The slowdown in American educational attainment

Relative to those for high school graduates, lifetime earnings for college graduates are higher for more recent cohorts. At the same time, across successive cohorts born after 1950, there is a stagnation in the fraction of high school graduates that go on to complete a college degree. What explains this phenomenon? I formulate a life-cycle model of human capital accumulation in college and on the job, where successive cohorts decide whether or not to acquire a college degree as well as the quality of their college education. Cohorts differ by the sequence of rental price per unit of human capital they face and by the distribution of initial human capital across individuals. My model reproduces the observed pattern in college attainment for the 1920–1970 birth cohorts. The stagnation in college attainment is due to the decrease in the growth rate of the rental price per unit of human capital commencing in the 1970s. My model also generates about 80% of the increase in lifetime earnings for college graduates relative to those for high school graduates observed across cohorts.     

Population density,migration, and the returns to human capital and land: Insights from Indonesia

Rapid population growth in many developing countries has raised concerns regarding food security and household welfare. To understand the consequences of population growth in a general equilibrium setting, we examine the dynamics of population density and its impacts on household outcomes using panel data from Indonesia, combined with district-level demographic data. Historically, Indonesia has adapted to land constraints through a mix of agricultural intensification, expansion of the land frontier, and non-farm diversification, with public policies playing a role in catalyzing all of these responses. In contemporary Indonesia we find that human capital determines the effect of increased population density on per capita household consumption expenditure. The effect of population density is positive if the average educational attainment is high (above junior high school), while it is negative otherwise. On the other hand, farmers with larger holdings maintain their advantage in farming regardless of population density. The paper concludes with some potential lessons for African countries from Indonesia’s more successful rural development experiences.     

Towards an orientation of higher education in the post Rio + 20 process: How is the game changing?

The purpose of this paper is to identify and assess the implications of sustainable development for the future orientation of higher education, especially after the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20). A qualitative trend analysis is being used for this purpose, in the context of which three macro trends are combined: (1) higher education that has been developed via five periods; (2) sustainable development that has evolved through three stages; and (3) the nexus between sustainable development and higher education which has strengthened through three phases. The simultaneous analysis of the macro trends regarding their possible interactive effects (through an expert panel discussion) demonstrates that higher education and universities under the influence of sustainable development elements are entering into a new era in which the function of “higher education for sustainable development” could be interpreted as the seeds of a newly emerging mission for universities. In this regard, it is expected that the concept of “sustainable university” is likely to become more common to meet the emerging mission. Consistent with the Rio + 20 outcomes, the authors analyzed the concept of “sustainable university” and identified the fact that it is practically divided into three interrelated and complementary categories, namely social-, environmental-, and economic-oriented university in pursuit of actualizing sustainable development.     

学生宿舍在大学生思想政治教育中的功能探索

高校学生宿舍是大学生学习、生活的重要场所,在新的历史时期,宿舍的特定性能决定了它的角色已不再仅仅为学生提供课余之外的休息场所。如何充分利用学生宿舍环境的独特性,积极开展大学生思想政治教育,已经成为一个亟待研究的重要课题。本文旨在通过对学生宿舍角色转换重新定位的研究,探索高校学生宿舍在大学生思想政治教育中的多样性功能。     

Transport and social exclusion: access to higher education in the UK policy context

This paper examines the student experience of transport, within the context of two hitherto distinct discourses. Firstly, the transport and social exclusion discourse, which highlights the role that low mobility plays in the experience of exclusion. Secondly, the widening participation discourse, which emphasises inequitable access to and achievement in higher education (HE) by non-traditional students as a component of social exclusion. The paper reports the results of a series of focus groups, undertaken with current HE students from a diverse range of backgrounds, many of whom may be considered to be non-traditional students. Results suggest that inadequate access to transport is a substantial barrier to access and achievement in HE, for these students. This highlights the influence of transport upon the successful implementation of social policy. Without consideration of transport and the physical accessibility of HE, the aim of increasing and widening participation in HE is unlikely to be realised.     

改进高职院校思想政治理论课教学的思考

加强与改进大学生思想政治教育是一项重大而紧迫的战略任务。它是坚持社会主义的办学方向,提高大学生的思想政治素质,培养全面发展的中国特色社会主义事业的建设者和接班人的需要。文章结合加强和改进大学生思想政治教育的主要任务和高职思想政治理论课的教学要求,对如何加强与改进高职院校思想政治理论课教学提出几点思考。     

新疆妇女社会地位与受教育程度关系研究

妇女社会地位客观反映了社会和谐、性别平等与妇女发展,研究新疆妇女社会地位与受教育程度关系具有重要的现实意义。本文采用抽样调查的方法,从新疆14个地州市分层随机抽取41个县区（市）的18岁-64岁的社会群体作为调查对象,选用教育、就业、杜会保障、政治参与和政治态度、家庭婚姻、性别认知和态度等方面的14个变量来构建测量妇女社会地位的指数,并依据第三次全国妇女社会地位调查数据分析了新疆妇女社会地位和受教育程度的现状,以及妇女受教育程度对其社会地位的影响。结果表明：第一,新疆妇女受教育水平存在地域、性别、城乡间的差异;第二,新疆妇女受教育年限每增加1％,其劳动收入平均增加0．385％;第三,新疆妇女受教育水平与社会地位呈显著的正相关关系。最后提出了提高新疆妇女社会地位的对策建议。     

民族地区高校与一般高校大学生满意度比较研究——以西藏和辽宁高校大学生满意度为例

文章基于西藏高校学生满意度584份问卷与辽宁省高校学生满意度1989份问卷的比较样本数据及其构建的满意度指数模型,阐述了民族地区高校与一般高校大学生满意度比较的价值,分析了西藏高校与辽宁省高校学生满意度比较的可能性。通过采用比较研究的方法,比较了西藏高校与辽宁高校大学生满意度的具体内容和满意度指数模型的路径系数,得出了西藏高校大学生满意度高于辽宁高校大学生满意度;西藏高校大学生群体因民族、生源地、是否西藏内地班等因素不同满意度存在较大差异性;西藏高校与辽宁高校大学生满意度指数模型潜变量关系存在差异性等结论。最后提出了提升民族地区高校与一般高校大学生满意度的对策与建议。     

高职院校“中国梦”教育的探索与实践研究——以北京财贸职业学院为例

“中国梦”是实现伟大复兴就是中华民族近代以来最伟大梦想,习总书记将中华民族伟大复兴和“中国梦”联系在一起,成为一种精神力量,激起人内心的憧憬和行动.“中国职业教育梦”也是“中国梦”的重要组成部分.本文以北京财贸职业学院为例,就“中国梦”如何结合职业教育特点融入高职院校的校园文化建设、教育教学等做出阐释,为加强“中国梦”主题教育活动的实效性而做出探索.     

高职特殊学生群体的学习与就业管理策略

特殊学生群体的学习和就业工作是学生．管理工作的重点和难点,财经类高职特殊学生管理尤其具有特殊性。本文对特殊学生群体进行了分类分析,分别探究了特殊学生群体的学习管理策略和就业管理策略,解决特殊学生群体的难题,真正实现高职教育让人人成才的目标。