Interviews and focus groups with 32 apprentices, 21 employers, and 6 teachers in Australia's construction industry showed that on-the-job learning was perceived as more real and focused on "how"; off-the-job learning was less pressured, broader, more theoretical, and concerns with "why." The different contributions each made to…

This article is a combined result of a three years research project on low-skilled learners' experiences as participants of various kinds of adult training and education in Denmark, and the findings of a three years research consortium on workplace learning, summing up and generalizing our various findings as to how low-skilled adults function in…

Andragogy is the art and science of adult education that focuses on real-life application and problem-solving capacity (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998). This approach emphasizes that training effectiveness is enhanced through trainees' actual performance of the task. Workers learn better when they perceive that learning will help them perform…

Developing competence in the workforce for a changing economy is a challenge to a nations education system. This study examines what education and training systems have been made available to the workforce. For this study, in 1998, 31,736 employees were surveyed from 401 firms in 12 counties across China: four in two eastern provinces, four in two…

The prospects of world economic development are determined by the character of countries' transition to the new stage of development of productive forces: from industrial production, which was dominated by large-scale mechanized machine-driven production, to postindustrial production, which will be dominated by nonmaterial production--the sphere…

Situated learning theory provides a rich conceptual framework for analysing the processes by which apprentices become (full) participants in a community of practice. This article uses case study evidence from the UK's Modern Apprenticeship programme to show how this framework can be developed by identifying features of expansive and restrictive…

The authors of this article were involved in designing and delivering a vocational education and training (VET) program for employees of a large Australian government agency. Learning partnerships were included as an integral part of this program and research was conducted to determine whether learning partnerships could be used effectively in…

The focus in recent studies of workplace learning has been on "communities of practice" and the ways that learning is shaped by such communities. In the process, there has been a downplaying of the importance of broader institutional arrangements, including the impact of organisational structures and management practice, as well as…

In this article, I explain the practical learning challenges in distributed workplace learning (WL) that are engendered by distance and contradictory motives between distributed instructors. I draw lessons from an empirical study of the institution of a new profession in the British National Health Service that was operationalised through…

This document contains the oral and written statements of persons whose testimony was presented before a Congressional hearing on training lessons learned from recent military conflicts. Principal witness was Mark E. Gebicke, Director of Military Operations and Capabilities Issues, National Security and International Affairs Division, U.S. General…

A program was conducted to improve the quality of food service through the training of 44 food and nutrition service employees in a 200-bed hospital. A 12-week quality control program was implemented to address four key areas: food temperatures, food accuracy, food quality, and dietary personnel. Learning strategies, emphasizing critical thinking…

The author discusses the true cost of training and offers a "ten percent rule" for estimating the figures, which most organizations and their training functions have not wanted to know, because the costs are so high they exceed the measurable benefits in dollars and the training produces. (Author/AJ)

A study was conducted jointly by Women in the Building Trades (WIBT), and the Wellesley Center for Research on Women to learn about the experiences of women in the building trades. A questionnaire was distributed at a state conference and mailed to the mailing list of WIBT. All told, 431 questionnaires were distributed, and 131 (30%) were…

To address the issues raised by the possible expansion of administrator competency testing, a survey was sent to each state education agency in late 1988. Using survey data and a literature review, this paper discusses the development of administrator competency testing, explores pertinent issues, makes recommendations for policy makers opting to…

This volume presents the results of a data analysis of an employer survey to investigate uses of subsidies to provide jobs and training for unskilled and inexperienced workers and to examine the impact of those uses on employers. Chapter 1 introduces the subsidy programs and the data set and tabulates how participation in each program varies with…