Institutions of higher education prepare and develop students for the workforce, and in the coming decade, the challenge of workforce preparation will increase as the current workforce is retiring during a time of economic growth. Traditional higher education practice tasks faculty with developing appropriate curricula for students that will…

Adults with limited education and skills--those who lack the education and skills needed for full participation in U.S. culture and economy--are increasing in numbers. However, the knowledge base addressing this population and their educational needs is fragmented across the literature of several disciplines. A comprehensive review and critique of…

Conventional human performance technology has had a good run. It allowed scientific and data-based research to be applied to improve performance, usually just individual performance. The field must be expanded without losing this individual performance focus to include a scope that measurably improves performance for individuals and organizations…

Education and educational research is shaped by philosophy, psychology, practice, and ever changing educational policies. Previous studies have expressed a need for a relevant and focused research agenda for career and technical education (CTE), workforce development education and career and technical education. A need for a relevant and timely…

Valuing Learning is the process of promoting participation in and outcomes of (formal or non-formal) learning and as such the organising principle for lifelong learning strategies. It aims at the recognition and validation of prior learning (VPL) and further development. Four main models of Valuing Learning can be distinguished: (1) the…

The recent vehement and highly visible critique of the North American business school curriculum illuminates core tensions in the field of human resource development (HRD) related to the role and responsibility of the profession in for-profit organizations and the educative process by which future practitioners are prepared. If the business school…

Peter Kuchinke has written a powerful and relevant article that should generate much discussion in the human resource development (HRD) community. The focus of Kuchinke's paper is the question of whether HRD academic programs should emulate the value preference of business schools or march to a different drum. In this response, the author argues…

The purpose of this exploratory case study was to determine current in-service needs of agricultural faculties at Razi University in Kermanshah province in Iran. A descriptive research methodology design was used to conduct the study. The target population of the study consisted of all agricultural faculties in College of Agriculture at Razi…

Arguing that workforce training is fundamental to the community college mission, this report discusses the necessity for re-examining related national policy and presents models for developing programs that meet current and future workforce training needs. Following an introduction highlighting community colleges' customer responsiveness,…

Written by a manpower and economic development consultant for the Carlton Family Fund, this paper describes the pioneering role of Mobilication for Youth's New Health Occupations Program (NHOP) in the development of a new model for the use of non-professionals in human services. Innovative training concepts for Social Health Technicians employed…

In order to develop an understanding of vocational education personnel development and to explore the management of change as related to implementation and improvement of the system, 228 vocational educators and leaders in industry at a 2-day national summer workshop sponsored by the U.S. Office of Education agreed on the need for a comprehensive,…

Identifies components necessary for a comprehensive assessment of the educational needs of a community college's service area. Recommends a survey of residents' educational interests, a function analysis of all service area colleges, identification of demographic, economic, and educational characteristics of the region, and improvement of program…

Employers have begun to see that one of the keys to corporate success is a workforce of adaptable and agile learners who are constantly upgrading skills. While a gap currently exists between employer needs and qualified employees in the marketplace, businesses have shown themselves to be willing to fill unmet needs. Over 1,000 corporate colleges…

Use of ethnographic methods to assess learning and staff development needs for workplace adult education programs is discussed, focusing on the teacher's role as ethnographic researcher. Four stages of ethnographic research are identified: (1) open-ended, inductive study; (2) structured observation; (3) analysis; and (4) speculation and sharing of…

Most teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL) face a number of challenges: large and heterogeneous classes, specialized student needs, and poor funding and employment continuity. Many work part time, often in more than one program and serving simultaneously as administrator and teacher. While most have college degrees, their training is…