Head Start comprises a substantial share of the early childhood workforce. Given this, changes in Head Start workforce policies impact the broader early childhood ecosystem--and changes in the larger ecosystem in turn affect Head Start. This paper seeks to inform efforts to strengthen the early childhood workforce by documenting the current state…

The Skills for Jobs White Paper and funding and accountability consultation set out the Government's plans to introduce a greater focus on the outcomes of learning, including a new Skills Measure that looks at the employment and other outcomes that learners achieve. Will this give colleges and providers greater freedom to deliver for learners, or…

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…

This report discusses why Japan continues to struggle with and appears on the surface to be reluctant to embrace the English language as a medium to conduct business and indeed tourism as opposed to their South East Asian neighbours. The topics covered were the historical context of Japan's isolationist policy, Japan's educational system, and…

In addition to the familiar occupational standards that underpin National Vocational Qualifications, the UK has a parallel if less complete system of competence or practice standards that are developed and controlled by professional bodies. While there is a certain amount of overlap between the two types of standard, recent research points to a…

The work reported in this paper is part of a large European study commissioned by the Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) which explores interactions between the labour market and vocational education and training as well as up-dates the content Initial Vocational Education and Training (IVET) provision in 15 European…

In this paper, the author explores the development of school staff who are employed to support pupils in the classroom, specifically the teaching assistant/higher level teaching assistant role. These roles have undergone considerable change following the introduction of Workforce Reform and Remodelling in English schools and the National…

This article analyzes the development of the Egyptian workers' movement in the face of the 25 January Revolution through the notion of dialectical pedagogy. This Gramscian concept is extended by a Vygotskyan analysis of the reciprocal learning processes, which stimulate a proletarian activity system to overcome its economic-corporate predicament.…

Purpose: The primary purposes of the current paper are to: provide theoretically clear concepts of the learning organization (LO) and organizational learning (OL) process; and empirically test the relationships among research constructs--environmental aspects of the LO and three types of OL processes at the levels of individual, group/team, and…

Teacher education has been undergoing significant transformations worldwide in recent decades, and China has made continuous efforts in its quest for world-class teachers. This paper aims at a comprehensive investigation of the complex policy process in China's national initiatives to nurture a world-class teaching force, with qualitative findings…

STEM is the acronym used in England for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. STEM subjects are a central plank in developing the UK's skills base. Specialist knowledge in these subjects not only underpins many high-tech sectors--such as IT and engineering--but is also important for creativity and developing new ideas. This report…

Community colleges across the country are engaged in large-scale federal and state initiatives to train low-income individuals for the nascent field that's become known as "green jobs." Many green economy advocates believe that green jobs training can be part of career pathways that help move unemployed and disconnected individuals--who are often…

This study examined health insurance disparities among recent immigrants. The authors analyzed all working-age adult immigrants between the ages of 18 and 64 using the New Immigrant Survey data collected in 2003. This survey is a cross-sectional interview of recent legal permanent residents on their social, economic, and health status. Respondents…

The question of skill development in temporary work has so far been neglected in research and practice. The expansion and speciality of this way of earning a living--particularly as a result of the frequently changing demands on different workplaces and the strategy of lifelong learning favoured by educational policy in order to obtain and improve…

Work practices in the meat-processing industry have changed in recent years. The industry has moved away from workers dressing a whole carcass towards a chain-based system, with each worker performing a single task along a moving production line. The nature of the meat-processing workforce has also changed. It is no longer dominated by seasonal…