The professional development strategies and activities of vocational education and training staff at further education (FE) colleges in the United Kingdom were examined through a mail survey completed by 891 staff members at 108 colleges throughout the United Kingdom (representing 24% of the FE sector). Most respondents (92%) stated that their…

This report describes apprenticeship system development in Australia and provides a quantitative macro-level analysis of apprenticeship, traineeship, and new apprenticeship trends. Following an introduction (chapter 1), chapters 2-3 trace its European origins and establishment in colonial Australia, development and evolution through the twentieth…

This document contains three papers on global team development. "Virtual Executives: A Paradox with Implications for Development" (Andrea Hornett), which is based on a case study exploring power relationships among members of a virtual team, demonstrates that members of a virtual team describe power differently for situations inside…

This document contains three papers on informal learning and human resource development. "Workplace Learning Reviewed: Confronting the Rhetoric with Empirical Research" (Rob F. Poell, Ferd J. Van der Krogt) discusses the considerable discrepancy between theory on workplace learning and actual workplace learning-related developments in…

Case studies of 16 firms across Australia that employ adult apprentices in the "traditional" trades were conducted to identify innovative ways of getting adults into the trades. The case studies included interviews with the firms' apprentice managers, training providers, and adult apprentices. Although some adult-friendly innovations…

The barriers to male participation in education and training initiatives in Ireland were examined in a qualitative study. The data collection methods were as follows: (1) semi-structured focus groups with a total of 41 men participating in training initiatives at five sites across Ireland; (2) in-depth interviews with 20 of the men; (3) a…

A work group consisting of representatives of public agencies, education, the health care industry, and unions and professional associations was formed to examine education and training issues related to the shortage of health care workers in Washington state. The group concluded that the shortage of available workers in many health care…

These six issues contain the following articles: "The Bright Side of the U.S. Teacher Shortage" (Thomas Nixon); "Sharing Power in the Classroom" (Patricia Richard-Amato); "Content for Conversation Partners" (Kathleen Olson); "English Language Teaching in Indonesia" (Bachrudin Musthafa); "Working to Make…

The SOCRATES Program was conducted in 1995-1999 to increase transnational cooperation between institutions in the field of adult education (AE) and thereby enhance the quality of AE in Europe. In 1997, a project called Monitoring of Projects: Evaluation as Dialogue (MOPED) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of 101 transnational…

The future of low-wage jobs is examined through a case study of firm restructuring in the retail industry. The study confirms that the retailing sector has come to be dominated by the Wal-Mart model, which emphasizes an efficient technology-driven inventory management system and a human resource approach that includes the following elements:…

The business press abounds with examples of innovative companies that have created high-quality jobs; however, low-wage, deskilled jobs filled by contingent workers are equally prevalent. More than one in six U.S. workers currently hold retail jobs. The effect of globalization of trade on the retail industry is unclear. The most significant…

This report examines the financing of the two components of France's vocational education and training (VET) system. They are initial vocational training (IVT), which includes upper secondary and short forms of higher education, and continuing vocational training (CVT), which aims to help workers adapt to changes in working techniques and…

Curriculum reform in vocational education and training (VET) in Central and Eastern Europe was examined through case studies of VET in 10 countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, and Slovenia. Special attention was paid to the following: each country's VET system; curriculum…

Self esteem has been a buzzword in the 1990s but what exactly is self esteem? How is it formed? Can self esteem be raised? How? This book addresses these questions and includes specialized chapters on children, gender, transitions, parents' self esteem, and measurement of self esteem. Many people want to change how they feel about themselves but…

This document summarizes the activities conducted by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) during 1998 in its continuing efforts to accomplish its primary objective of linking research, policy, and practice in vocational education and training (VET). The following are among the 1998 CEDEFOP projects and…