This document contains papers from 23 of 25 symposia held at the 1995 Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) conference. Keynote speeches, symposium 6, and symposium 25 are not included. The 23 symposia are on the following topics: (1) HRD town forum; (2) core directions in HRD; (3) university instruction in HRD; (4) evaluation in HRD; (5)…

Employer and employee perceptions of the skills and abilities needed by college graduates in a changing workplace were examined through semistructured, in-depth interviews with a sample of 84 strategic managers, 84 college graduates, and 35 nongraduate employees in 91 organizations across England and Scotland that represented a mix of organization…

The New York State Department of Education formed a committee called the Statewide Administrative Futuring Committee. The major purpose of the committee was to determine and assess the impact of the major trends that would affect education in New York State and to reorient the state's educational programs toward the future. Using data collected…

A study examined the feasibility of using case studies to convince enterprises to value training and learning. First, 10 Australian enterprises were studied in sufficient depth to construct a comprehensive picture of each enterprise, its culture, and the strategies it uses to develop the skills and knowledge of individual employees and the…

This document, which is described by its author as a "critical autobiography", traces one adult educator's 15-year journey from graduate school and into the field of adult literacy and the process of his development into what he calls "an American scholar." The autobiographical narrative is developed against the backdrop of the…

In this report, transformative learning processes in 10 successful extension staff partnerships involving a campus researcher and a county extension staff member were studied with a methodology that combines grounded theory and case study traditions with a constructivist approach. Data collection activities included a literature review;…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on organizations in transition that was conducted as part of a conference on human resource development (HRD). "Human Resource Development in an Industry in Transition: The Case of the Russian Banking Sector" (Alexander Ardichvili, Alexander Gasparishvili) reports on a study…

The extent of vocational education and training (VET) teachers' knowledge about and experiences of online learning and teaching was examined in a collaborative research project undertaken with leading practitioners of VET online in technical and further education (TAFE) in South Australia in 2000. Eighteen VET practitioners considered at the…

The human resource development (HRD) profession needs to continue to develop its core theories and to integrate new theories into the body of knowledge. Creating new knowledge is of essential importance to both HRD practitioners and researchers. As an emerging field, HRD is in the process of defining itself as a discipline. Currently, there are…

The relationship between life history, gender, and the discourse of modernization was examined from the perspective of a researcher with extensive experience performing evaluations about modernization within human services in Denmark. Three stories about site-based management in two human service institutionsa youth center and a boarding school…

The financing of adult learning in civil society in Europe was examined in an exploratory study that focused on the relationship between nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the status of financing in the general field of adult learning. Adult education experts from the following countries were subcontracted to develop "country…

The Frontline Management Initiative (FMI) provides a framework for competency-based development of frontline managers in Australian enterprises. The FMI's impact on businesses was examined in a national study that included the following activities: focus groups; a national survey of management development and targeted national survey of FMI users;…

In this report, learning conditions in Norwegian workplaces were examined to identify ways of making workplaces more conducive to learning. Data were collected through interviews in 11 firms and a questionnaire survey of 1,300 private sector and 200 public sector employees. Opportunities to learn through work varied widely. Older women with little…

These proceedings presents addresses, 60 concurrent sessions, and business meetings from a conference that evolved from a vision of people coming together--like a town meeting--to start building "communities of interest and practice." Part 1 includes the presidential-elect address on his theme for the next conference, "Pathways to…

This collection of 19 essays shares the lessons of a wealth of experience and challenges professionals to open up adult learning to a variety of international perspectives. The first essay, "Building a European Dimension: A Realistic Response to Globalization?" (John Field), is an introduction to the essays. The six essays in Section I,…