The informal learning practices of bank branch workers were examined in a study of a major Canadian bank. The study included ethnographic fieldwork and secondary analysis of a national survey of branch workers' learning practices during the introduction of a new financial services software system. Activity theory was used to examine workers'…

Researchers explored the relationships between the great working class communities and the industries they sustained and were sustained by in terms of production, storage, and transmission of skills. First, the ethnographic literature on industrial workplaces and the working class communities associated with them was reviewed. Next, lengthy…

This paper looks at how the necessary technology skills have changed over time and how those changes affect the ways in which technology skills are taught and assessed. It reviews how educators' views of technological fluency are shaped by both the "pull" of technology--increasing technical power and applications that affect what workers…

Among the many changes occurring in European society, three "factors of upheaval" are particularly important: the information society, internationalization, and the scientific and technical fields. Education and training can provide two possible solutions to eliminate their pernicious effects. The first involves reintroducing the merits…

The Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA), a national resource for policy and practice development in post-16 education and training, responds to a government White Paper on higher education's (HE's) future. LSDA believes that policy development across further education (FE) and HE sectors should be coordinated and that the government has…

A study examined how further education (FE) colleges and Local Education Authority adult education services contribute to neighborhood renewal (NR) in deprived areas and how their strategic role might develop. The National Strategy for Neighborhood Renewal was tackling deprivation in 88 of England's poorest communities by promoting the development…

The Project on Devolution and Urban Change conducted a study to learn how new welfare policies and funding mechanisms, especially devolution and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grants, affect human service agencies in neighborhoods with high concentrations of welfare recipients and people living in poverty. Key personnel at 106…

The effectiveness of team building as a strategy for improving students' concern for safety in a production technology laboratory was examined in a study involving a group of grade 9 and 10 production technology students from an urban, lower-middle-class community in western Illinois. Students' safety test scores, teacher checklists, and…

A study of adult learning and neighborhood renewal examined how further education (FE) colleges and Local Education Authority (LEA) adult education services contribute to neighborhood renewal in deprived areas and considered how their strategic role might develop in this field. The study indicates that the policy framework for post-16 learning and…

A policy review examined the extent to which changes to the post-16 learning and skills policy environment, particularly in relation to further education (FE) colleges, were likely to support neighborhood renewal-related knowledge and skills development. It focused particularly on the development of skills and knowledge needed by regeneration…

As a result of lengthy deliberations and review of evidence-based proven practices by the Leadership in Action Program in Maryland, this action agenda details 6 goals, 25 strategies, and 106 action steps determined as most critical to ensuring that all of Maryland's children will enter school ready to learn. The action agenda was submitted to the…

This report describes policy cooperation in the Education and Training Area in the European Union (EU) in response to the Lisbon strategy and provides a comprehensive plan to respond to the challenges of the knowledge society, globalization, and the enlargement of the EU. It focuses on these three objectives: (1) improving the quality and…

A study examined the impact of the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program on efforts in academic and vocational integration. A case study of 10 community colleges housing ATE-funded projects collected data through interviews with administrators, faculty, ATE program practitioners, and faculty and administrators at collaborating high…

A study was conducted to determine which of the following modes of professional practice is the dominant mode used by Ohio family and consumer science (FCS) teachers when implementing a refined critical science based curriculum: technical-rational; reflective-ethical; and process-oriented. The target population consisted of 1,013 secondary…

This report on vocational education and training (VET) in Poland has nine chapters. Chapter 1 presents the socioeconomic situation; explains reasons for different rates of development in particular regions; and presents trends in job creation and rise and fall in unemployment. Chapter 2 deals with changes in the VET field in these areas: VET's…