California is expanding transitional kindergarten (TK) to become a universal preschool program for all four-year-old children. Upwards of 300,000 children are expected to enroll in universal transitional kindergarten (UTK) by 2025, requiring thousands of additional lead teachers and classroom aides to meet lower student-to-teacher ratio…

In this dissertation, I explore how international migration and environmental pollution shape human capital accumulation and labor market outcomes.The first chapter examines how college enrollment and major choice decisions of young adults in migrant-sending countries are affected by the removal of international migration barriers. My…

The Smithsonian Science Education Center in collaboration with Howard University received a Planning Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) and Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) (Grant Award #2040784) for the…

Calls are intensifying for workforce reskilling and a re-engineering of education and training to meet the demands of the future. Current policy in England focuses on technical, digital and green economy skills, underpinned by strong literacy and numeracy and a knowledge-rich school curriculum. National Foundation for Educational Research's…

Purpose: Many studies have investigated the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and its sanctions on students and teachers. Little research, however, has systematically examined the relationship between NCLB and its sanctions and school principals. Given the importance of school leadership and the accountability systems implemented at…

Vocational and workforce education provide economic opportunity but often exclude or limit the participation of women. Here, we lay the foundation for developing workforce programming from a feminist perspective and building inclusion efforts within academic institutions for vocational education students and practitioners. Based on a systematic…

Perhaps the most challenging issue facing many Native nations is employment--or rather, the lack of employment opportunity--on or near the reservation. How to best foster economic development for Native American communities has long been discussed at the local, state, and federal levels. Agencies such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) have…

Principals are instrumental to successful school improvement efforts and positive student outcomes. However, recent workforce trends, increased accountability, demands of the job, and turnover rates for school principals are worrisome. Succession planning is a systematic approach that involves all aspects of identifying and retaining leaders…

The author takes up Karl Marx's and Herbert Marcuse's investigations into the possibilities for expanding freedom and play. She begins with an analysis of the essential questions about labor that need attention before considering theoretical and practical attempts to render necessary work superfluous in the interests of free play. She considers…

The paper investigates the experience of employed higher education graduates in two countries with high rates of graduate unemployment. It examines the employment experience of graduates and their perceptions regarding the contribution of higher education to their employment and career prospects. Qualitative research was used to collect…

The national shortage of science teachers and the substantial teacher turnover rate in high-poverty schools are outcomes of multiple issues. Using a framework built on 2 constructs--teacher agency (typically examined in experienced rather than beginning teachers) and professional identity--we investigate how agency and identity interact and might…

Researchers and practitioners are aware of the importance of the skills of the local workforce in attracting and developing businesses in a regional economy. There has been, however, relatively little applied research concerning the identification of labor skill gaps in rural areas. We seek to address this issue through a case study of the Upper…

Charter schools in the U.S. experience higher rates of student and teacher turnover than traditional public schools (TPS). Less is known, however, about principal turnover, despite the important role that a principal plays in a school's success. This paper evaluates principal turnover in New York City's charters and TPS during 2008-18. It finds…

There are a number of reasons why apprenticeships have been relatively slow to get off the ground in New York--from an overly cumbersome state process for registering new apprenticeship programs to a paucity of employers that have embraced this model, particularly outside of the building trades. But as several other states have shown in recent…

The present paper is based on the concept of life-long guidance with focus on the labor market, employability, professional orientation and career development. In career development, an important role is played by career counseling provided by employers, namely in the classification of career guidance services provided in the private sector. The…