The processes by which women living in rural areas of Nepal acquire literacy and deploy it for their own purposes were examined in an exploration of the diverse perspectives of policymakers, fieldworkers, and participants in gender, literacy, and development. The study combined ethnography with a research methodology called participatory rural…

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project was undertaken to identify effective strategies for helping low-income parents work more steadily and advance in the labor market. The 15 ERA demonstration projects that were operating in nine states (California, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, South Carolina; Tennessee, and…

WORKTOW was a multidisciplinary action research project carried out in 27 small and medium-sized enterprises in the United Kingdom, Finland, and Norway. The main focus was on the learning of workers aged 45 and older. In-depth case studies were conducted in all three countries involving a range of learning interventions. Results showed age was not…

Teaching and learning in the high-technology workplace were examined through case studies of four individuals who were selected for study because they represented a broad spectrum of personal agendas, learning styles, and backgrounds. The employees' one-on-one meetings with their managers were analyzed to identify the kinds of lessons each…

This document explores the United Kingdom's developing practice of recognizing adult students' achievement in ways that make flexible use of the learning outcomes methodology, provide a mix of accredited and non-credited work, and are sensitive to the ethos of adult learning. (That ethos is often characterized by adult students' desire for…

The evolution of tech prep during the late 1990s was examined in a 4-year longitudinal study of 8 selected tech prep consortia since reauthorization of federal tech prep legislation in 1998. Cross-consortium results pertaining to curriculum reform, articulation, academic standards, and other essential elements of tech prep were examined along with…

Both of these "Surveys of policy and practice" were conducted on behalf of COL by the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE) as part of COL's partnership agreement with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning. The first report identifies…

The National Remodelling Team (NRT) was established in April 2003 by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and hosted within the National College for School Leadership (NCSL). The role of the NRT was to work with local education authorities (LEAs) to support schools in the implementation of the changes to teachers' contracts introduced by…

The impact of developments in work organizations on the skilling process in Denmark was studied through a macro analysis of available statistical information about the development of workplace training in Denmark and case studies of three Danish firms. The macro analysis focused on the following: Denmark's vocational training system; the Danish…

This book examines and illustrates the process of transforming school-to-work into real learning for real work. In chapter 1, guidelines are presented for designing project-based learning programs that are both academically rigorous and grounded in community and workplace realities, and the attempts of three very different high schools to develop…

The extent of cross-border mobility in the tourism sector of the European Union (EU) was examined, along with its relationship to the transparency and recognition of qualifications. The study focused on the current and historical levels of mobility in the tourism industry, policies on transparency and recognition of qualifications, and existing…

This document is intended to assist practitioners involved in the delivery of Part One General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs), which are GNVQs designed for students in the United Kingdom who are at Key Stage 4 and the post-16 level. Section 1 examines the following topics of interest to centers that are contemplating introducing Part…

Linkages between Australia's vocational education and training (VET) and technical and further education (TAFE) sectors and industry were examined through 13 case studies involving a variety of industrial sectors in South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. Special attention was paid to the processes established by school clusters to develop…

This document reports on a European Training Foundation Advisory Forum study of vocational education and training (VET) and retraining in the regions of the European Union (EU) that synthesized overviews of the general country situations regarding the territorial organization of the VET system and policy and relevant case studies concerning…

This document contains three papers on issues in evaluation. "Evaluation of the Method of Modeling: A Case Study of the Finnish Steel Industry" (Ville Nurmi) describes the method of modeling as an educational strategy to support both specific goal-directed transformative learning focused on work process and learning in workplaces, and it…