This document explores the feasibility of loans to support English adults engaging in lifelong learning. The following topics are considered: (1) the policy context (loans in higher education, individual learning accounts, and education maintenance allowances); (2) the need for financial support; (3) attitudes toward loans; (3) financial advice,…

The entry of working welfare mothers into the labor market will have an impact on the wages and employment of low-skilled workers. This impact was examined through a labor market analysis of available statistical data about the U.S. population and employment patterns. The characteristics of workers likely to enter the labor market because of…

This document reports on a European Training Foundation Advisory Forum study of vocational education and training (VET) and retraining in the regions of the European Union (EU) that synthesized overviews of the general country situations regarding the territorial organization of the VET system and policy and relevant case studies concerning…

The needs of grassroots farmers in Uganda and Ghana for locally developed print materials were examined through a postal survey of nearly 200 organizations and examinations of 75 autonomous farmer groups and 95 organizations sharing agricultural information in both countries. Both printed agricultural information relevant to grassroots farmers and…

The issue of increasing productivity was examined from an interdisciplinary perspective focusing on the impact of workplace practices on various productivity-related outcomes. First, the following methodological issues were discussed: defining workplace practices that affect productivity; linking employer behavior and organizational performance;…

To address the skills shortages stemming from the transition to a more technological and skills-intensive economy, Congress established a program whereby funds from H-1B visa fees would provide seed funds for private companies, labor, and government to join together in creating training alliances focused on skills in short supply. Unfortunately,…

This book contains 15 papers: "Introduction" (Madhu Singh); "Adult Learning and the Transformation of Work" (Paul Belanger); "Future of Work and Adult Learning" (Ettore Gelpi); "The Obligation of Education in the Face of Globalisation" (Nicole Arnaud); "Lifelong Learning and Vocational Education and…

The General Accounting Office examined the problem of attracting and retaining a high-quality information technology (IT) workforce in federal government agencies. The problem was traced to a longstanding lack of effective leadership and management and lack of a strategic approach to marshaling, managing, and maintaining the human capital needed…

The performance of Florida's Workforce Development Education Program was reviewed. The following were among the data considered: (1) data on program enrollment, program completion, and earnings; (2) data on workforce programs provided from 1992-1993 to 1998-1999; and (3) the 97 responses obtained in a telephone survey of 418 Florida businesses…

Australian education and training and vocational education and training (VET) research are in a state of crisis. Both the higher education and VET sectors are now squeezed and subject to contradictory objectives, multiple accountabilities, heightened expectations, and diminished resources in an environment of uncertainty and frustration. The…

The issue of how the outcomes of research on vocational education and training (VET) are influenced by categories that frame thinking about research and learning was explored. Special attention was paid to the following issues: (1) the role of researchers' culture and race in identification of adult learning principles; (2) the need for…

Changes in the nature of work have resulted in a significant loss of employment opportunities for Australian youths. Since the 1980s, the Australian government's perspective on the problem of youth unemployment has moved from emphasis on job availability to emphasis on individual job readiness. A 1999 Tasmanian study of early school leavers and…

Trends in higher education (HE) in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom in the 1990s were reviewed, and possible policy directions for HE in the 21st century were explored. Special attention was paid to the following areas: features of HE institutions in the 21st century; the relationship between the state and HE institutions; curriculum…

The second national conference on consolidation of rural schools and transportation of pupils was called by the United States Commissioner of Education and held at Cleveland, Ohio, February 26, 1923. Twenty-three States were represented. Those in attendance included State commissioners of education, rural-school workers from State departments of…

Public education in the United States is a function of the States. In discharging this responsibility each State has recognized that a considerable degree of local control of education is essential. The establishment of local school districts and the creation of local boards of education to administer school district affairs reflect this point of…