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…

This report documents the central role of the college-educated workforce in improving labour productivity across the economy and supporting an innovation culture in the workplace. It describes critical "enabling occupations" that play a key role in allowing companies to build a culture of innovation in the workplace which they need if…

There is no question that organization development (OD) scholars and practitioners are confronted with new and increasingly complex challenges in helping their clients cope with a tidal wave of continuous change. The questions they face today focus on the impact of leadership, technology, globalization, and the new generations entering the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the benefits and challenges of using a virtual learning community (VLC) as a vehicle for workforce development. This paper argues that VLCs provide a flexible vehicle for workforce development. However, workplace realities may lead to unexpected challenges for participants wanting exploit the…

This report presents findings stemming from the first-year evaluation of the Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program, one of several statewide performance incentive programs in Texas. In the fall of 2006, the GEEG program made available non-competitive, three-year grants to 99 schools ranging from $60,000 to $220,000 per year. Grants…

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)…

This ethnographic study of the creation of a new public university, California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), highlighted the struggle of the founders to build a collective identity based on a distinctive vision for the 21st century. The original plan envisioned a model pluralistic academic community with a culture of innovation that…

A relatively systemic approach to education reform emerged in the 1990s as one way of addressing policy fragmentation. This volume, the last in a set of three, describes the research design of a study that sought to: (1) expand knowledge of state approaches to systemic education reform; (2) examine district, school, and teacher responses to state…

This document explains the concept of sectoral employment strategies and profiles 13 successful work force development programs based on such strategies. The first half of the document examines the increasing need for sectoral employment strategies and their key characteristics, role in achieving systemic change in work organizations, and…

This book contains 35 papers about planning and holding future search conferences, as well as their benefits and likely future directions. The following papers are included: "Applied Common Sense" (Weisbord); "Inventing the Search Conference" (Weisbord); "Building Collaborative Communities" (Schindler-Rainman,…

An educational planning model and instructional approach to prepare school administrators for the role of strategic planners are described. The model, ED QUEST, integrates future research techniques and divergent thinking modes into a participatory group process that provides visions of alternative futures. Primary activities in the process…

In this collection of essays, a wide range of issues relevant to curriculum development are explored and problem-solving suggestions are offered. The ten selections discuss the following topics: (1) deficiencies in administrators' human relations skills that may hinder democratic decision-making; (2) inservice techniques and philosophical…

Articles presented in this monograph form a work which characterizes career education as a curriculum component that requires a team effort on the part of teachers, counselors, and administrators if it is to work in the public schools. The first article outlines some specific strategies which teachers can use to make career education an integral…

The world of work is composed of contradictory conditions which schooling tries to mediate through a reproductive process. The present organization of production based on wage-labor is inherently self-contradictory in that the interests of management and labor are directly opposed. School prepares individuals to deal with the types of peer…