The key issues, alternatives, and implications for developing countries to consider when designing systems to define occupational standards, related training standards, and assessments were analyzed. The analysis focused on the following issues: the rationale for development of standards; clarification of definitions, terminology, and assumptions;…

The Perkins Act and the Workforce Development Act (WIA) brought major changes to the arena of nontraditional employment and training. Perkins eliminated set-asides for displaced homemakers, single parents, and single pregnant women but mandated increased enrollment in high-wage nontraditional training. With the WIA, the Nontraditional Employment…

Topics related to race and gender have begun appearing with increasing frequency in the adult education literature. The most prevalent trend in the literature is a focus on creating learning environments for diverse audiences, including appropriate strategies for teaching and learning and debate on whether separate approaches and/or special…

The terms "learning communities" and "communities of practice" are being used with increasing frequency to describe the phenomenon of groups (communities) of individuals learning together. Theories focusing on the social nature of cognition and meaning, as opposed to those focusing on individual learning, are stressed. In works…

This digest examines the positive effects on emotional well-being of several types of outdoor education programs. Although many outdoor education and experiential programs enhance emotional growth, such "therapeutic" outcomes may be considered incidental to program goals. In contrast, programs aimed primarily at "therapy"…

This digest examines considerations and strategies for selecting and retaining teacher mentors, suggesting that the degree to which mentors are meaningfully engaged in the mentoring process may have a significant impact on a program's success. Strategies for recruiting mentors range from opportunistic appointment to promoting self-nomination to…

This digest examines the practical significance for rural communities of the emerging national information infrastructure, highlights some potential pitfalls, and draws connections to rural education. During the 1980s, computers and computer networks became increasingly commonplace, and in the early 1990s, the Internet and World Wide Web emerged…

Many experts have endorsed small schools as educationally effective, often adding parenthetically that smaller size is especially beneficial for impoverished students. A recent series of studies, the "Matthew Project," bolsters these claims. This digest reviews recent thinking about small school size, describes the Matthew Project…

This Digest describes the development of the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress for civics, and the results from that examination of civic knowledge and intellectual skills of students in grades four, eight, and twelve. The assessment format utilized multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. Results were reported by the…

The learning organization (LO) can be described as an organizational culture in which individual development is a priority, outmoded and erroneous ways of thinking are actively identified and corrected, and all members clearly understand and support the purpose and vision of the organization. The LO has proved difficult to define. These five…

Legislators and school districts are reviewing alternative compensation plans in an effort to attract and retain qualified teachers. Limited merit-pay based plans have been abandoned, and the single salary schedule remains in place nationwide. A tight labor pool, greater scrutiny by legislatures, and new laws create pressures to raise salaries…

Legislators and school districts are reviewing alternative compensation plans in an effort to attract and retain qualified teachers. Limited merit-pay based plans have been abandoned, and the single salary schedule remains in place nationwide. A tight labor pool, greater scrutiny by legislatures, and new laws create pressures to raise salaries…

Although attrition is repeatedly described as the number one problem in adult basic education (ABE), the raw numbers of attrition rates do not tell the whole story. Studies show noncompleters in both ABE and higher education sometimes leave when they feel their goals have been realized. Counting adults who "stop out" as dropouts is also…

Educational policy discussions typically exclude the teacher's voice and ignore constraints of time, energy, and resources that challenge teachers and hinder policy implementation. The case studies presented in this monograph attempt to restore the teacher's perspective. Rather than analyzing policy shortfalls stemming from teacher "apathy" or…

Distance education (DE) is increasingly seen as a powerful vehicle for delivering various types of education, including career and technical education (CTE). Fast-paced, pervasive changes in the economic, social, and technological foundations of education and educational delivery, including the increasing use of information and communications…