Recent research focusing on Human Resource Development (HRD) in East Asia is attracting increasing attention. The purpose of the study is to explore the definition and practice of HRD, together with influencing cultural factors, in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Japan. The results indicate a difference in the definition and implementation of HRD…

Current cultural, social, and economic trends challenge traditional concepts of learning and lifelong learning. This paper draws on the twofold nature of learning in a knowledge society and explores options for technological support. The concept of Second-Order Learning Objects is introduced as a potential means to foster generative learning.…

In this article, the authors present essential aspects of the help-seeking behavior with regard to mental health problems of Ghanaian migrants in the Netherlands. Samples of citizens in the general population (n=97) and outpatients treated in mental health care facilities (n=36) were included. Data were acquired by administering a semi-structured…

This article seeks to develop a framework for assessing the impacts of cultural values and beliefs on cross-cultural training (CCT). It argues that culture affects CCT processes including the use of training methods, trainers' selection, and trainees' learning style. The article also reasons that the congruence between parent and host cultures…

This study was to examine the teaching styles and the student preferences for teaching styles of adult educators in Taiwan. This research is a case study utilizing statistical analysis, interviews, and classroom observation. The findings indicated that although the instructors tended toward the andragogical, there was still a significant…

To effectively teach young children, early childhood teachers must be prepared to collaborate with families of diverse backgrounds. Studying the unique cultural contexts of children and families in American early care and education programs and communities will offer early educators information needed to develop empathy for the families with whom…

Although Language and Literacy research has become an impetus for change in the K-12 arena, Developmental and Adult Education practices have evolved little as a result of such inquiries. Driving instruction away from rote practice of discreet skills, educators have the opportunity to depart from deficit models of education and open up the…

Many countries have implemented versions of competency-based training in which competency standards or statements serve to provide standardized learning and skill development outcomes for vocational education and training. It seems that a main attraction that motivated the introduction of such competency-based systems was the assumption by some…

This paper describes strategies developed to recruit and retain an ethnically diverse sample in a longitudinal intervention of 246 participants in the SeniorWISE study. The ethnic and socioeconomic differences of these participants necessitated the use of different methods of effectively communicating with this population. Recruitment benefited…

The Hmong are the second largest tribal group in Thailand. Hmong society is stratified by both age and gender. Women were considered inferior to men in Hmong traditional society. There was a strong bias against education for Hmong women in the past. Hmong women's access to education has improved with recent developments in the socio-economy and…

It is no longer realistic or viable for HRD to be isolated from the broader context of workforce development. Organizations, where HRD has been traditionally situated, have begun to realize the ominous workforce challenge that lies ahead--especially related to ensuring literate and skilled adults in the future. It is very important for HRD…

Using a critical feminist analysis, this paper delves into the way in which current discourses in lifelong learning are frequently delineated by a masculine and competitive framework of values, reflective of the impact of the global marketplace. To challenge these underlying assumptions of what constitutes important learning, the article focuses…

To better understand the world of adult learners, we must remove ourselves from our ivory towers, classrooms, and offices and engage in the practice of adult education programs in urban settings.

With an increasingly international student body in universities all over the world, there is growing contact between teachers and students from different cultures. This chapter brings cultural issues to a more conscious and explicit level so they may be examined in the light of teacher authenticity.

This study investigated the relationships between: (1) two dimensions of adult literacy instruction; and (2) change in the literacy practices of adult literacy students. The two instructional dimensions investigated were: (1) degree of authenticity of the activities and texts employed in the literacy class; and (2) degree of teacher/student…