Human resource development (HRD) as a scholarly endeavor and as a practice is often criticized in the adult education (AE) literature and by AE scholars as manipulative and oppressive and, through training and other interventions, controlling workers for strictly economic ends (Baptiste, 2001; Cunningham, 2004; Schied, 2001; Welton, 1995).…

This chapter describes the evolution of the workforce development mission and its current crisis in the face of changing training demands, shriveling government support, and rising competition. Two alternative future paths are outlined: a baccalaureate degree-oriented new vocationalism and a renewed emphasis on serving the training needs of…

If successful school reform rests largely on the capabilities of individual teachers and groups of teachers to deliver high-quality instruction, then a key component of teacher workforce development is teacher learning. One of the prominent ways in which educational leaders shape school conditions and teaching practices is through their beliefs…

As early childhood services move up the policy agenda, so too does the early childhood workforce. Its members are recognised as the main resource for such services, and there is an increasing recognition that the work is complex and requires enhanced education. But despite this recognition, the situation in many countries--where the early…

This article explores relationships between feedback, group learning, and performance. It considers how feedback to individuals and the group as a whole supports continuous group learning. Feedback source, purpose, clarity, and valence may affect perceptions, processing, and outcomes of feedback. How feedback is processed and used may be…

This study examined member behaviors, distribution of performed behaviors, and development-shaping forces in order to identify group development patterns of virtual learning teams. Participants of this study were 7 newly formed virtual learning teams working on a final group project in a 12-week online graduate-level course. Examining the group…

This article fills a theoretical gap by identifying an understudied subject area for human resource development (HRD) theory building, learning participation of HRD interventions in organizations. The topic has critical significance in current HRD practices, such as concerns on e-learning dropout rates and HRD measurement and evaluation. First, a…

This paper analyses the measurement issues in education achievement, and integration of education goals and targets, in the context of human development in India. Measurement issues are distinguished by (a) choice of indicators and variables and (b) data used in estimation/projection/computation of indicators and variables in the global human…

Value for money as one of the principles of quality assurance in education has often been perceived and significantly misconstrued as placing emphasis on financial efficiency. This mechanistic view of "value for money" in South Africa has been given impetus by what Melck (2001) calls managerial practices and what Cele and Menon (2006)…

This case study illustrates the application of Mega--adding measurable value for all stakeholders including society--as the central and ultimate focus for needs assessment. In this case, two needs assessment studies were conducted within a five-year period (1999-2003) with the State of Ohio's Workforce Development (WD) program. An initial needs…

We review a plan that attracted the attention of public sector planners everywhere, Oregon's 1989 "Oregon Shines: An Economic Strategy for the Pacific Century". In particular, we focus on Oregon's aspirations for world-class workforce quality; a status that the state's planners argued would contribute to a host of other outcomes that…

This article reviews recent policies and government initiatives that have aimed to improve the uptake of vocational qualifications amongst hard-to-reach groups in the working population. The Employer Training Pilots and the Sector Skills Pilots have been designed to trial new ways of engaging employers in training and encouraging the take-up of…

This paper presents Center for Law and Social Policy's (CLASP's) recommendations on how No Child Left Behind (NCLB) could better address the workforce challenges faced by this country. CLASP is a nonprofit organization engaged in research, analysis, technical assistance, and advocacy on a range of issues affecting low-income families. The…

On October 20, 2008, the New Media Consortium announced the release of a white paper produced in conjunction with the Economist Magazine and in collaboration with Apple, Inc. This paper reports the results of a study of nearly 300 CIOs and technology leaders inside and outside of education to gain deeper insight into the wider impact of technology…

The National Workforce Assistance Collaborative (NWAC) was established by the National Alliance of Business to provide assistance to community colleges and other organizations that offer programs to increase business productivity. The NWAC is charged with building the capacity of service providers that work with small and mid-sized companies in…