This paper attempts to engage the field in a discussion about what mathematics is needed for students to engage in society, especially with an increase in technology and digitalization. In this respect, mathematics holds a special place in STEM as machines do most of the calculations that students are taught in K-12. We raise questions about what…

This first "OECD Skills Outlook" presents the initial results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), which evaluates the skills of adults in 22 OECD member countries and two partner countries. The PIAAC survey was designed to provide insights into the availability of some key skills and how they are used at work and at home through the…

In the research project Literacy Practices in Working Life, the role played by reading and writing in common nonacademic occupations in Sweden was investigated. The results highlight not only some typical ways of using writing to frame units of work but also differences reflecting the main focus of work ("people" or "things")…

As work organizations restructure to remain competitive, problem solving is being pushed down to frontline workers, and emphasis is increasingly placed on workplace learning. In this exploratory, qualitative study, we focus on workers' experiences of problems within the context of their work and how these contexts foster their learning and…

In a workplace literacy program designed by the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen and the International Masonry Institute, the basic skills of 615 participants were assessed in mathematics, reading, writing, presentation, listening-responding, and problem-solving at sites in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Available data…

The typical undergraduate program in computer science includes an introduction to hardware and operating systems, file processing and database organization, data communication and networking, and programming. However, many graduates may lack the ability to integrate the concepts "learned" into a skill set and pattern of approaching problems that…

An external evaluation was made of the Competitive Skills Project, a National Workplace Literacy Program carried out in partnership between El Camino College and BP Chemicals. Among the problems identified were the following: (1) because the original director and his successor left the project, the original evaluation design could not be…

This document consists of the final report and evaluation report of the Workshops in the Workplace, a workplace education program that was a business education partnership. The final report describes the following: the partners--three manufacturing firms and a medical facility; the areas addressed--workplace education as a second language, problem…

West Virginia Northern Community College provided workplace literacy education and training for employees of Weirton Steel Corporation and Union Carbide Corporation. For Weirton Steel the training included 4,040 hours of instruction in fundamental literacy skills (reading, writing, speaking, and math), oral and written communications (including…

Project TACKLE (Together, Addressing the Challenge of Knowledge and Literacy for Employees) was a cooperative project, jointly developed to address employees with the inadequate basic skills necessary to operate modernized, technical equipment and maintain job security. Approximately 500 current employees of General Motors, Flint, Michigan, used…

This publication consists of four volumes of the evaluation report for a project to provide workplace basic skills education for employees in seven manufacturing companies in New York in partnership with five education agencies. Volume I: "Executive Summary" provides an overview of the evaluation results. Volume II: "Program Goals…