Globalization has become a household word, permeating workplaces and communities, while internationalizing the curriculum has become common practice, not just in higher education, but also reaching into the primary grades and outward into program planning efforts in the non-formal sector. Few fields, however, can claim two international bodies…

Ron Lippitt discusses the possibility of using community development theories and strategies as a research perspective for studying new ways to govern and manage community colleges. Contrasts community development and organizational development, identifies key reference sources, and highlights strategies that might lead to productive start-ups and…

Describes and analyzes the search conference--a participatory planning methodology--by exploring its roots in direct realism and characterizing it as a theory-building activity. Develops a classification matrix based on the nature of the task (problem solving or futures creative) and type of system (organizations, communities, ecologies,…

Partnerships between postsecondary education institutions and employers, unions, professional associations, and other groups are discussed. The majority of examples are based on projects of the Education and the Economy Alliance, a program supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Partnerships and joint, or…

An ecological framework for predicting citizen participation in grassroots community organizations and predicting community disorder problems (such as crime and fear) was developed and tested. The framework, which is called an ecological framework for sustainable community learning and development, delineates the relevant economic, political,…