Off an inner-city highway, on a neglected industrial strip in Washington, D.C., is a woodshop operated by Covenant House Washington. In this least likely of places, six young women and men are working alongside an instructor to fabricate and assemble a set of child-sized tables and chairs. The furniture is kid contemporary, with curved backs and…

This paper explores the (changing) role of older, experienced employees in the workplace in terms of their own needs and opportunities for learning and in the context of changing organizational expectations. It draws on Lave and Wenger's (1991) theory of situated learning and the notion of 'learning as participation' as starting points for…

The returns to formal schooling in Spain are estimated in this paper. The main difference between this and previous papers on this subject is that, here, a distinction is made between the increase in the workers' potential maximum wage due to schooling and the actual registered increase. This difference (or underpayment) can be justified on the…

This article describes "The Responsive PhD," an initiative that the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation launched in 2000 to explore the place of the PhD in society and the university. Over the previous decade, national studies and projects had identified a mismatch between the kinds of training PhDs receive in graduate school and the…

What is it to learn for an unknown future? It might be said that the future has always been unknown but our opening question surely takes on a new pedagogical challenge if not urgency in the contemporary age. Indeed, it could be said that our opening question has never been generally acknowledged to be a significant motivating curricular and…

Six theoretical perspectives on work design are examined for their contributions to our understanding of how work is organized and designed in organizations: sociotechnical systems theory, process improvement, adaptive structuration theory, the job characteristics model, technostructural change models, and activity theory. A critique of these…

Three significant trends in youth development practice are discussed: movement toward consensus in models guiding practice, movement toward science-based practice, and increasing resources available to practitioners. Consensus on an ecological framework for risk reduction and competence building among advocates for prevention, resilience, and…

An education that is centered on complex thinking and communicating helps graduates to gain good jobs in the U.S. Educators will have to focus on raising students' achievement in math, science, and reading because complex, technical skills are essential for the new century's jobs.

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the comparative study of youth transitions. National and international studies have analysed the role of individual and institutional (education and labour market) factors in shaping the transition from school to the labour market. Using data drawn from a cross-national database of secondary…

In many western countries attention is currently being given to the participation of students in tertiary Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This is a result of internationally competing economic ambitions, coupled with acute shortages on the STEM labour market, a declining interest among students for STEM education…

This paper tests the extent to which the accumulation of basic cognitive skills, as measured by a post-schooling math test, matter for young dropouts entering today's labor market. Based on a sample of dropouts who were age 16-18 when administered a math test in the late 1990s, estimates indicate that a standard deviation increase in the test…

This article presents a brief summary of statewide applications of industry-based certifications (IBCs). Many state systems and local institutions are developing additional creative ways of using IBCs to support learning and program objectives. The technology of assessment and certification is advancing, so the snapshot of "the current reality"…

The aim of this article is to develop a holistic model that shows the basic elements of workplace learning and their mutual connections. This is done by adjusting and combining two models that have already been worked out formerly by members of the consortium a model dealing with the workplace as a learning space, and a general model of the…

Teaching in Northern Uganda is challenging considering the numerous obstacles and constraints that teachers must face on a daily basis, let alone the fact that they live in a war zone, constantly at risk of cross-fire. In this article, the author shares his experience working in Northern Uganda. He relates the life and teaching experiences of…

This report presents estimates of the private rates of return for students studying for vocational education and training (VET) qualifications in Australia. Estimates of rates of return are commonly used by governments, businesses and others to compare the merits of different forms of investment where costs or benefits or both are distributed over…