The outcomes of enabling courses offered in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector were examined. "Enabling course" was defined as lower-level preparatory and prevocational courses covering a wide range of areas, including remedial education, bridging courses, precertificate courses, and general employment preparation…

This document contains information about the methodology and findings of a study that identified 20 programs across the United States that have been successful in raising student's academic achievement. Part 1 contains the following items: (1) an explanation of the process and criteria used to select the 20 examples of excellence drawn from the 96…

A study was conducted to obtain pilot evidence that could serve as a basis for developing convincing methods for individual Australian companies to use in determining their returns from investment in training. The study attempted to replicate survey results from significant overseas surveys by using information collected on more than 90 Australian…

New apprenticeships were introduced to Australia in January 1998 to provide practical training opportunities to a wider range of people than the traditional trade-based apprenticeship system did. The effect of the new apprenticeship initiative on the type of employment-based training being undertaken in Australia was studied by analyzing data from…

This document presents materials to assist individuals responsible for coordinating mentor programs at career academies and materials to assist mentors. Section 1, which is addressed to coordinators, contains guidelines pertaining to the following aspects of planning and implementing mentor programs: policies and procedures; budgeting and funding;…

This document cites theoretical works and actual cases to examine the notion of community as the web of learning. The first half of the document explores the different perspectives about the concept of community and traces the evolved nature of community through an overview of how humans have banded together to form communities from the early days…

The School to Work Opportunities Act of 1994 requires that all young people, including young people with disabilities and out-of-school youth, have equal opportunities to participate in the activities funded by it. Local intermediary organizations that provide a critical convening role and offer services to core education and business partners can…

This document is intended to help high school vocational-technical teachers design courses that result in high-quality learning for all their students. The book's seven chapters detail this process for designing courses that achieve the following results: model the concept of quality; produce independent learners; develop active participants in…

Canadian population trends were examined from a life course perspective to identify needed social policy changes. First, the following principles underpinning the life course perspective were discussed: (1) aging involves biological, psychological, and social processes; (2) human development and aging are lifelong processes; (3) individuals' and…

This document contains the text of the Nurse Reinvestment Act, which amends the Public Health Service Act to address the increasing shortage of registered nurses by instituting a series of policies to improve nurse recruitment and nurse retention. Title I details two initiatives to boost recruitment of nurses. The first initiative includes the…

This guide offers insight, advice, examples, and resources aimed at community education practitioners in the United Kingdom who want to establish sustainable community education and neighborhood renewal programs promoting active citizenship and social change. The following topics are discussed: (1) neighborhoods in crisis; (2) proposed government…

Ireland's economic and social problems in the 1980s spawned a new kind of community education. Key characteristics of the new community education are as follows: (1) it is a learning environment and located in the community; (2) it provides learning programs based on identified needs; (3) its control remains in the local community's hands; (4) its…

The relationship between lifelong learning, active citizenship, and neighborhood renewal was explored in the context of the British government's declared intention to address the consequences of poverty through neighborhood renewal, encourage public participation in renewal, and make lifelong learning a central strategy for ensuring future…

This document is a learning module designed to provide adult literacy practitioners in New York and elsewhere with the materials needed to take an empowering approach to helping adult literacy learners deal with the realities of alcohol and other drug issues affecting them and their families. The module includes background material, information on…

A recent international symposium on radicalizing feminism explored ways of developing a dialogic feminism that emphasizes working in different settings under the common goal of including women who have been invisible in the dominant feminist literature by furthering theories and practices based on the principles of dialogic feminism. The seminar…