Understanding and identifying the professional development needs of 4-H youth development professionals should be the first step in developing the Extension workforce. However, 4-H professionals find it challenging to use the Professional, Research, Knowledge and Competencies (PRKC), which consists of 348 unique competency items, to guide…

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have brought about new questions regarding the construction of virtual learning environments and course delivery systems. One such question that researchers and instructors alike are considering is the role of community in learning spaces. This paper uses a professional development (PD) MOOC as a case study to…

The Community Wellness, Empowerment, Leadership and Lifeskills (CWell) program is a 2-year community-driven program developed in partnership between an underserved community in Limerick City and staff at the University of Limerick, Ireland. This article explores the transformative teaching and learning experiences that arose throughout the…

This study examines the relationship between informal science and indigenous innovations in local communities in which students matured. The discussion considers methods for bridging the gap that exists between parents' understanding of informal science ("Ubunifu") and what students learn in secondary schools in Kenya, Tanzania, and…

The new public sector community development workers (CDWs) programme was established in 2004 following ineffective service delivery through chronic under-spending on annual budgets in post-apartheid South Africa. CDWs receive training in learnerships within the National Skills Development Strategy to ensure access to and spending of local…

In this research report we share results of a study of an adaptation of Lesson Study, a form of professional development typically used in Japanese elementary schools, with secondary mathematics teachers in the United States. We draw on Wenger's (1998) concept of "communities of practice" and Grossman, Wineberg, and Woolworth's (2001)…

This study evaluated the output, level of participation, and perceptions of effectiveness and value among participants in a virtual forum. Twenty-three experts in the field of adult education and community development were invited to participate in a three-week interactive session using a World Wide Web-based, asynchronous computer conferencing…

An effective partnership among university students and professors, school district administrators, teachers, elementary school students, and parents from the school community is described. Relationships originally formed through a Title VII Transitional Bilingual Education grant were strengthened through the development of the Sam Houston State…

This book, intended to serve as a professional reference work, proposes to define the field of Adult Basic Education in its evolution, its contribution to professional education, and the principal problems and issues. The volume contains the following treatises: "Definitions and Evolution of the Concepts" (Thomas); "Selected…

The National Forum on Effective Urban and Metropolitan Schooling met to discuss building communities and curriculum as part of a larger effort to support an agenda of achievement, competency, and success for urban education. This report of that 1989 meeting is divided into two parts. The first part lists and defines the following 10 themes for the…

This document contains 14 papers from an annual symposium on research in adult education for African Americans and Latin Americans. Representative papers include the following: "Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Keeping the Faith and Representing the Race--From the Pulpit to Politics" (Roudell Kirkwood); "Religious Education and…

The following papers were presented at a research preconference on the implications of Afrocentrism for adult education: "The African American Adult Education Pre-Conference: Historical Reflections" (Colin); "The Perspective 'Is' the Paradigm: The Congruence of World View and Research Methodology" (Dozier-Henry);…