Critical approaches to HRD do not focus solely on improving organizational performance; instead, they address previously undiscussable issues such as power, politics, class, sexism, racism, and heterosexism. Since critical HRD often seeks to raise problems instead of solve them immediately, it is sometimes criticized for being elitist and detached…

Most Chicanos live in relatively well-defined areas called "barrios" within urban areas. These barrios are growing in population density due to such long-term forces as the: (1) declining opportunities in rural areas due to the gradual labor displacement and/or the bleak economic prospects faced by the smaller farm in this country; (2)…

In response to economic hardships affecting agriculture, small business, and manufacturing in Iowa, the Eastern Iowa Community College District (EICCD) initiated an economic development strategy aimed at the expansion of the employment base, diversification, assistance to existing businesses to increase their markets, and entrepreneurship. Spurred…

This paper questions whether public concerns about educational quality and slow economic development in Appalachia are being addressed adequately and suggests that the problem of lagging educational performance is rooted in the social and economic environment within which schools operate. Recent high unemployment in south central Kentucky and its…

Kirkwood Community College's (KCC's) economic development efforts in Iowa provide a full-service, regional delivery system for customized job training, retraining, and economic development services and programs. The mission of Kirkwood Economic Development Services (KEDS) is to assist the region's business and industry in becoming more productive,…

A project has been designed to identify how a non-metropolitan community consolidates and develops sustainable social and economic activity. For many authors, the political position reiterating vocational education and training (VET) as the pivotal contributor to building national economic sustainability is framed in terms of human capital…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on life-affirming work and social justice that was conducted as part of a conference on human resource development (HRD). "Doing Good or Doing Well? A Counter-story of Continuing Professional Education (CPE)" (Laurel Jeris, Linda Armacost) reports on an exploratory study in which a…