Determinants of increasing duration of first unemployment among first degree holders in Rwanda: a logistic regression analysis

Unexpectedly, the duration of first unemployment among first degree holders has quickly increased in Rwanda after considerable loss of the skilled labour during the war and Genocide perpetrated against Tutsi in 1994. The time it takes a higher education graduate to land a first employment is a key indicator for the evaluation of and optimal investment in higher education. A long-term first unemployment has negative psychosocial and economic consequences, and is an interplay of diversified factors. Yet, these factors have not been ascertained in Rwanda, whereas their knowledge is crucial for an efficient planning of higher education and employability of the graduates. This study aimed to fill in this knowledge gap for the period 1998–2009. We fitted a binary logistic regression model to data from the 2010 Employer and Graduate Survey (n = 1007) that was conducted by the National University of Rwanda. The results showed that the duration of first unemployment was significantly associated to the graduate’s age, job search method, acquired skills, further graduate studies, monthly salary and category of employing institution. The results suggest that the higher education sector should identify and fill skills gaps in the existing curricula or its delivery with reference to the labour market requirements.     

Overeducation on the Belgian labour market: evaluation and analysis of the explanatory factors through two types of approaches

This paper examines the incidence and determinants of overeducation in the Belgian private sector. Two different approaches are used to define overeducation by means of data on characteristics of employees and employers. Using the 1995 Structure of Earnings Survey, between 22% and 24% of the workforce is found to be overeducated. Results support the idea that employers view labour market experience as a substitute for formal education. They also show that male workers and people employed in state‐owned firms are less affected by overeducation. Further results suggest that the size of the establishment has a very weak (negative) impact on overeducation.     

Partners in progress: An employment programme for persons with disabilities

This paper describes a new community-based training and employment program for people with disabilities that offers full time training in integrated settings with minimum wage paid throughout, and results in competitive employment success rates of 85% to 90%. Program operation and outcomes during the first year are discussed.Paper presented to the Third International Consultation on Counselling Disabled People and Their Families, under the auspices of Rehabilitation International, Vienna, Austria, July 1987.     

Can Didactic Transposition and Popularization Explain Transformations of Genetic Knowledge from Research to Classroom?

We will attempt a synthesis from various research perspectives that have analyzed the alterations that knowledge inevitably goes through while percolating into classroom activities. We will try to identify some of their causes and will illustrate them with examples in genetics. First, we will discuss some research on knowledge transformation when genetics knowledge is popularized (Staerklé and Clémence 2002), to show how knowledge is transformed in specific predictable manners as it moves from experts to general public. Then, we will draw from a large body of (French) research in didactic transposition (Chevallard 1991) in order to highlight what knowledge characteristically thrives or is lost as it percolates into school practice and learner’s knowledge. We will then draw from Huberman’s (Science Communication, 4(4), 478–510, 1983) analysis of knowledge use in schools the specificities of knowledge that teachers effectively use. All three perspectives reveal that cognitive and social environment are crucial determinants of what knowledge will be found in schools. An ecological metaphor explains how different cognitive environments from research into education favor knowledge adapted to specificities of this ecosystem. This transposition of knowledge is therefore not decay but inescapable and necessary. Ignoring this transposition has considerably reduced the effectiveness of many educational reforms. We will combine these three to propose an evolutionary perspective that could inform ways of expressing research into educational recommendations fed into the system to optimize the didactic transposition process.