Recent efforts to build economic and work force development systems in seven leading cities were reviewed to inform similar efforts undertaken in Baltimore, Maryland. Research examining efforts to establish work force development systems in the following cities were analyzed: Austin, Texas; Berkeley, California; Boston, Massachusetts; Cleveland,…

As policymakers have begun reorienting the U.S. work force development system's priorities, a common theme has been the importance of work and training tied to real employment prospects. Workforce Innovation Networks (WINs) was created to test and advance the idea that local employer organizations can play important, productive roles in helping…

This Congressional report contains the testimony and documents presented for the record of the first of two hearings to gather testimony on the effects of welfare reform and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The oral and written testimony focuses on TANF legislation's outcomes and impact on work and families in…

This book, which is intended to inform Australia's education community about various aspects of the national literacy debate and the policy development process, reviews the literature on literacy teaching in secondary and postsecondary education and the workplace and describes the sociocultural and educational context for development of literacy…

The increasing emphasis on entrepreneurship and self-employment training in vocational education and training (VET) worldwide was examined. Special attention was paid to the following themes: (1) the content and various concepts of entrepreneurship, including the distinction between external and internal entrepreneurship; (2) trends in…

Policies and practices promoting youth entrepreneurship in Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) member countries were reviewed. Special attention was paid to the following issues: youth unemployment; contrasting employment situations and policy approaches in individual OECD countries; a definition of self-employment; and the…

The impact of electronic commerce (e-commerce) on Australia's National Training Framework (NTF) was studied for the purpose of forecasting future demand for training in areas related to e-commerce and identifying appropriate responses by the NTF committee. The following were among the study's main data collection activities: reviews of the…

The Comptroller General of the United States testified before Congress regarding the General Accounting Office's (GAO's) framework for building the information technology (IT) work force to achieve results. The following were among the key points of his testimony: (1) the federal government is facing pervasive human capital challenges that are…

This book, the sixth in a series, adds to debates about race, skill, and hiring with interdisciplinary, indepth, qualitative field research about employers' attitudes. Chapter 1 provides background to the research. Chapter 2 describes the three employer surveys from which data are drawn and provides a snapshot of the recent history of industrial…

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…

An anthropological examination of the impact of globalization on education in the Arab world reveals that education is standing on uneasy middle ground between the Westernization of educational structures and philosophies and the preservation of national and local customs and traditions. The transformation of education from a means to acquire a…

This book uses poetry and essays to share how welfare reform has affected the lives of a group of female adult literacy students from western Massachusetts. After a brief explanation of the book's purpose, the women who presented their views in the book's poems and essays are profiled. Presented next are six poems that several of the women wrote…

This document argues the importance of schools' actual and potential role for adult learners in England and recommends ways of overcoming the barriers to participation created by current priorities, policies, and practices. Chapter 1 discusses the following themes: (1) the role of learning in a program for communities in crisis; (2) how priorities…

A 2-day conference on vocational training as an instrument to combat unemployment was held to discuss employment policy, vocational training, and decentralization in the context of the European Union's (EU's) accession strategy, current employment initiatives, and experiences of the EU's member states and regions. The conference included papers on…

This book examines how many of the United States' social and economic problems are reinforced by the combination of school, business, and government. It outlines ways that U.S. government policy can be reformulated to make schools and training major components in the U.S. labor market's successful adjustment to the new workplace realities. The…