Prepared to assist the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges in the development of its "New Basic Agenda" for 1996, this report discusses several major statewide trends with important implications for California's community colleges. Data are reviewed on population growth, labor market and technological changes…

This literature review is divided into two main sections. The first part identifies key dimensions of the policy debate that will condition future patterns of investment in education. The themes chosen are the impact of recession, the effects of debt and structural adjustment programs on the resources available for education; the implications of…

This report examines the use of self-employment as a vocational rehabilitation option in rural areas. Self-employment is one of the fastest growing employment opportunities, as evidenced by the approximately 15.6 million people who reported being self-employed in 1990. Data from the 1980s comparing employment patterns in rural and urban areas…

As the Minnesota and national economy become more reliant on knowledge than raw materials, the need for educated employees with sophisticated, flexible skills will rise. In the 1980s the second and larger half of the baby boom generation completed college and entered the work force. Despite the rapid increase in the young college-educated…

The seventh national plan (1976-80) in France provided for development of indicators describing initial labor market entry and the place of young people in recruitments. The National School-to-Work Transition Observatory was created in response to the desire to have a permanent system of information on youth labor market entry.…

This book reconsiders a largely ignored fact of North American Indian economic life--the place of wage labor in the culture and history of Native Americans. Case studies examine social networks of Native agricultural laborers, the decline of Native communities from self-sufficient producers to lower-class wage laborers, vocational education in…

This paper reviews legal risks associated with staff layoffs at institutions of higher education and methods for managing those risks and describes planning steps designed to minimize institutional legal exposure. Legal risks include claims of breach of contract, discrimination, tortious conduct, and violation of labor laws, collective bargaining…

This introduction to the papers assembled in "Children of La Frontera" provides background information on Mexican immigration to the United States, Mexican migrant workers and their children, and implications for schools. It discusses economic forces in both Mexico and the United States that push and pull Mexicans to "El Norte"; the economic…

Data assembled from the sequence of Current Population Survey (CPS) tenure supplements for 1973, 1978, 1981, 1983, 1987, and 1991 were analyzed along with demographic characteristics and other variables available from the general CPS to identify changes in job retention rates in the United States throughout the 1980s. The analysis was based on…

A study of dislocated newspaper workers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was conducted to describe their personal and occupational mobility characteristics and the residual effect of their separation and unemployment. The descriptive study focused on demographic characteristics, employment history, occupational mobility, economic and emotional impact,…

Between 1994 and 2005, employment in the United States will rise to 144.7 million from 172 million, an increase of 14 percent, with women's labor force growth expected to be twice that of men. Growing occupations requiring a Bachelor's degree or above include the following: lawyers, physicians, systems analysts, computer engineers, management…

Evidence from academic research and management experts in the United Kingdom and elsewhere confirms that the recent focus in work organizations on cost reductions through downsizing has changed the roles and structures of many human resources (HR) units. HR units have had to prove their contribution to the organization's bottom line, raise their…

During the 1990s, school programs that more explicitly link school and work have been expanded. In order to realize the curricular and pedagogical reforms that underlie these programs, teachers need appropriate staff development. In 1996, RAND staff designed and pilot-tested a 6-week "mini-sabbatical," a prototype course to help teachers in a…

Support for American public schools is ebbing at a time when it is needed most. This booklet outlines ways in which educators can counteract the criticisms leveled at public education and communicate its successes. It examines and presents data to refute the following charges: (1) SAT scores are falling; (2) students are taking too many "dumbed…

This position paper and companion resource manual highlight the critical importance the National Council for Occupational Education (NCOE) gives to diversity issues in work force development. The position paper reports the NCOE's examination of the implications presented by the changing demographics in the U.S. work force and the potential…