Adult basic education students manage adult responsibilities and obligations and personal goals related to school. They commit their time and limited resources and thus are investors in their own learning. As investors, their voices matter. When one countywide adult basic education program implemented a systemic plan to ask students upon entry…

The increased complexity of today's work environment has made the need for soft skills, such as teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem solving, more salient than ever. Employers hire for these skills because it is increasingly the human resources that give organizations a competitive advantage. Therefore, academia must respond to these…

This article describes how out-of-work miners are engaged in the Empowering Education Initiative, a unique alliance between Country Music Television (CMT) and community colleges in Appalachia. The initiative, which includes a website and a series of country music concerts, is changing the conversation in the Appalachian region, giving hope to…

This interview between a member of the FrameWorks staff and a long-time funder of FrameWorks research and field building highlights the critical role that communications can play in maximizing philanthropy's long-term impact in the social sector, even--or perhaps especially--in times of economic scarcity and retrenchment. The interview captures…

Local textile firms have worked with the Chester County Career Center in South Carolina to attract students to textile training, modernize equipment, and develop effective, industry-based training. (SK)

Describes South Carolina's program of Special Schools which offer crash training through the state's two-year technical colleges to help new and expanding industries begin their operations through preemployment training programs. Highlights diversity in training, quick response to industry needs, and individually styled training. (DMM)

Examines how well structural and social psychological variables explain occupational aspirations of 447 rural, low-income southern youth during preadolescence, adolescence, and young adulthood (contacts were made in 1969, 1975, and 1979). Finds results vary from Ginsburg's theory of three stages with occupational expectations declining rapidly…