The Preschool Version of the High/Scope Program Quality Assessment (PQA) is a ratings instrument for evaluating the quality of early childhood programs and identifying staff training needs. The assessment was developed for use in all center-based preschool and child care settings, not just those using the High/Scope educational approach. This…

New corporate practices and strategies, technological advances and rising job skill requirements are making postsecondary training a virtual necessity for a high-paying job. This is driving a wedge between the earnings of education "haves" and "have nots." Corporate restructuring is eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs,…

This document contains 22 brief summaries of the progress made by Pennsylvania Adult Education Section 353 Special Demonstration projects in meeting their goals and objectives. For each project, the following information is included: project director and number; purpose; impact; outcomes; conclusions and recommendations; project continuation and…

The increasing emphasis on managed health care, which requires health consumers to make complex decisions, is reinforcing the importance of literacy skills. "Health literacy," which refers to the ability to engage in such activities as health-related critical thinking, problem solving, self-directed learning, and self-advocacy, is…

Asserting that previous studies of latchkey children had several methodological flaws, this 4-year study explored children's after-school lives, when their parents are working. Participating in the study were 53 families in which parents were employed full-time and which had at least one child in elementary school; families came from a wide range…

A survey was conducted to assess the current state of technology and distance learning awareness and usage in Florida's adult education and community-based programs. Data were gathered through a survey of 350 adult practitioners, literacy providers, community-based organizations and libraries throughout the state (125 responses [36 percent return…

Researchers used cross-sectional survey research to reexamine the problem of adult persistence within undergraduate degree programs. They identified a variable--perceived stress--that permitted a richer explanation of the process of student persistence. A model was presented that examined the attitudinal and behavioral impacts of unmet need,…

"Contested Ground: Performance Accountability in Adult Basic Education" (ABE) is one of the most important books on adult literacy policy at the turn of the century. In it, Juliet Merrifield examines the critical issues of policy, practice, and theory with which the field is currently consumed. She and her colleagues maintain that the concept of…

Industry representatives reviewed the curricula for computer programmer-analyst, network administrator, and technical support courses at 10 community colleges in California. Thirty-eight reviewers participated in the focus groups, and several other reviewers participated via e-mail. The focus groups discussed each of the three degree programs…

This book offers approaches for teaching adult patrons how and where to find information in libraries and through information services. It includes 34 papers, organized in seven sections, expressing the views of faculty, adult students, and administrators as well as librarians on theories of educational psychology that explain how adults learn.…

This book examines the lives of America's working families from all social classes and ethnic groups and the familial obligations they must deal with, arguing that there is a widening gap between the demands of the workplace and the well-being of America's families. Chapter one provides an overview of the problems of longer work days, outdated…

This book is intended to broaden awareness of the instructional innovations and adaptations taking place in college and university writing classes designed specifically for working adults. Through case studies of five established writing programs for adults, the book provides a historical context for today's college-credit writing programs for…

A systems approach to changing labor market performance requires a substantial and enduring commitment to the task of change. A systems reform framework has been developed that is based on a dual-customer approach, with a focus on improving labor market outcomes for both low-income people and their employers. The objective is to change the labor…

This paper looks at how the necessary technology skills have changed over time and how those changes affect the ways in which technology skills are taught and assessed. It reviews how educators' views of technological fluency are shaped by both the "pull" of technology--increasing technical power and applications that affect what workers…

Implementation of the High Schools That Work (HSTW) key practices improved achievement for career-bound students in these four ways: (1) HSTW sites showed significant improvement in average reading and math scores; (2) the percentage of career- bound students meeting HSTW performance goals in 1994 and 1996 increased from 33% to 43% in reading and…