Changes in the labor market and rising expectations of employers, government, and job seekers are putting enormous pressure on non-profit, community based organizations (CBOs) in the field of work force development. Providing intensive services for hard-to-serve populations costs more than serving clients who are more "job ready," yet increased…

On July 22, 1997, a panel of approximately 25 individuals, including members of the Accountability Committee of the National Association of State Directors of Vocational Technical Education, participated in a focus group for the following purposes: to identify the information needed for program accountability; to assess the National Center for…

In 1992, a study at the University of Melbourne (Australia) investigated the experiences of 1,108 freshman students in the schools of arts, economics, and commerce. Based on the results, areas for improvement in curriculum design and faculty development were identified. The three faculties were then invited to develop teaching and curriculum…

This first volume of a two-volume publication provides an analytical overview of main questions emerging from recent European research and development projects related to the learning organization. Chapter 1 provides context for the European learning organization challenge and presents four main messages arising from the learning organization…

The informal learning practices of bank branch workers were examined in a study of a major Canadian bank. The study included ethnographic fieldwork and secondary analysis of a national survey of branch workers' learning practices during the introduction of a new financial services software system. Activity theory was used to examine workers'…

The possibility of using a Gestalt-informed peer learning community to facilitate reflective learning and organizational change was explored. A peer learning community model exists that is based on two approaches to working with mental illness--therapeutic community practice (which is based on treating the community group rather than individuals…

This document is intended to guide further education colleges and work-based learning providers through some of the commonly used tools, techniques, and theories of quality management. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) various ways of defining quality; methods used by organizations to achieve quality (quality control, quality…

This booklet is intended to help local workforce investment boards (WIBs) frame ongoing discussions in their communities about workforce needs and how to meet those needs. The booklet begins by explaining why the United States needs a new workforce system. The following new leadership roles for WIBs are discussed: (1) articulate changing workplace…

A four-step approach to implementing a training program and measuring results for government agencies was developed in response to an executive order to federal agencies to provide effective training and performance measures in their annual budgets. Step one is the analysis of established goals to identify training requirements. Suggested…

In the context of the United Kingdom's further education (FE) system, continuous professional development (CPD) can be considered to include study for further qualifications and formal and informal in-college development programs. The tradition has been for teachers to determine their own development. In situations where resources to support…

Describes the somewhat contradictory movements towards political and economic integration and political decentralization in the European Union (EU). Discusses the implications of those trends for the future of the sovereign state, specifically for Spain, France, and the United Kingdom. Maintains that political power is being wrested away from core…

Budget reforms adopted at the University of Montana and by the Arkansas state higher education system illustrate a variety of strategies for long-range planning. These efforts include reform of faculty collective bargaining, funding based on productivity enhancement, and a multiyear fiscal plan encompassing both operating and capital budgets. (MSE)

The importance of knowledge to the effective development of economic growth in the twenty-first century has led to a number of initiatives such as lifelong learning, skills development and knowledge transfer. Of these, knowledge transfer has predominantly been concerned with the commercial exploitation of research knowledge. This article suggests…

An increasingly diverse work force is a definite trend in the United States, and a number of companies have linked valuing and managing diversity to increased productivity. Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action are pointed to as foundational to the development of formal programs for valuing or managing diversity in the workplace. The…

This quarterly publication serves as a medium for the exchange of ideas regarding the planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of professional development practices at two- and four-year colleges. The four issues in volume 12 feature the following articles: (1) "The Course Syllabus Reexamined," by James O. Hammons and Jackson R. Shock; (2)…