In public schools across the country, student needs are both diversifying and intensifying. At the same time, public school districts are facing increasing resource constraints, including declining enrollment, teacher workforce shortages, and reduced federal funding. These conditions make the need to prioritize the most effective strategies for…

American public higher education systems include the largest and most impactful colleges and universities in the nation, including 75 percent of the nation's public sector students. While their impact is enormous, they are largely neglected as an area of study and underutilized as an instrument for the improvement of postsecondary outcomes.…

Entrepreneurship is always challenging the status quo; it's an engine of human progress. We view Entrepreneurial Mindset (EM) as a pathway to improve upon the status quo and improve individuals, organizations, and communities and promote health, education, and prosperity. In this brief paper, we lay out the case for why EM is beneficial for…

A review of 25 technical assistance models and frameworks was conducted to identify the core elements of technical assistance practices. The focus of analysis was on generally agreed upon technical assistance practices that were considered essential for planning, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of technical assistance. Results…

What does it take to transform a large, bureaucratic institution with a fractured culture and a compliance orientation into a nurturing, collaborative, vision-directed organization? This report and the accompanying research brief endeavor to answer that question by examining a humanistic and systems thinking approach to cultural change that took…

Recently, there has been growing interest in adapting Return-on-Investment thinking to education--sometimes called educational productivity, or academic-ROI. Education leaders do not seek a monetary return on their spending, rather greater student learning, or other outcomes like student citizenship, higher graduation rates, or increased lifetime…

A system for raising productivity in higher education institutions is proposed, based on two theories used to explain the tendency of unit costs to rise. Emphasis is on combining clear goals, accountability, and incentives with an experimental approach. An institutional research strategy for implementation is outlined. (MSE)

This paper presents an overview of a three-phase investigation that featured: (1) an analysis of Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services demonstration projects focused on employment; (2) consensus development with respect to specific employment-related outcomes and activities; and (3) the identification of employment-related…

A longitudinal study examined the factors affecting the long-term success of a midwestern tech prep consortium consisting of one community college and four counties with a mix of rural, urban, and suburban communities. The study was designed to identify the effects of systematic change over time from the following perspectives: students' skill…

Continuing vocational training (CVT) was officially introduced and codified in France in 1971 to promote individuals' employability, career development, and job flexibility. Self-directed learning was initially considered among the most important instruments for its implementation in addition to employer-directed CVT. Despite increased and…

This document presents a case study for an innovative session exploring the nature of learning and the relationship between action learning within academic programs in adult education/human resource development (HRD) and the higher education institutions that house them. The first two sections discuss the dilemmas confronting higher education and…

This document summarizes efforts made during fiscal year (FY) 1994 to implement Ohio's action plan for accelerating the modernization of vocational education, Ohio's Future at Work. First, background information is provided about the plan's formulation in 1990. Listed next are 10 legislative actions that have been identified as necessary to…

This document proposes a comprehensive education and lifelong learning program for Wales through 2010. The primary goal of the proposal is to transform Wales into a learning country where high-quality, lifelong learning provides the skills people need to prosper in the new economy, liberates talent, extends opportunities, and empowers communities.…

The recent history of apprenticeship in Great Britain was examined to identify the issues arising from the latest reforms and future expansion of the system. A team of university academics with strong research interests in training and skills collected information from a large body of academic work in the field of apprenticeship and training and…

Australia's system for helping youths make a successful transition from initial vocational education and training (VET) to working life was assessed through an analysis that focused on the following features that were identified by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as contributing to successful transitions: learning…