While press coverage of MOOCs (massive open online courses) has been considerable and major MOOC providers are beginning to realize that employers may be a market for their courses, research on employers' receptivity to using MOOCs is scarce. To help fill this gap, the Finding and Developing Talent study surveyed 103 employers and interviewed a…

This dissertation describes the process of creating a guidebook that developmental education administrators can use to build their capacity as leaders, learners, and program planners. The guidebook is the product of a qualitative study designed to better understand how community college administrators who have program planning responsibilities for…

This guide is primarily aimed at skills providers for unemployed adults, but will also be of interest to learning providers that wish to engage micro-businesses for the purpose of delivering other forms of provision such as apprenticeships and work-based learning through full cost recovery. The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education…

Recent studies have shown that students who are former Adult Basic Education (ABE) or English as a Second Language (ESL) students rarely make the transition to college-level work, even when they have a college-level goal. New programs have been designed to help these students move further, faster in their studies to help them complete credentials,…

The current economic crisis, a growing workforce, the increasing lifespan of workers, and demanding, complex jobs have made organizations highly selective in employee recruitment and retention. It is therefore important, to the adult educator, to develop models of learning that better prepare adult learners for the workplace. The purpose of…

The free and open publication of course materials (OpenCourseWare or OCW) was initially undertaken by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and other universities primarily to share educational resources among educators (Abelson, 2007). OCW, however, and more in general open educational resources (OER), have also provided well-documented…

The revolving door appropriately describes the attrition among beginning teachers. Especially high attrition plagues our urban schools where highly qualified teachers are most crucial. Even though research over 3 decades has provided the basis for intricate induction programs, not all new teachers experience them. Effective mentoring has provided…

This study identifies the factors which explain why individuals enter or do not enter traditional trade apprenticeships. Two sources of information are used--students in secondary schools and current apprentices (including those who have recently completed their training). Specifically, information was obtained from about 800 apprentices and close…

This paper reports on the outcomes of a replication study of a survey of British employers that requested information on the qualifications sought when recruiting employees and on subsequent training and development. While the British survey was interested in the uptake and use of the British National Vocational Qualifications, the study reported…