This document is a guide for managers and curriculum leaders of adult and community learning (ACE) programs in the United Kingdom who need to take a strategic approach to their program's curriculum and build internal organization and partnerships. The introduction discusses the aims and components of the overlapping strands of ACE provision (broad…

Studies and reports examining the problems associated with adult literacy and efforts to address those problems were reviewed to identify lessons for adult literacy programs in Canada and elsewhere. Low literacy levels were linked to above-average rates of personal and/or learning difficulties, low self-esteem, associated social problems, and…

The main publications of the United Kingdom's Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) on vocational skills and economic development issues since 1997 were reviewed. The primary purpose of the review was to identify key messages and useful sources of further reading on a range of skills and economic development topics. The materials presented…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) examined the effectiveness of using strategic human capital (HC) management to drive transformational change in federal agencies and reported on its own implementation of a new competency-based performance management system. First, the potential impacts of the following three broad HC reform opportunities to…

This report explores strategies for financing school-linked early learning initiatives. It is meant to help county agencies, school systems, and community organizations coordinate and expand their respective resources. The overall approach relies on partnerships and collaborations to meet the financing challenges faced by individual agencies and…

This document reports on phase 1 of the Special Preparatory Programme for the European Social Fund (SPP-ESF), which was undertaken to gather information on the transfer and exchange of experiences from the European Union (EU) to the 10 accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The 2 chapters constituting the first 15% of the report…

Instructional design is the art and science of crafting effective learning environments. The main challenges in instructional design are about content or process. Content should be considered first. A key challenge is ensuring that authors write in a way that is engaging and actively involves learners. Technology is another important challenge,…

The Youth Development Initiative (YDI) was a 5-year, $4.3 million dollar project to strengthen the management and organizational capacities of nonprofit youth-serving organizations so they could better meet expanding demands for service in their communities. Ten youth-serving organizations in Fresno, California, and 10 in Los Angeles participated…

The nature and effects of current common understandings of the relationship between work and literacy were examined along with the typical design and objectives of workplace literacy programs for members of Australia's work force. Special attention was paid to the following topics: changing demands of work and literacy at work; discourses of…

This book contains an introduction and 10 papers from the International Conference on New Trends of Development and Models of Reform in the Field of Vocational Education and Training in the 21st Century. The following papers are included: "Introduction to the Reports Held on the International Conference"; "The Development and Reform…

As part of the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Evaluation Collaboration, responses from extension professionals in 42 states and territories to the 74-item Organizational Change Survey were analyzed. Overall trends in the discrepancy between the current and ideal status of extension as indicated by all state discrepancy scores in all…

The trend to internationalize has impacted upon most higher education institutions in the United States. This paper offers an organizational framework for understanding and implementing internationalization as an institution-wide process. The first section of the paper discusses and identifies the core characteristics required for all…

In this article, the author discusses three distinct challenges that demand solutions if traditional universities are to successfully confront the economic realities of distance learning: (1) Many traditional universities are not willing to draw useful lessons from the more advantageous financial and IT models of for-profit or other nontraditional…

With the increasing importance of information technology and access to local, state, and global information networks, it is vital to have a statewide plan for providing all elementary and secondary students with the knowledge and skills to manage and use information. Without a statewide plan, large groups of schools and their students will be left…

This report describes phase VI of the Equity Staff Development project, an ongoing project to achieve equity and diversity at Wisconsin technical colleges by creating an institutional climate supporting achievement by all students. Among the project's major activities and outcomes are the following: the existing train-the-trainer format of peer…