This document contains four papers from a symposium on informal workplace learning. The first paper, "The Impact of Actor Strategies and Work Type on Learning Projects: A Multiple Case Study" (Rob F. Poell), reports on a multiple case study of four learning projects in two organizations that demonstrated that individuals' strategies and the type…

East African maternity care and child rearing practices are discussed from a cross-cultural perspective. A brief background section is followed by discussion of: (1) health and nutrition as preconditions for educational achievement; (2) care of mothers and children and child rearing in East Africa--by far the longest section; (3) the roles of…

Students' alternative conceptions arise out of an interconnected system of beliefs: about the nature of science, of learning, of the natural and social world. Cross-cultural perspectives on these world views are therefore essential. This study probed middle school students' conceptions about plants. Tribal students were found to have a richer and…

Schools need to be reoriented and restructured so that what is taught and learned, and the way in which it is taught and learned, are better integrated with young people's real-world experiences. Many indicators suggest that the meaningful aspects of school have been lost in the encounter with modern times. The title of this address--"Every…

While rediscovering her Chippewa spirituality, the author learned that life's tests are gifts. The ways she learned in the White world had prevented her from serving her people. She had to undergo pain to learn about compassion before she could be of service. Native people need to positively reinforce children and allow them to talk about their…

This paper examines the intersection where migration and adult learning converge, exploring how a transnational social context of living relates to adults' formal and informal learning experiences. In-depth life-history interviews were conducted with 29 adults participating in two social networks that link the central coast region of California…

Collaborative learning, such as student-team learning or work-group learning, has become the focus of inservice workshops for teachers, a theme in professional journals, and the daily routine in an increasing number of classrooms. The women's study clubs in late 19th-century United States used a similar pedagogy. By the early 1900s, perhaps as…

The majority of learning that occurs in the workplace is informal, however, little is known about how such learning is best supported and nurtured. A qualitative case study was recently conducted to explore the contextual factors that may shape informal workplace learning. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted and constant comparative…

This study, part of a larger research project, explored the knowledge and attitudes of the general population regarding cloning. Such awareness of the general public's knowledge of important science topics, attitudes toward such topics, and sources from which people retrieve information can help scientific and educational communities develop…

An influential proposal about aquiring mathematical knowledge is that it entails linking instruction-based concepts to intuitions derived from informal activities. In the case of non-positive numbers, informal knowledge is unlikely to emanate from observing physical objects, because non-positive objects or sets of objects do not exist. However, it…

Through their own inventiveness and persistence, adults are circumventing institutional indifference and creating alternative educational networks to teach themselves art. Problems that must be overcome are as follows: inadequate instructor preparation, a generally narrow array of programs in most community centers with the preponderance of…

Informal adult learning opportunities in Wyoming at the turn of the century were offered through popular lectures, newspaper articles, a traveling library, and the University of Wyoming's libraries and museums. Laramie City, one of the earliest towns to be established in Wyoming Territory, was home to a large concentration of formally educated…

This paper focuses on the status of science teaching and learning in 20 secondary schools in an urban community which caters to an extremely diverse multicultural student population and the research needed to improve science teaching and learning in such a setting. This research was conducted to provide pre-service teachers with an insight into…

A model on learning that occurs in the workplace is discussed. Two theoretical frameworks are explored: multiple learning domains and action science. Four examples that reflect some of the characteristics of the new paradigm for learning in the workplace are included. The examples concern management development in a large business, a staff…

This symposium on career development issues consists of three presentations. "Career Development: What Is Its Role in Human Resource Development (HRD)?" (Mary Allyn Boudreaux) explores the role of career development theory and research in the field of HRD. Definitions of HRD are provided, and the status of career theory and research and its…