This qualitative study examines how six Adult Basic Education (ABE) students perceived success in their personal and academic lives. Policy discourses concerning ABE learners offer perspectives on success, and these discourses influence, correspond with, and contradict learners' discourses on success in various ways. However, the organizational…

In the United States, adult and workforce education (AE) seems to be located, simultaneously, both everywhere and nowhere in particular. Ongoing shifts in national economic demands and changes in requirements for training and education have brought learning in the adult years into the federal public policy arena. Sometimes referred to as lifelong…

This bibliography summarizes recent research on the structure and effectiveness of workforce development programs. While the term "workforce development" can mean many things, this document focuses on programs to help low-skill, low-wage and displaced workers increase their employment and earnings, as well as labor market trends that…

Two significant reports that were published recently have important implications for policymakers, employers, and literacy workers. "Workforce 2000," commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor, is intended to help shape federal workplace policies and programs as the nation moves toward the next century. The report documents labor patterns and…

Workplace literacy programs can support the path toward either low wages or high skills. Instead of the "high skill" path, most U.S. companies follow the "low wage" path. Depending on who is involved, which program goals are selected, and what planning process is followed, a workplace literacy program can maintain outdated workplaces or foster…

With a national goal announced as "ending welfare as we know it," it is necessary to discuss questions regarding targeting, sanctions and incentives, service delivery, and success criteria for adult literacy programs that attempt to train low-literate adults for jobs. At present, there are about 14-15 million recipients of Aid to Families with…

The increasing emphasis on work force development as a policy goal is bringing to the forefront a continuing debate over which of two roads--work force education or literacy development--the field of adult education should take. The recent shift in the welfare reform policy from emphasis on investing in basic and job skills to emphasis on quick…

A National Strategy for Adult Basic Skills has been proposed to deal with the English situation in which about one adult in five is not functionally literate and far more people have problems with numeracy. The National Strategy has these 10 main elements: national targets; an entitlement to learn; guidance, assessment, and publicity; better…

Education is the strategic instrument for the overriding aim of Sweden's economic policy--full employment. The fundamental idea of the Swedish school system is to include all citizens. Youth education is intended to take the form of comprehensive, integrated schooling with no dead ends. Adult education occupies a strong position by international…

Workplace literacy was the focus of attention during the era of the National Workplace Literacy Program (NWLP), funded by the U.S. Department of Education from 1988-1996. Since then, it has not disappeared, in part because recent legislation such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Welfare Reform Act has increased the work-related focus of…

In autumn 2001, the United Kingdom's (UK's) government published the following key documents concerning workforce development: (1) "In Demand: Adult Skills in the 21st Century"; (2) "The UK Productivity Challenge"; and (3) "Building a Stronger, Fairer Britain in an Uncertain World." Key positions and policies included…

This document provides European social partners' responses to the Commission's memorandum on lifelong learning. Part 1, Opinion of the European Center of Enterprises, makes comments and proposals related to the memorandum's six key messages, which are new basic skills for all; more investment in human resources; innovation in teaching and…

The Workforce Investment Act represents a total customer-driven overhaul of the U.S. job training system that will help employers obtain needed workers and empower job seekers to obtain the training needed for the jobs they want. The Department of Labor will implement the Workforce Investment Act in cooperation with the Department of Education.…

These Congressional hearings contain testimony pertaining to the future of job training in Ohio. Among the topics discussed are the following: the job training needs of selected special needs groups, including convicted felons on probation, dislocated workers, displaced homemakers, unemployed individuals, underskilled employees, disadvantaged…

In July 2000, the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 officially replaced the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). WIA requires individual assessment of skill levels and service needs and development of an individual service strategy for each youth participant. WIA requires all youth programs to make 10 program elements available to all…