This report is part of a wider three-year program of research, "Vocations: the link between post-compulsory education and the labour market," which is investigating the educational and occupational paths that people take, and how their study relates to their work. In particular, this strand has been investigating the application of…

The Adult Education--Basic Grants to States program authorized under the" Adult Education and Family Literacy Act of 1998" (AEFLA), enacted as "Title II" of the "Workforce Investment Act of 1998" (WIA) (P.L. 105-220), is the major source of federal support for adult basic education and literacy education programs.…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to argue that abductive reasoning is a typical but usually unrecognised process used by HRD scholars and practitioners alike. Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper that explores recent criticism of traditional views of theory-building, based on the privileging of scientific theorising, which…

Purpose: This paper aims to advance theoretical understanding of the concept of "critical human resource development". Design/methodology/approach: This is a conceptual paper. Findings: Foregrounding questions of power, emotions and political dynamics within the analysis of organisational learning and development activity, critical approaches in…

In this article, Bob Woods reports that "Big data" is all the rage on college campuses, and it makes sense that administrators would use what they know to boost student outcomes. Woods points out that community colleges around the country are using the data: (1) to guide the systematic expansion of its curriculum, providing targeted…

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to show the foundational place that communication theory and its practice occupies in functioning work systems. Design/methodology/approach: This paper defines the word communication in terms of the creation and interpretation of displays, describes what it means to have a theoretical foundation for a…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate an undergraduate distance education (DE) programme based upon adult learners' perceptions. The study investigated the value of the Human Resource Development programme at the University of Arkansas by examining the students' reasons for returning to college, their attitudes towards the programme and the…

In the United Kingdom higher education environment, government may make efforts to encourage institutions to engage in governance structures to secure policy objectives through a steering approach. In this article connections between skills governance structures and the recent Higher Education Funding Council for England workforce development…

This paper examines the manpower development and utilization in Adult literacy education in Nigeria. The study indicates the availability of the programme in all the States and almost all the Local Government Area (LGA), and some communities in Nigeria. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with some State Agencies and…

"Professionalizing the Nation's Cybersecurity Workforce? Criteria for Decision-Making" considers approaches to increasing the professionalization of the nation's cybersecurity workforce. This report examines workforce requirements for cybersecurity and the segments and job functions in which professionalization is most needed;…

Quality manpower production is not just essential for national development, but very critical to national security and quick economic recovery in most of today's fragile economies of the world. This paper assessed the participation of prospective employers as relevant interest groups in the development of academic programmes in tertiary…

A committed workforce is critical to the success of any organization. While there was a great deal of debate on how to best describe commitment, one model that attracted a significant following is the Three Component Model (TCM) developed by Meyer and Allen (1988). While it may be argued that the model is a mixed model combining attitudinal and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the new role that human resource developers play in the globally connected workplace. Towards that end, this paper explores the changing landscape of self-directed learning (SDL) within the digital ecosystem based on the concept of World 2.0. Design/methodology/approach: This paper reviews and…

This study explored how perceptions of reciprocal support in mentoring influence mentors' and proteges' intent to extend work-related help to coworkers in organizations. Our findings shed light on the role that organization-based self-esteem (OBSE) and affective organizational commitment (AOC) play as mediators in transmitting the effect of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the research and literature through the development of the theme of competence foresight. In addition, the aim is to construct information pathways for the foresight mechanism, for the use of practitioners, to enable them to manage talent and competences with an anticipatory perspective.…