Adult non-formal education and training (NFET) in South Africa was adopted in 1990 to address the problem of unemployment of non-educated and unskilled adults. Public and private NFET centres aim to meet the training needs of adults who were deprived of formal education that would foster access to opportunities for employment. The paper reports on…

The Accelerating Opportunity initiative helps our nation's lowest-skilled adults earn college credentials and enter higher-wage jobs faster by combining the Adult Basic Education and career and technical training they need into one integrated curriculum. Based on four years of designing and managing Accelerating Opportunity, Jobs for the Future…

Some factors that should be considered when administering tests to adults include the following: (1) adults have a difficult time adapting to new things; (2) everyone resists change to some degree; (3) change requires new learning; (4) various things influence a person's ability to learn new things and make changes; (5) childhood events can…

A study analyzed how a group of single welfare mothers, heads of households mandated to participate in a preemployment program with an educational component, viewed learning. Welfare policy makers assumed a highly illiterate population whose "deficiencies" would be remediated through participation in existing, voluntary basic education. Studies…

This report presents the results of the first year of a 5-year project designed to investigate the impact of child care training programs on the employability of low-income women and assess the impact of such training on these women's parenting skills. The first year of the project was spent reviewing the literature. This report of the project and…

This technical assistance guide contains information on adult learners and how they differ from learners who are children and the related program implications. The first section describes characteristics of adults that affect the attitudes adults bring to the classroom situation. These include bringing life experiences; having self-concept as a…

This report provides an overview of the second year of the Family Education and Training Program, a project constructed to: (1) investigate the impact of a comprehensive child care training program on the employability of low-income mothers; and (2) assess the effect of training and support in parenting and job readiness on parenting skills and…

By the end of 2005, the oldest baby boomers will begin turning 60. Although baby boomers have generally done better than any previous generation in terms of income and education, not all baby boomers have been successful. As baby boomers age, the total economically disadvantaged population will increase. Consequently, over the next decade, the…

APPROXIMATELY 225 REPRESENTATIVES OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE EDUCATION, MANAGEMENT, LABOR, AND FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL AGENCIES PARTICIPATED IN THE CONFERENCE WHICH AIMED TO PROVIDE A COMMON PLATFORM FOR THE MOST INFORMED PEOPLE FROM MANY DISCIPLINES TO FOCUS ON THIS LARGELY UNEXPLORED AREA, IDENTIFY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS AND TECHNIQUES, AND IDENTIFY…

This publication provides a model curriculum with a focus on welfare-to-work, school-to-work, and first-time employees. It emphasizes the basic competencies most valued by employers for the current and future domestic and global work force. Section 1 presents an overview of LifeWork, a performance-based transitional program that uses the…

Studies of 29 welfare reform initiatives conducted by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation were synthesized in an exploration of how welfare and work policies affect employment and income. Each of the studies reviewed focused on one or more of the following key program features: mandatory employment services, earnings supplements, and…

The effects of adult education in welfare-to-work programs were examined in a national evaluation of welfare-to-work strategies. The evaluation used a random research design to estimate the overall effects of welfare-to-work programs in the following states: Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, and California. The study focused on the…

This booklet examines the definition of the term "empowerment" according to academics and policymakers and the relevance of empowerment to achieving social inclusion at the national and European Union levels. The findings of a study of the theory and practice of empowerment in five Integra projects in Ireland are reviewed and used to…

The Learning Enrichment Foundation (LEF) in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) offers 12 targeted training programs that have successfully helped "hard-to-serve" clients return to the workforce. Compared with traditional training, targeted training has a much narrower focus and adapts quickly to industry trends to meet employers' changing…

The 12 programs selected as 1996 winners of the Secretary's Awards for Outstanding Adult Education and Literacy Programs illustrate a diverse range of promising practices for the 21st century. Winners were selected based on the presence of 10 elements, including the following: effective and potentially replicable practices; measurable objectives…