Surveys show that 98% of school districts are reporting shortages of special education teachers, and that nearly a quarter of a million new special education teachers will be needed over the next few years. Special education teachers are leaving the field at twice the rate of general education teachers. Why? Special education teachers can quickly…

The new e-learning technologies offer the rich promise and potential of learning delivery at any time, anywhere, on any topic. Without careful management of the learning process, application of best principles and practices in e-learning design strategies, effective attention to staff development, provision of extensive learner support services,…

In 1995, the Anne E. Casey Foundation launched the Jobs Initiative (JI) in six cities to change labor market prospects for low-income young people in order to help them get jobs that could move their families out of poverty. The JI attempts to change the way employers recruit and supervise workers and how work is structured; to prepare workers and…

While girls and women in Laos are not the target of strong discriminatory practices, they are at a higher risk of dropping out of school and never attending school. Specific components have been developed within educational policies and strategies to address needs of and concerns for girls and women. Reasons that girls and women lack access to…

This publication consists of four volumes of the evaluation report for a project to provide workplace basic skills education for employees in seven manufacturing companies in New York in partnership with five education agencies. Volume I: "Executive Summary" provides an overview of the evaluation results. Volume II: "Program Goals…

A 16-week office specialist certificate program was developed for Spanish-speaking adults who have the ability and desire to obtain an entry-level office administration position but who have limited English proficiency and basic occupational skills. The program, which is based on the vocational bilingual training model, takes advantage of the…

This book, which focuses on actual practitioners' experiences, outlines a systematic approach to improving individual workers' performance as part of an overall strategy for organizational change. Frameworks are provided for conceptualizing and implementing exemplary training practices. In addition, steps in achieving the practices and pitfalls to…

Originally designed as a drug abuse prevention program for drug-abusing parents and their children, the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) has developed into a family-change program. Presented in 14 2-hour-long, consecutive weekly sessions, SFP has two versions: for elementary school children and their parents and for parents and youth 10-14…

This paper discusses collaboration as a process that can be used to support adult learners and families. The article distinguishes between collaboration, coordination, and cooperation; suggests ways to find collaborators; lists factors that promote or hinder collaboration; and provides guidelines for working with collaborators. A section on how to…

A study focused on the effect of welfare reform legislation on literacy or social service providers and families participating in the programs. Program staff and participants in Wisconsin and California were surveyed and interviewed to determine how welfare reform impacted what they do programmatically or personally. Findings indicated receipt of…

Informal mentoring is dependent on the relationship developed between mentor and protege, but job needs and task designs within organizations may also define and construct them. The intent is to foster organizational goals and help new employees become acclimated to workplace culture while learning from experienced practitioners. How to choose…

The lifelong process of career development poses special challenges for people with learning disabilities (LD). Literature on employment issues for adults with LD frames on-the-job problems in terms of individual deficits or recasts the issues as a function of the significant societal barriers faced by those who do not fit the norm. Research on…

A workplace literacy demonstration project was implemented through a partnership among the Michigan Department of Education, Michigan Institute for Adult Learning and Literacy, and the United Auto Workers/General Motors (UAW/GM) Human Resource Center. Competency-based, job-related foundation skills training was provided for 400 employees, and…

This document presents the text of a roundtable discussion on the topic of best practice in workplace literacy in which six individuals representing the following agencies/organizations participated: Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Education; City of York Board of Education; an employer in Markham, Ontario; a community literacy group in Ontario's…

The ABC's of Construction project was a demonstration project designed to integrate basic skills training with an industry-developed vocational-craft training program. The program was located at the central training facility of the Pelican Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), an organization made up of nearly 300 member companies…