A continuing priority in education has focused on preparing students for postacademic success. The adoption of the Common Core State Standards Initiative prompted educational leaders to focus on preparing students to be "college and career ready." Definitions, perceptions, and efforts to improve college and career readiness vary widely.…

The ongoing crisis in teacher pension funding has led states to consider various reforms in plan design to replace the traditional benefit formulas, based on years of service and final average salary (FAS). One such design is a cash balance (CB) plan, long deployed in the private sector, and increasingly considered, but rarely yet adopted, for…

The complexity school counselors' many roles can conflict with one another. Conflict also stems from how building principals perceive the roles of school counselor. This dysfunctional role conflict and ambiguity may lead to organizational stresses that negatively impact the ability to serve students well. Therefore, the purpose of this…

As new technologies and learning practices emerge, the way instructional design and learning technology (IDLT) professionals conduct their work evolves. With this constant evolution comes a change in employer expectations of IDLT professionals. This convergent mixed methods study analyzed 130 IDLT-related position descriptions and interviewed 12…

The purpose of this quantitative, correlational-predictive study was to investigate whether teacher-reported psychological contract breach (PCB) and psychological contract violation (PCV) mediate the relationship between perceived diversity climate (DC) and turnover intention (TI), and the extent to which this mediated relationship, if it exists,…

In the last two years, the nation's workforce development boards have focused on job training and placement in the face of many challenges related to the changing labor market, a global pandemic, and an economic shutdown. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) spoke with five workforce development board directors from across the…

The purpose of the paper was to identify quality dimensions through which the service quality performance concerning TQM implementation in a Higher Education context could be measured from external customers' perspectives. The paper opted for a research survey with an instrument developed on a 5-point Likert-scale of five quality dimensions…

Understanding the developmental and contextual nature of social and emotional competencies has always been a key concern of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), including the ways students and adults use core social and emotional competencies in preparation for and within their work-life. The current labor market…

This summary is the first in a series of research briefs on student skills for the future. It provides highlights from the full research report, "Initial Findings Report: Student Skills for the Future, Spring 2022. A Landscape Analysis from the Jacksonville Public Education Fund" (ED620417). Given the rate of technological advancement,…

The Jacksonville Public Education Fund drew on previous research from various organizations including UNF and STEM2Hub in order to identify community stakeholders who could help us answer the question: What skills do students need to succeed in the 21st century workforce? JPEF conducted interviews and focus groups with educators and a variety of…

Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related fields comprise the top 30 occupations expected to grow the fastest by 2026. This increase in job opportunities, coupled with the evolution of technology, is creating higher demands for diversity in the labor market. Currently all students require innovative training and support from a…

Community colleges are beginning to build on guided pathways reforms in partnership with employers, universities, and K-12 schools to create cross-sector pathways to college and career opportunities for students--particularly those students traditionally underserved by higher education. The aim is to improve economic mobility for community…

One of the biggest challenges that states and local intermediaries face in setting up and scaling high-quality youth apprenticeships is gathering relevant, accurate and actionable data. High-quality data is an essential ingredient for a strong youth apprenticeship program because it equips state and local leaders to evaluate impact, monitor…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on many facets of students' successful transitions from secondary into postsecondary education, particularly for students who depend on in-person delivery of content and experience. For many young people, paid work-based learning has historically provided a needed source of income, and its…

This article attempts to address the workforce crisis with implications for economic competitiveness and national defense faced by America and the dichotomy of STEM needs and available employees. Businesses struggle to fill critical skilled roles in STEM occupations and thus suffer sluggish growth. In fact, some estimate up to 2.4 million STEM…