Suggests that changes in employment brought on by the information age will force a reevaluation of the nature of education. Argues that the nonprofit civil sector, or the "Third Sector," will become crucial in providing employment. Proposes that community college service-learning programs will be crucial to future job-training efforts. (MAB)

Describes rural implementation of the Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities program, which combines flexible long-term financing with strategic planning and performance benchmarking to empower impoverished communities to address structural problems comprehensively. Impressive 3-year results include job creation; improved community services;…

Reviews educational issues arising in Scotland's first Parliament in 300 years. Discusses the debate on teachers' pay and teaching conditions, including proposals to change the management structure of schools, extend teachers' working hours, and increase class size. Describes the proposed Scottish University for Industry, which would be a gateway…

Innovative rural development practices at community colleges are reviewed. Factors that can facilitate replication of these practices include the quality of college leadership, the state system in which community colleges operate, and funding mechanisms. Policy recommendations include increasing resources, supporting college networking,…

Various researchers have recently challenged "contingent" models of managerial and leadership effectiveness, arguing that logic suggesting the universality of manager and supervisory leader behaviors is compelling, although there is sparse empirical evidence to support this view. A comparative study of the findings from three previous…

In recent years, the emergence of non-traditional educational experiences such as online learning and certification, combined with the growth of the life-long learning market, has presented a new set of challenges for the higher education community. Increasingly, the U.S. economy is technology driven, and the need for trained personnel to support…

Levels of analysis perform an important function in framing research and practice in human resource development (HRD). The purpose of this article is to examine the concept of HRD from the individual, organizational, and community-societal levels of analysis. The article highlights both the distinctiveness and usefulness of each level of analysis,…

Purpose: To describe an approach to course redesign that may provide others in the field with a "template" to follow or modify when course redesign is necessary. Design/methodology/approach: Action research implies making a change and then observing and responding to the consequences of that change. Making the change in this course involved:…

The paper develops an index of "global preparedness" for pre-9/11 US bachelor's degree recipients based on secondary school and college transcript records, and student responses to survey questions in a longitudinal study that covers the period 1988-2000. Only 10% met the most generous of threshold criteria for inclusion. By occupation at the age…

This study examined how the extent to which managers engaged in informal learning, perceptions of support in the transfer environment, and level of managerial proficiency related to transfer of learning in twenty core managerial skills. The results suggested that informal learning is predominantly a social process and that managers with high…

IMHE-Info is the newsletter published by the Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) programme. This issue includes: (1) Giving Knowledge for Free; The Emergence of Open Educational Resources; and (2) Education at a Glance 2007. IMHE News, publications of interest and upcoming events are included. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

In a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and pre-eminence in these areas. This congressionally requested report by…

In late 2006, the National Center on Education and the Economy released "Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce." With compelling language, the report updated and sharpened the findings of the center's influential 1990 report, "America's Choice: High Skills or Low Wages," which called…

In June 2005, the Victorian State Government introduced the Regional Jobs Package (RJP)--a twelve-month pilot program that attempted to kill two social policy problems with one stone. The problems were youth unemployment and skills shortages in regional areas of Victoria, Australia. The intention of the RJP was to create a "win-win"…

Education drives the economy. Almost a decade into the 21st Century, America faces a choice: It can invest in the basic education and skills of its workforce and remain competitive in today's global economy, or it can continue to overlook glaring evidence of a national crisis and move further down the path to decline. In this report, the National…