This brief presents summary information and contacts/references for a sampling of programs and resources that have been developed to support small business workplace literacy projects. Twenty-two contacts are included: Finger Lakes Regional Education Center for Economic Development; Development Assistance Corporation; Wayne Community College;…

England has failed to create a stratum of technical school education in the 20th century. It is increasingly being recognized that educational defects have contributed to England's relative decline and laggard economic performance compared with European competitors. Although junior technical schools were founded in the early 1900s and secondary…

Mainland China's current education reform has three aims: to enhance and universalize compulsory education, to increase the number of schools and qualified teachers, and to develop vocational and technical education. The secondary education sector is composed of a 3-year junior high and 3-year senior high school, divided into general (academic)…

This paper proposes a conceptual framework based on different levels of analysis using the metaphor of the layers of an onion to help organize and structure thinking on research issues concerning training. It discusses the core of the "analytic onion," the biological level, and seven levels of analysis that surround that core: the individual, the…

The public has formed some myths and misconceptions about literacy. No substantive proof supports the grandiose assertion that literacy changes the way humans think and their intelligence. No one who has studied national surveys of adult literacy seriously believes that illiteracy in the United States will be eradicated by 2000. The literacy…

This book, which is intended primarily to assist individuals charged with helping organizations implement career development systems, examines successful career development practices in U.S. and foreign organizations. Part 1 examines the state of the practice as determined by various surveys, including an American Society for Training and…

This paper provides a framework for discussion of the potential for support of small and medium enterprise (SME) development by training and education, particularly in European Union partner countries. Section I is an introduction. Section II reviews the present position of small and medium enterprises in the partner countries and the role they…

This paper addresses the economic impact in Australia of vocational and technical training, particularly the economic outcomes of participation in vocational education and training. Two cohorts are examined, one born in 1961 and the other in 1965. Educational attainments and take-home earnings are reported and analyzed for each group when they…

This volume addresses the efforts in several states, including California, Florida, North Carolina, and Washington, to determine the economic gains of community college graduates by measuring their post-college earnings. Articles include: (1) "Economic Benefits of a Community College Education: Issues of Accountability and Performance Measures"…

Federal workforce development policy is being turned upside down. New governance structures, new systems of service delivery, new concepts, and new programs are being introduced and implemented throughout the United States. This publication is designed to facilitate participation in this revolution-in-progress. Three key federal initiatives that…

This document contains a symposium paper on human resource development (HRD). "Human Resource Development Research: Is Anyone Listening?" (Gary N. McLean), discusses the following: discrepancies between HRD "best practices" described in the HRD research and those found in business; the causes of the "disconnect" that exists between researchers and…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on leadership and executive development. "Leading and Managing in a Service Organization: An Examination of Line vs. Staff Effectiveness" (Allan H. Church, Janine Waclawski) presents an analysis of differences in managerial strengths and weaknesses between 45 line managers and 52 human resources…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on advancing the human resource development (HRD) profession through journals. "The Role of the 'Human Resource Development Quarterly' in Shaping the HRD Profession: An Eight-Year Perspective" (Gary N. McLean) describes the journal's purpose, format used to meet purpose, success in meeting…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on core directions in human resource development (HRD). In "Expertise: The Development of an Operational Definition for Human Resource Development" (Richard W. Herling), expertise is defined as consistent demonstrated actions that are efficient in their execution and effective in their…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on on-the-job learning. "Effectiveness of On-the-Job Learning" (Marcel R. van der Klink) presents the results of an empirical investigation demonstrating that on-the-job learning caused only a modest improvement in trainee's sales behavior but this improvement was maintained over a…