Businesses are increasingly frustrated by the lack of workers with the basic skills needed to fill their entry-level jobs. Workers in existing jobs make many errors because of lack of skills, errors that cost businesses--and consumers--many dollars. Many solutions have been advanced to improve education. Twenty-two educational practices that work…

The millions of disadvantaged youth, especially minority group youths, face a bewildering mix of job training and employment programs. Because of bureaucratic regulations and funding complications, most of these programs are not effective for the majority of youths who need them. To be effective, youth employment and training programs should…

School reform efforts today have a personal focus that emphasizes attending to the problems faced by individual at-risk students. After outlining the impact of student dropouts, this document uses information from a review of 150 at-risk student programs described in related professional literature to describe six basic weaknesses in current…

Over time, compensatory education has become an increasingly institutionalized and effective Federal program, characterized by the following: (1) cooperation; (2) mutual accommodation on the part of national, state, and local officials; (3) ready acquiescence to Federal guidelines at the state and local level; and (4) shared responsibility among…

Research can provide insights into problems related to adult basic education (ABE) program success. The potential ABE population is great; for example, the Maryland target group includes nearly 1,097,000. Several studies have revealed that those needing ABE most are least likely to be program participants. Various problems that often overwhelm the…

These three serial issues focus on the characteristics and administration of developmental education programs. The following articles are featured: (1) "Characteristics of Successful Programs," which reviews research findings concerning the characteristics associated with effective and ineffective developmental programs and includes a list of…

Families in urban areas struggle with drug abuse, poverty, increasing housing costs, and lack of affordable child care. The challenges confronting urban schools include a higher dropout rate, higher youth unemployment, and the need to address a variety of special needs of their student population, such as programs for pregnant students, dropouts,…

This volume is the fifth and last in a series that gives a comphehensive view on the present status and future prospects of adult education in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries. The series attempts to show what kind of national policies and strategies are required to increase public participation in…

In its fifth annual report for 1979, the National Commission for Employment Policy recommended that the nation make a new commitment to improving the employment prospects of disadvantaged youth. In preparing its findings and recommendations on youth unemployment, the commission received information from the Youth Task Force; academic consultants;…

Three papers discuss the needs, interests, and participation of adults in learning activities. Generally, the papers deal with influences upon the possible demand for lifelong learning in the future. In the first paper K. Patricia Cross synthesizes findings from thirty-one state and national studies concerning the patterns of participation and…

The new e-learning technologies offer the rich promise and potential of learning delivery at any time, anywhere, on any topic. Without careful management of the learning process, application of best principles and practices in e-learning design strategies, effective attention to staff development, provision of extensive learner support services,…

There is a crisis in the black family; at its core is the inextricable linkage of low educational achievement, high unemployment levels, and limited opportunities for access to stable jobs at adequate wages. This report is directed at an examination of the causes and the consequences of this essentially economic crisis, providing a brief…

A majority of those people enrolling in low-level further education courses offered through the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) lack qualifications and experience necessary to find good jobs, are disillusioned with secondary education, seldom recieve any further education, and are unemployed. To meet the needs of such students, the ILEA…

This document identifies the costs of teen pregnancy in terms of high dropout rates, long-term educational decrements, the increased risks of the children of teen parents, loss of human capital, and increased welfare costs. Prevention and intervention and the features of operationally successful program models are included under the topic of…

A study was conducted to determine the state of the art in vocational education programming for disadvantaged in Pennsylvania and the nation, and to develop materials to improve vocational programs for the disadvantaged. Project efforts focused on programs serving the academically/economically disadvantaged in regular classes, special classes, and…