Basically a report on an inservice training program designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the adult basic education program in Chicago, the report also details the problem of over-lapping jurisdiction of social agencies and the results of inservice meetings. Following the article is a nine-page explanation of a revised inservice…

A review of literature and work with focus groups shows that, although adult education has always focused on helping undereducated adults prepare for work, since the early 1990s there has been emphasis on work force development (helping prepare the work force and get them into rewarding productive jobs) and workplace (organizational) change. A…

To further economic and social development, Tanzania is expanding adult education programs, formulating goals, and creating effective organization, administration, and coordination through local control. An historical overview describes the establishment of committees and adult education centers. An assessment of present performance discusses…

Total quality management (TQM) is based on the fundamental philosophy that it is always more effective to do something right the first time than it is to correct deficiencies. It seeks to improve quality and increase customer satisfaction by restructuring traditional management and organizational practices. Common characteristics of TQM include…

In a high performance work organization (HPWO), employee basic skills are just one of many components. HPWOs feature the following: they have flatter organizational structures, have work done by teams of highly skilled workers, and have a focus on quality, customer service, and continuous improvement. The collaborative approach to workplace…

Project WORKSMART was a Nashville, Tennessee-based workplace literacy project to provide an exemplary multidimensional workplace literacy program while simultaneously demonstrating products and practices that promote lifelong learning that can be customized and replicated in diverse work environments. The project was a partnership between…

Processes that integrate the logical and participative dimensions of group decision making and problem solving are increasingly important to those responsible for the organizational development of educational systems. This paper describes a model (The Optimal Combination of Processes for Creative Problem Solving) that was designed to deal with a…

In this chapter, Marcia Drew Hohn provides an overview of organizational development theory for adult educators interested in applying the lessons of such theory to the strengthening of ABE programs and systems. She begins the chapter with a brief history of the development of organizational theory, noting the progression from a mechanistic…

The six articles in this publication provide information on how basic skills education and training can contribute to corporate profitability, using case studies and examples from corporations that promote employee training. The following articles are included: "Laying the Foundations for a Competitive Advantage: Emson's Skills Enhancement…

Organizational development (OD) is a systematic approach to (1) identifying the needs, problems, and objectives of an organization; (2) providing feedback needed for decisions regarding design and implementation of change strategies; (3) implementing and monitoring actions; and (4) evaluating their effects. Decisions in all phases of OD are…

This document presents the history of the first 50 years (1945-95) of the Mountain Plains Adult Education Association (MPAEA). The MPAEA, which includes adult education leaders from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, strives to ensure that every adult is prepared for a lifetime of learning and…

This document presents the history of the last five years (1996-2000) of the Mountain Plains Adult Education Association (MPAEA) through summaries and photos of the yearly conferences held between 1996 and 2000. The MPAEA, which includes adult education leaders from the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming,…

This study reports on the characteristics of selected public libraries into which adult literacy programs have become relatively integrated. The study addresses the following issues (1) the form of leadership in those libraries in which literacy programming has become integrated; (2) the organizational and staff support that promotes library…

The National Coalition for Literacy's (NCL's) stated goal is to serve as the national leadership organization of the adult literacy field. However, NCL's organizational structure severely limits its ability to muster the personnel resources or raise the money required to fully perform the leadership functions required of a national coalition. The…

Of the nearly 14,500 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) now registered with Egypt's Ministry of Social Affairs, 25% are inactive, 3% are less than 3 years old, and 7% are private member associations. The Egyptian government's promotion of specific social programs and service models in the NGO sector began after the October War of 1973. Egyptian…