The first year of an employee's tenure at a company or institution is a pivotal time for them to determine whether that company or institution is a place where they want to continue working. This study presents a business case for a year-long orientation program that is rooted in Drago-Severson's (2008) four pillars of adult learning. The intended…

Shawnee State University (SSU) founded Project BEAR: Building Emerging and Achieving Readers, an AmeriCorps program, to support literacy development and improve school readiness in the Appalachian region. After the first 2 years of program implementation, areas for growth including enhanced service member recruitment, member onboarding, and…

Workforce development programs and job satisfaction were topics that were well-studied in traditional groups of workers and it was known that these programs had a positive effect on the contributions and outcomes of today's organizations. The research problem addressed the lack of focus on non-traditional groups of workers and the associated lower…

Adult learners are returning to school to acquire and enhance workplace essential skills needed to meet changing job market expectations. Adequately preparing adult learners for the workforce necessitates understanding their views and experiences. The problem explored in this study was the lack of research regarding business school stakeholders'…

School site leaders historically have experienced high levels of burnout and turnover. Principals cite long work hours, increased responsibilities with local, state, and federal accountability, increased stress and low pay as a few of the reasons jobs are abandoned within the first five years. LEAD currently provides professional learning for…

Today, women comprise nearly half the U.S. workforce and outnumber men in many previously male-dominated fields. This seismic cultural and demographic shift has dramatically impacted organizations. The most obvious impact is the presence of, and dependence on, increased numbers of women employees throughout organizations. Retention of talented…

The U.S. federal government's Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Senior Executive Service (SES) is losing institutional knowledge at a rapid pace due mostly to "baby boomer" retirements. To retain as much knowledge as possible, the OPM must identify means and methods that extend the current senior executive knowledge base and quickly…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain insight into the career patterns of early career professionals living in Aiken County, South Carolina. Two theoretical frameworks were selected for this study; Patton and McMahon's (1999) Career Development Systems Theory and Higgins and Kram's (2001) Developmental Network Theory. The researcher…

"Do senior level construction leaders possess a common set of leadership development needs that can be addressed to better prepare them to lead and retain the Millennial workforce?" As older generations begin to retire in-mass, many organizations are reevaluating their approach to employee recruitment, performance, and retention. This…

This exploratory study examines the adult educational philosophies and teaching styles of workforce educators and entrepreneurship instructors within the State of Georgia. A workforce educator is an educator teaching workforce skills; an entrepreneurship instructor is an educator who teaches entrepreneurship skills. Conti's Principles of Adult…

The objective of this dissertation was to explore the concept that knowledge and application of theories, principles and methods of adult learning to teaching may be a core management competency needed for companies to improve employee reaction to learning, knowledge transfer and behavior as well as engagement, retention and profitability.…

The current economic crisis, a growing workforce, the increasing lifespan of workers, and demanding, complex jobs have made organizations highly selective in employee recruitment and retention. It is therefore important, to the adult educator, to develop models of learning that better prepare adult learners for the workplace. The purpose of…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to determine how Baby Boomers make meaning out of disorientating dilemmas and challenges as they enroll in community college for career training. The dilemmas include: retirement, layoffs, shrinking job market, returning to school, and dwindling retirement accounts. Understanding Baby Boomers'…