Auspicing in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector involves organizations entering into partnerships with registered training organizations (RTOs) to have the training and assessment they undertake recognized under the National Training Framework. RTOs bear responsibility for assuring the quality of the assessments conducted…

This summary outlines the key findings from a national evaluation of the first-year trials of the New Relationship with Schools (NRwS) carried out by a team at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The trials took place in the period September 2004 to July 2005 and involved 93 schools in eight local educational authorities…

The convergence of two apparently opposite theories of urban educational reform is analyzed as it occurs in three middle schools in a New York City school district. The first theory, emphasizing small schools of choice, promotes close relationships between students and adults in distinctive school programs. The second--centralized, standards-based…

The outcomes and impacts of adult literacy education in the United States were examined through a qualitative assessment of the pertinent research conducted since the late 1960s. A comprehensive literature search identified approximately 115 outcomes and impacts studies. Of the 68 studies found to have an outcomes component, the 23 most credible…

This training manual is intended for use as the basis of a training program by a trainer or as a tool for self-directed learning by an independent reader. An introduction (Chapter 1) looks at the user in relation to the training program: who will use the training manual, locating oneself, building on one's relationship with adult literacy learning…

A study examined European Social Fund (ESF)-funded middle-level technician (MLT) and higher technical and business skills (HTBS) courses at Irish technical colleges. Data were obtained from the following: review of relevant literature; review of all program-monitoring documents submitted by Ireland's Department of Education since 1990; interviews…

Training in the motor vehicle repair and sales sector in the Netherlands was examined in a study that included the following approaches: review of the sector's structure/characteristics, institutional and social context, employment practices, changing conditions, and available education and training; in-depth case studies of four auto repair shops…

Training in the retail sector throughout the 12 European Community (EC) member countries was examined through in-depth case studies of 55 retail firms that were selected as representing a wide range of firm types (19 multinational, 36 national, 4 cooperative, 7 family-owned firms), forms of retailing (department stores, supermarkets, and chain and…

This volume, Interim Report No. 3 in a 3-year study, considers literacy programs designed to qualify employees for promotions or professional advancement. It adopts a multidimensional definition of moving ahead, one that extends to monetary rewards, career development, and employment security. The volume is divided into two parts: report and case…

A literature review and telephone survey examined the following alternate methods for delivering vocational education services: mobile training laboratories, mobile training programs, training programs offered by educational institutions in business and industry facilities, and equipment loaned or supplied as a gift by business and industry for…

This second of the two-part proceedings of an Australian conference on youth schooling and unemployment contains 25 research reports and texts from two symposia on alienation from school to work, and youth in transition. Focus of the papers is on educational practices and specific problems in the area of educational research. Topics covered in…

Increasingly, educational evaluators are using studies of individual students in a program, reporting their academic and community background, dimensions of the program in which they were enrolled, and the benefits to the students after completing or leaving the program as a measure of the success of the programs. The case studies in this…

English as a second language (ESL) programs in community colleges are as diverse in the models they follow as the students they serve. This volume provides a detailed look at how faculty and administrators are tailoring their ESL programs to best serve the needs of their students and the missions of their institutions. The authors of the thirteen…

A community initiative (called ADAPT) was intended to help the workforce in European Union countries to adapt to industrial change and prepare for the information society, as well as to promote growth, employment, and the competitiveness of companies in the countries. Between 1995 and 1999, 4,000 projects were funded to transform the ways in which…

The National Longitudinal Evaluation of Comprehensive School Reform (NLECSR) is a quantitative and qualitative study of behavior, decisions, processes, and outcomes. It employs a quasi-experimental design with matched treatment and comparison schools. NLECSR seeks to determine the effects of CSR models on student achievement in about 650…