Examples of popular education in the United States include the Bay Area literacy project in California, a movement for ethnic and minority education and organization; the Tenant Management Program in Chicago; and a master's degree program for community leaders in Chicago's Hispanic community at the Universidad Popular. (SK)

Effective programs for culturally diverse groups preserve cultural distinctiveness, accommodate preferred learning strategies and environments, use existing social networks, empower learners, emphasize lifelong learning, support family involvement, reach the most disenfranchised people, obtain creative financing, and develop the cultural…

Contrasts definitions of workplace learning and human resource development and addresses emerging issues that affect the field: professionalization, increased litigation, diffusion, technology, globalization, and reengineering. (SK)

Reviews the history of workforce development in the United States and lists issues to frame public policy: governance structure, funding targets, quality measures, accountability, and data collection. Identifies current legislative initiatives: School-to-Work Opportunities Act, Goals 2000, and National Skills Standards Act. (SK)

Professional preparation of workplace educators must change to deal with substantial challenges. A three-phase model includes initial professional preparation and exploration at the baccalaureate level, advanced preparation and career exploration (work experience and graduate study), and professional leadership and career redirection. (SK)

A collaborative, holistic, and integrated approach to workplace education is needed to deal with a complex workplace and world. Critical elements include financial and organizational commitment to education and training, comprehensive program evaluation, balanced emphasis on worker skills, a challenge to the deficit model, and alternatives to the…

Information technologies are important tools for individual, team, and organizational learning. Developments in virtual reality and the Internet, performance support systems that increase the efficiency of individuals and groups, and other innovations have the potential to enhance the relationship between work and learning. (SK)

Describes distance technologies being used now, such as video networks, audiographic systems, the Internet and other computer networks, and interactive television. Suggests future needs: an increase in the level of interaction and more online support services. (SK)

Reviews types of learning styles and criteria for choosing an appropriate assessment instrument. Describes four generations of distance learning and suggests ways to enhance distance education instructional design for different learning styles. (SK)

As communities develop in cyberspace, distance education facilitators should recognize that, although community cannot be mandated, there are ways to foster a sense of community in distance learning environments: focus on human interaction, learning partnership, regular and consistent feedback, and course-based listservs. (SK)

In undergraduate distance education, two approaches are emerging: (1) an individualized model based on correspondence study, giving students flexibility and control; and (2) the distributed classroom, cohorts working collaboratively and independently in resource-rich environments. The distance learning population is so diverse as to make the…

Describes three graduate distance education programs: the virtual campus of Walden University, the University of Phoenix Online Campus in San Francisco, and the television-based National Technological University. The programs demonstrate how a wide range of delivery methods satisfy the need for rigor, collaboration, and assisted autodidaxy in…

At the turn of the century, William Rainey Harper's concept of continuing education fostered correspondence study, a precursor of distance education. History shows the need for practices that move from emphasis on classroom instruction to appropriate and fully integrated use of new technologies that will realize the true potential of distance…

Identifies pathways to electronic resources on distance education, including the databases of the International Centre for Distance Learning, ERIC, and OCLC First Search; course offerings; gopher sites; and news, organizations, and discussion groups. (SK)