Significant developments have occurred in the field of professional development (PD) in Australia's vocational education and training (VET) sector in the past 10 years. During the early 1990s, work-based learning (WBL) became the preferred model for PD in the VET sector. Research sponsored by the National Staff Development Committee of the…

The eight schools profiled in this document are serving different populations, but all of them are closing the achievement gap between low-income, minority, and special needs students and their peers. By trying out innovative new strategies, these schools are blazing a trail for others to follow. They are dispelling the myth that some students can…

Thirty-four papers explore flexible learning and its applications in higher education in the United Kingdom. The papers are: "Flexible Learning: Your Flexible Friend! Keynote Address" (Ellington); "Flexible Learning or Learning to be Flexible?" (Chalkley); "Virtually There: Flexible Learning in the New Millennium"…

This collection of papers describes the processes of doing teacher action research. There are nine chapters in three parts. Part 1, "Ways of Doing Teacher Action Research," includes (1) "Action and Reflection: Narrative and Journaling in Teacher Research" (David Hobson); (2) "Action Research Rationale and Planning:…

Issues surrounding teaching competencies in family literacy programs were examined in a study of two well-established Even Start sites in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The program, which served 34 ethnically diverse adult learners, offered 25 hours of adult basic education, general educational development (GED), and…

Because an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teacher in Pennsylvania observed from the intake questionnaires completed by her students that many ESL students lack short- and long-term goal-setting skills, she undertook an action research project to help ESL students develop the short- and long-term goal-setting skills needed for educational,…

Educational strategies for social inclusion are based on particular definitions that do not always take account of the complexities of exclusion and inclusion. By attempting to "normalize" the unemployed and disaffected, social inclusion efforts often legitimate the status quo of systems that might otherwise be regarded as contributing…

This document is comprised of the six issues in volume 17 of the Harvard Education Letter, a bimonthly newsletter addressing current issues in elementary and secondary education. Articles in this volume include the following: (1) January-February--"Charters and Districts: Three Stages in an Often Rocky Relationship" (Kelly) and "'We…

In response to environmental degradation, the Lesotho government, in collaboration with the Danish government, introduced an Environmental Education Support Project in schools in 2001. In order to optimise the achievement of the project goals the, Monitoring and Research Team was established to formatively evaluate the project as it unfolded. The…

This document contains highlights from a conference focused on helping the United States meet current and future workplace needs in a rapidly changing economy in which occupational information and career development skills are becoming more and more crucial. The report is organized in five sections: conference highlights; selected workshop…

This document consists of the eight issues of the series "Revista Investigacion Educativa" published during the 4-year period 1992-1995. This review of educational investigation seeks to promote the exchange of information about empirical research in education. It is published semiannually, and includes reports of both quantitative and…

An ecological framework for predicting citizen participation in grassroots community organizations and predicting community disorder problems (such as crime and fear) was developed and tested. The framework, which is called an ecological framework for sustainable community learning and development, delineates the relevant economic, political,…

Appreciative inquiry (AI) is based on the heliotropic principle, which has been variously described as art and science, holistic theory and practice, and practical philosophy and change process. AI engages people and organizations in discovering what gives life to human systems when they are most effective and constructive and using that knowledge…

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…

The United Kingdom's Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA), UK SKILLS, and the Further Education Skills Competition Council conducted a collaborative action research project to improve students' vocational learning and skills through enhanced learning experiences. From February 2001 to April 2002, three further education colleges worked to…