John Dewey's reflections regarding education, experience, and communication remain relevant to all educators, especially educators and trainers in the field of human resource development (HRD). Dewey viewed education as a process of growing in meaning. He stated, "all genuine education comes about through experience." Another essential…

Recent Australian research provides a solid body of evidence that training investments can yield very high levels of returns for firms across a range of sectors. It highlights these important factors about returns on investment (ROI): ROI come in many forms; immediate ROI are highest when training is highly focused; measuring ROI is not always…

This document contains the reports on audits of the one-stop systems in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Vermont. The overall audit conclusions were as follows: (1) the states have made substantial efforts toward forming new comprehensive workforce investment systems as mandated by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA); (2)…

This appendix includes individual case study profiles of the One-Stop Career Center implementation experiences of the 9 states and 14 local sites included in the study of initial implementation experiences. The 12 state and local profiles are State of Connecticut (CT); CT Works Career Center, New London, CT; CT Works Career Center, Willimantic,…

In international comparisons, participation in adult learning in Finland is high. Work or career development is the main reason for participation. Persons starting with greater educational attainment participate in adult learning opportunities more. Roots of adult education and training (AET) lie in liberal education; those of occupational AET in…

Youth services programs funded by the federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998 provide educational services, mentoring, work experience, job training, and support services to help youth meet educational or employment goals. This first-year evaluation of West Virginia's RESA I Workforce Investment Youth Services Program interviewed 7 staff members…

An introduction (Maurice Amutabi et al.) begins this 25-chapter book on adult education and training (AET) in a context of globalization. Chapter titles and authors are as follows: "The Impact of Globalization on Adult Education (AE)" (Ove Korsgaard); "In Defense of Civil Society: Canadian AE in Neo-Conservative Times" (Michael…

Access to California Community Colleges (CCC) was examined in order to assist the 2005 Task Force of the Chancellor's Consultation Council develop strategies to address the expected economic, cultural, and demographic changes California will undergo between 1997 and 2005. Access to education will become increasingly important to California as…

This document reports the oral and written testimony submitted at a Congressional hearing on ways in which the government, business, and industry are working to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. work force through education and training initiatives. Witnesses included the following: U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich; U.S. Department of…

Since the 1980s, enterprises have experienced massive organizational changes influenced by introduction of and rapid advancements in new technologies, new organizational structures, and new organizational management methods. From Becker's theory of a sequential relationship between education and training to competence in knowledge and skills to…

A survey was designed to assist in constructing a picture of new vocational education and training professionals working in organizational settings in Australia. They were practitioners whose positional titles included training and development (T&D), human resource development, or human resource practitioners who work within organizational…

The importance of a skilled and highly educated workforce to economic well-being is widely recognized, and the relationship between skills and income is becoming stronger over time. Largely as a result of growing demand for skilled workers, state-level training programs are becoming increasingly important as complements to federal programs.…

The 13 chapters of this book, written by various sociologists, document how race and gender intersect to put African American and Latina women at a disadvantage in the workplace. The articles encompass 30 years of change for women at all levels of the workforce, from those who spend time on the welfare rolls to middle class professionals, and look…

This book outlines why the skills of the U.S. workforce have become the single most important factor in the competitiveness, not only of individual companies, but of national economies. It documents the widening gap between the need for highly skilled workers and their availability, and it points out the chilling consequences that may occur if the…

This paper presents and discusses a theoretical model that broadens the context for human resource development (HRD) social mandates and provides a process model grounded in self-actualization awareness and thinking that facilitates the individual to go beyond the constraints of potential (as defined by the individual's environment). The model is…