1st Edition

Globalizing Education for Work Comparative Perspectives on Gender and the New Economy

Edited By Richard D. Lakes, Patricia A. Carter Copyright 2004
    392 Pages
    by Routledge

    236 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book explores how changes in the new world economy are affecting the education of male and female workers. Authors from Australia, Africa, Brazil, Europe, North America, and South Korea use methodologies--such as literature reviews, case studies, legislative analysis, evaluations of model delivery systems, and demographic profiles--to examine the current efforts of a number of nations around the world to transform vocational education and training (VET) programs into gender equitable institutions where female students are able to obtain skills necessary for successful and economically viable lives.

    The cross-national perspectives in this volume illuminate the meaning of VET equity theory and practice in the new economy. Gender equity in education is constructed differently from place to place depending on a variety of factors, including economic development and cultural traditions. Starting from this understanding that gender and culture are multifaceted, historically situated, and constructed around dominant economic and institutional structures, class identities, and social positions, as well as discursive practices, the book addresses central questions, such as:
    *What roles do schools play in the global economy?
    *Is there a parallel between an increasingly globalized economy and a viable universal concept of education for work?
    *What is the effect of a nation's financial condition, political system, and global economic posture on its training policies?
    *Are educational equity issues heightened or submerged in the new economy?

    The comparative perspective helps readers to more clearly analyze both tensions that arise as capitalist changes in the new economy are contested, resisted, or accommodated--and the impact upon education. In the Afterword, the editors identify overarching themes emerging from the volume and illuminate various comparative perspectives on gender and the new economy.

    Globalizing Education for Work: Comparative Perspectives on Gender and the New Economy brings together important information and analysis for researchers, students, and teachers in education, women's studies, and sociology; for vocational education and training professionals; and for policymakers and policy analysts in governmental and nongovernmental organizations. It is well suited as a text for a range of graduate courses in the fields of comparative and international education, politics of education, vocational educational policy, gender and education, and sociology of education.

    Contents: Preface. R.D. Lakes, P.A. Carter, Globalizing Education for Work: An Introduction. P.A. Carter, Education and Work as Human Rights for Women: A Feminist Analysis. R.D. Lakes, Working-Class Masculinities and Schooling: New Considerations for Vocational Education. T. Ramalho, Defying the Grip of Globalization: Brazilian Women's Employment and Education for Work. H.K. Pae, R.D. Lakes, Preparation for (In)equality: Women in South Korean Vocational Education. J. Lasonen, Poverty and Powerlessness in Ethiopia: Shaping Gender Equity Through Technical, Vocational Education, and Training. L. Mjelde, Changing Work, Changing Households: New Challenges to Masculinity and Femininity in Norwegian Vocational Education. T. Fenwick, Gender and the New Economy--Enterprise Discourses in Canada: Implications for Workplace Learning and Education. M. Malloch, Where Are the Women in Vocational Education and Training? An Assessment of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) in Australia. K. Kraus, P.A. Carter, Disincentives to Employment: Family and Educational Policies in Unified Germany. S.M. Culver, P.L. Burge, Gender Equity in Vocational Education in the United States: The Unfinished Agenda. R.D. Lakes, P.A. Carter, Afterword.

    Biography

    Richard D. Lakes, Patricia A. Carter

    "I would place this book at the top of the spectrum of thinking in its field....It will contribute significantly to the field of vocational education and gender equity."
    Mutindi Ndunda
    College of Charleston

    "The topic is certainly of long-standing concern to a segment of those involved in vocational and technical education both in the U.S. and abroad. This book definitely adopts a social justice perspective but is in line with the approach taken by scholars from this tradition....It is unique in its approach and content....and will fill a current gap in the literature about gender equity and workforce education and development."
    Jay W. Rojewski
    University of Georgia