In this commentary, the authors review one area of federal policy, adult basic education policy, since its inception in the 1960s as an example of how educational policy can drift from its broad purpose as it responds to political, social, and economic forces. The authors argue that its current narrow focus on workforce development underestimates…

Adult basic education's role, from the beginning, has been about serving people with foundational skill needs. The author, Judy Mortrude, agrees with the argument that adult literacy education needs to be repositioned within a new framework of lifelong and life-wide learning, a framework in which new policies are formulated, programs are designed…

Dr. Jacobson's analysis of "hard to serve" is well founded, especially from an academic and theoretical perspective, yet the author is left wanting. Is the solution to merely change the language, the terminology of the legislation, or the terminology used by policy makers as well as practitioners? Are these adults hard to serve or ill…

In the 20 years since the implementation of the Work Investment Act (WIA), federal funding for adult literacy education has remained largely stagnant, and actually decreased in inflation-adjusted dollars from FY2001-FY2019, despite the fact that the field serves fewer than 5% of those in need. Yet over these two decades, the field has moved away…

Over the years neoliberal ideology and discourse have become intricately connected to making science people. Science educators work within a complicated paradox where they are obligated to meet neoliberal demands that reinscribe dominant, hegemonic assumptions for producing a scientific workforce. Whether it is the discourse of school science,…

As the largest funder of adult basic education (ABE) in the nation, providing over $600 million through its Basic Grants to States (U.S. Department of Education, 2019), the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) drives ABE policies and practices. In a review of the announcement on Title II, the phrase "transition to" is repeated…

G. Rumay Alexander is a leader working to transform nursing education and address systemic racism within the nursing profession and the health care system more broadly. At the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, Alexander serves as clinical professor at the School of Nursing and assistant dean for relational excellence at the Adams…

Mr. Brendon Thomas, Director of Technologies at Brisbane Girls Grammar School, looks at the importance of the study of design and digital technologies in schools to develop and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Responding to David Stoesz's invited article criticizing the Children's Bureau and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI), the author's inaccurate assertions are challenged, and new information is provided about the significant work underway to support the child welfare workforce. The Children's Bureau has made historic investments…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore human resource development (HRD) in Mauritius and the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations in different sectors in adopting HRD practices. Findings: This special issue presents four papers that explore dimensions of HRD in public sector, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and…

This article is a critique of David Stoesz' descriptions of organizational issues in child welfare, and more specifically, the relationships between the U.S. Children's Bureau and the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute. The focus is on Stoesz perspectives and assessments of sub-entities (cartels) that are currently influencing funding and…

Although the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) is a specific focus of Stoesz's article, a more expansive and thought-provoking critique is made of the NCWWI within the context of a purported overreliance and dependency on the Children's Bureau, concerns regarding the quality of social work education, and the development of a…

According to Debra Bragg, Amy Pickard's article "WIOA: Implications for Low-Scoring Adult Learners" (EJ1125478) offers a provocative analysis of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) that is important for any educator to read, especially educators who work with adult learners in postsecondary education. Pickard's…

This article presents a perspective on the relationship between adult education and human resource development of the past two decades and the subsequent emergence of workforce development. The lesson taken from the article should be more than simply a recounting of events related to these fields of study. Instead, the more general lesson may be…

On September 22, 2011, Sharan Merriam visited Brock University to give a Distinguished Speaker Lecture. Based on her research about the future of adult education within a global context, Merriam's lecture sets the tone for this special issue on the impact of globalization for adult education and higher education. Subsequently, the authors of this…