By 2015, all young people must participate in some form of education and training until they are aged 18. This review discusses the challenges and opportunities involved if vocational education and training is to contribute to this raising of the participation age. We argue that as well as ensuring that young people who have made a full-time…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine which basic skills program factors were exhibited by successful basic skills programs that helped students advance to transfer-level mathematics. This study specifically examined California community college basic skills programs that assist students who place in mathematics courses 2 levels…

The second annual implementation report for the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative in four states finds that: (1) colleges aligned pathways and supports with local needs; (2) students were satisfied with AO; (3) AO instructors grew more adept at team teaching; (4) colleges struggled to recruit adult education students; (5) states and…

This paper attempts to identify some tools to help practioners think about, debate and plan Workplace Literacy and Essential Skills (WLES) programs. Such tools are necessary so that discussions between practitioners aiming to clarify good practice and successful approaches can get beyond mere descriptions of what happened. In order to compare and…

This is a review of evidence for contextualization, defined here as an instructional approach connecting foundational skills and college-level content. Two forms of contextualization are identified, "contextualized" and "integrated" instruction. Despite methodological limitations, the available studies suggest that contextualization has the…

As the state emerges from another recession, jobs that remain and those opening require workers with higher-order skills most often acquired in postsecondary education. Increasing numbers of adults look to community colleges to learn those skills and to find a way out of a cycle of low paying, unstable jobs. Even workers with years of experience…

Many individuals who attempt to enter teacher education programs are precluded from doing so because of an inability to pass basic skills tests. The authors examine whether these tests are simply a gate that needs to be passed through or whether they provide useful early information about how individuals are likely to perform on subsequent…

Pueblo Community College has 13 correctional facilities within its service area. Former offenders are faced with numerous challenges that may prevent them from successfully redirecting their lives. The current three-year recidivism rate in Colorado is 53.2%. Data collected at the end of the first year of the HOPE Bridge Program indicates that…

In northern Nigeria, widows' identities and status are defined within the mores, norms, traditional religions, and legal institutions of the cultures of the community. The ethnic cultural laws are oppressive and retrogressive. The nexus of these cultural pressures trigger discriminatory practices that deny school attending widows' access, and…

The Farm Financial Analysis Training (FFAT) course covers fundamental skills and concepts in liquidity, profitability, solvency, and efficiency. The research reported here identifies and measures the impacts of FFAT on participants including: 1) perceived gains in knowledge, 2) changes in management behavior, 3) changes in specific farm assets and…

The present study on e-learning intends to contribute to closing a data gap and to stimulate the discussion on the further development of national and European policies on the issue and to support its systematic institutional take-up. It draws upon a survey conducted by the European University Association between October and December 2013. 249…

This article describes some outcomes of a nine-month design-based research study into the professional development of 24 numeracy teachers with post-16 learners. Teachers analysed research-based principles for teaching, and engaged in a design-research process by testing and refining teaching activities to embody these principles. Data from…

In this Brief the authors first report on evidence about the effectiveness (or, unfortunately, in too many cases, the ineffectiveness) of remediation and then provide information about the progression of students through the developmental sequence. They discuss problems associated with the crucial assessments and make a brief statement about…

Since the publication of the Moser Report in 1999, improving the basic skills of adults has been a major priority for all of the UK's governments. There has been a particular interest in building up workplace provision, because of the assumed relationship between the basic skills of the employed population and productivity. A longitudinal study…

Many adults need help with literacy learning. This is extremely challenging for the tertiary education sector and workplace-situated learning organisations. E-learning may be an effective and efficient way to improve the delivery of teaching of basic skills to learners. Our research study included five embedded case studies within one tertiary…