, social capital and sustainable community development, showing how both are interdependent and can be mobilized by governments for greater agency in communities everywhere."]
[Contents: Introduction; Social connections and lifelong learning; Networks, schooling and learning in adult life: interview evidence; Social connections and adult learning: survey evidence; Rethinking the relationship; What next?]
[Read more from John Field]
["As more countries move towards mass — or even 'universal' — systems of higher education, institutions other than traditional universities have an increasingly important part to play in its provision. A contested landscape explores these processes of change, reflecting on the shifting role of these institutions and their distinctive traditions, in countries throughout the world.
The book contains chapters from experts commenting — often critically — on the systems emerging in Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and the United States. Each offers valuable insight into the contribution of institutions from the traditional vocational education and training sectors to the new higher education, and explores the developing links between 'short-cycle' higher education and degree level courses.
This collection will be of key importance to those interested in the development of systems of post-compulsory education and training. A contested landscape not only offers an overview of the diversity of provision and providers that constitute current higher education, but also provides a foundation for international comparative analysis."]
"Blackburn with Darwen Local Education Authority has won international recognition and numerous awards for its work in widening participation in learning and building a thriving learning community.
"Dreams, dialogues and desires" offers a stimulating account of the creative approach used by Blackburn with Darwen to establish a learning community. In a passionately and, at times, humourously written account of his time there, David McNulty provides a valuable insight into how ideas develop and become reality; how to reach those learners previously disinterested or excluded; how to push limits and extend and question boundaries and in Blackburn with Darwen's case, dramatically increase participation in adult and community learning."
Read a review of Dreams, Dialogues and Desires ...
Edward Elgar, 2005
"The Trouble with Trust poses the question: if trust is considered to be important for successful cooperation, why don't high-trust work relationships predominate? Part of the explanation, the author argues, is that it is particularly difficult to build and maintain trust in work relations. This book addresses this problem by providing an in-depth, multi-level empirical analysis of the process by which trust builds up and breaks down in the interaction between people within organizations."
["Designing the Just Learning Society presents an historically attuned and critical theoretical inquiry into the discourse of the learning society, providing a coherent framework for understanding how adults learn in the key domains of human interaction: state, civil society, and workplace.
Grappling with contemporary issues, Welton explores the way power and money distort learning in civil society, the workplace and in cultural life. He asserts that achieving a just learning society calls for collective action to transform organisational and associational life with the recognition that human beings have the capacity for self-determination and self-expression.
Welton contends that the alleged emergence of a 'knowledge society' or a 'learning society' cannot be accepted as either new or good, and that 'learning' is not an essentially good thing. Indeed, that learning is harnessed in the modern world to the money-code and channels human energies and capacities in destructive directions. "]
Cambridge University Press, August 2005
[ Contents: 1. Fisheries, forestry, and agriculture in the theory of the commons; 2. The prototype model of social common capital; 3. Sustainability and social common capital; 4. A commons model of social common capital; 5. Energy and recycling of residual wastes; 6. Agriculture and social common capital; 7. Global warming and sustainable development; 8. Education as social common capital; 9. Medical care as social common capital.]
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