This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of the SPARK (Skills Promoted through Arts, Reading, and Knowledge) demonstration project, a project designed to provide inservice training and a preschool curriculum to enable professional early childhood staff to use literacy and the arts to promote the skill development of young children…

This workbook for developing communication in learners with severe disabilities is from the Mississippi Early Education Program for Children with Multiple Disabilities, a program designed to train Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part H service coordinators and service providers to use family centered strategies. The objective of the…

This action research project developed an intervention to determine and change the attitudes and beliefs about students and gender bias. Targeted population were freshmen through seniors in two high schools in a blue collar, middle class community in northeastern Illinois. The problems were identified by student surveys on attitudes and beliefs…

The claim that work-based experience improves students' academic performance was examined through a study of the academic progress of 25 high school and community college student interns employed in various health care workplaces. Data were collected from the following activities: (1) review of the literature on academic reinforcement and academic…

A theoretical framework for a psychology of coaching was developed. First, the literature on cognitive approaches to coaching, behavioral approaches to coaching, and combinations of the cognitive and behavioral approaches was reviewed. Next, two studies examined the development and validation of a new measure of private self-consciousness called…

A research project studied in depth four organizations using organizational learning approaches to embed continuous learning within actual work processes. The most sustainable benefits, in terms of both individual and organizational needs, tended to result from "action" or "situated" learning that is informal and accrues…

Trends in assessment and certification of generic skills in vocational education and training (VET) across Australia were examined. Data were collected through the following activities: a literature review; semi-structured interviews with managers of assessment and teachers and learners in six registered training organizations across Australia;…

A study explored questions on changing skill requirements of small firms in the services sector that are internationalizing their activities. These seven European Union (EU) member states were involved: Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Austria, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The services sector accounted for a significant part of the EU…

This paper discusses a study that investigated whether competencies identified by the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) could be used to document job skills of students with mild disabilities. Participants in the study were 17 teachers, job coaches, and parents associated with a high school special education department…

A study surveyed 241 high-achieving youth aged 15-25 regarding how innovation can be made sustainable among youth in Canada. Results were insightful and pointed to actionable steps for the Youth Action Council for Sustainable Innovation and the federal government. Findings indicated the following: youth can be more innovative if they have the…

This manual presents instructional strategies developed by Project SLIDE (Skills for Learning Independence in Developmentally Appropriate Environments), a project that identified skills that general education kindergarten teachers found to be critical for students' success in their classrooms. After training in Project SLIDE strategies, students…

A study examined the English literacy development of English-Spanish bilingual students beginning formal transition into English literacy in a whole language classroom. The subjects were 26 Mexican-American third-graders. The curriculum had four components: theme-based literacy activities; teacher reading; free reading; and free writing.…

The first of the four papers in this symposium, "Human Resource Development's Contribution to Strategic Service Quality Performance in Radisson Hotels Worldwide" (Richard A. Swanson, Julie M. Hays, Arthur V. Hill, George John, David W. Johnson, Susan Geurs), illustrates the strategic alignment and contribution of HRD (human resource…

This paper discusses the creation, implementation, and evaluation of a nine-credit experimental, inter-campus, interdisciplinary learning community course entitled, "The Fundamental Values of a Good Community," developed at the University of Hawaii, West Oahu (UHWO), and Leeward Community College (LCC), two institutions in the University…

The theory of scientific management was established as a way to increase workers' productivity. The following are among the key principles underpinning scientific management: task simplification and division of labor boost productivity; management must control the planning of work down to its minutiae; and remuneration should be based on output.…