Peer mentoring is a widely employed strategy in higher education to foster student development and integration. However, the effectiveness of peer mentoring in higher education lacks well-established statements. A systematic review was conducted to assess the efficacy of peer mentoring during the initial phase of academic studies. This review…

This report makes the case for a shift in emphasis in U.S. education and workforce development policy. Specifically, the report sets out a rationale for investing more in upgrading the foundational skill levels of the U.S. workforce. The report summarizes the results of studies that used data from the 1994 International Adult Literacy Survey…

This article investigates policymaking for Norwegian lower secondary education, with a focus on policy problems and solutions emphasising pre-vocational education. The data consist of official policy documents such as Green and White Papers, hearings, propositions to the parliament, protocols of parliamentary debates and votes in the parliament.…

Background: Education plays a pivotal role in empowering individuals with the knowledge and skills needed for careers, economic progress, and societal engagement. Dropping out of school before achieving a qualification undermines these opportunities and has an impact on individuals and society (Audit Commission, 2010; OECD, 2023). International…

As globalization and technological change remake the labor market, it has become increasingly clear that the United States must create better educational and workforce training programs if we are to remain competitive. In order to help disadvantaged and low-skilled workers advance in the new labor market, educational opportunities are needed that…

High school dropout is commonly seen as the result of a long-term process of failure and disengagement. As useful as it is, this view has obscured the heterogeneity of pathways leading to dropout. Research suggests, for instance, that some students leave school not as a result of protracted difficulties but in response to situations that emerge…

Conducted by researchers at the Gardner Center at the request of the College Futures Foundation, this literature review examines challenges and promising practices for increasing college access and completion among boys and young men of color. Wide gaps in college enrollment and persistence remain, even among, for example, Black and Latino boys…

English language learners (ELLs) are the most rapidly growing student population in U.S. elementary and secondary schools, and this growth rate will continue throughout the next few decades. Indirect evidence has suggested that the youth population that grows the fastest has the highest risk of dropping out of school. This article reviews the…

Central governments must recognize the need for decentralization of development efforts, to plan programs specific to the needs and conditions of each target population. Development programs are characterized by program overlap because of diversity of sponsorship. A possible mechanism is a training and development center at the subnational level.…

Focuses on how India's economic planning and development efforts since 1950 have affected rural areas and small towns, which comprise nearly 80% of India's population. Presents several case studies of rural development and concludes that the major keys to the stability of India as a democracy are population control, a unifying language, and…

School completion and dropping out of school are developmental processes with strong social and emotional antecedents. The early development of attachment bonds, and subsequent positive and negative behaviors and relationships set an early path toward school completion or drop out. Discusses ways to enhance emotional bonds before and during the…

Both the school-to-work system and youth development theory emphasize preparing youth for adulthood. They share the following characteristics: prevention of problem behaviors, a belief that young people develop by learning actively and in context, a conviction that young people need opportunities to interact with and be respected by adults who…

This manual provides a model for tracking the progress of special education and high-risk students who have completed secondary schooling. The manual includes a literature review, procedures for development of a followup system, a bibliography of over 200 followup materials, and a three-part followup instrument. Samples of followup instruments…

In discussing Rafe-uz-Zaman's essay on adult literacy and national development (see v9, n1 of this journal), the author cites examples to support his thesis that mass literacy campaigns in predominately agricultural countries can be successful only if there is simultaneous undertaking of economic development programs focused on the rural poor. (MF)

Monumental social and economic problems confront the rural communities of the South. Diversification of the rural economy is the key to revitalizing the rural South, but new industries, anticipating the need for a more highly skilled work force, find the region's human capital resources to be deficient. Vibrant economies are not sustainable in a…