Education Commons^™

Partnering Industry And Education For Curricular Enhancement: A Response For Greater Educational Achievement, Deborah R. Barnett

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Despite high rates of unemployment, research indicates that employers are having a difficult time finding workers that have the knowledge and skills needed for available jobs. President Obama, state lawmakers, and national higher education associations are calling upon educational institutions to not only fill the current gap but to reach aggressive goals set for educational attainment in the U.S. by 2020. This article looks at a historical view of how education has met workforce needs in the past, employment projections, employer needs, and how educational institutions might respond to the call to develop a highly skilled workforce. In addition, a …

The Integrated Basic Education And Skills Training (I-Best) Program: Equiping All Adults For The Global Economy, Robert W. Fox, Mitchell R. Williams

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Abstract

In 2004, educational leaders in Washington State, recognizing the necessity of rapidly equipping adults with career skills, developed the Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program to meet workforce needs. I-BEST is now operational in all 34 of the State’s community colleges. I-BEST is an instructional method which provides basic skills support to ABE and ESL students while they receive career training. I-BEST uniquely pairs a basic skills instructor with a vocational instructor in the classroom at the same time. Previous research on the I-BEST program has been positive, but it has ignored the pivotal role instructors and …

Conflict Management Education In Medicine: Considerations For Curriculum Designers, Jeffery Kaufman

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

It is important to address conflict in the medical field for a variety of reasons ranging from reducing turnover to increasing the quality of care received by patients. One way to assist with the management of medical conflict is by teaching resolution techniques to medical personnel. There is an opportunity for conflict management curriculum to address many of the issues facing physicians, administrators, staff and patients, however, it is also necessary for those developing that curriculum to understand the nature of the environment and appropriate conflict management tools to be used in that environment as part of the design process. …

A Research Framework For Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Implementations Of Social Media In Higher Education, Abbas Foroughi

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Following the lead of today’s hi-tech businesses and industries, many college campuses have begun using Web.2.0 social media technologies like Facebook, blogs, Twitter, and YouTube to facilitate information sharing and collaboration among administrators, faculty, and students. An examination of research on campus social media initiatives revealed that universities are beginning to provide support and infrastructure to support social media initiatives, and that social media tools are being used as part of course content and delivery, where students can use them for collaboration and group decision making on real-world projects. However, much of the research to date was found to be …

Evaluating Pre-Service Teacher Workforce: Environmental Health Knowledge, Attitude, And Behavior, Dhitinut Ratnapradipa, Darson Rhodes, Stephen Brown

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Abstract

Research has shown that personal health behaviors and actions established early in life are often carried through adulthood. Thus, working with children to increase environmental health literacy may improve the environmental health literacy of future adults, potentially improving the health of the Nation. Given the amount of time children spend in school, this setting could be an ideal place to address environmental health with children. According to social cognitive theory, observation is one way in which learning takes place. Consequently, the environmental behaviors and attitudes modeled by teachers would likely impact the environmental behaviors and attitudes learned by …

Experiential Learning Curricular Development Model For Stimulating Student Interest In Green Collar Careers, Sally E. Arnett, Allen Kitchel, John G. Cannon

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Green jobs are in high demand, yet there is lack of a trained workforce for the green industries. Early exposure to green careers can stimulate future employment interest among students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an experiential learning unit of instruction designed to expose students to and develop knowledge about the green collar workforce. The study used a mixed method research design. A purposive sample of 101 (n=101) secondary students in career development type classes were given a pre-test, treatment, and post-test that involved both quantitative and qualitative responses. The findings revealed that the …

A Perceptual Analysis Of The Benefits And Barriers To Creating All Inclusive Learning Environments In Secondary Agricultural Education Programs, Antoine J. Alston, Chastity K. Warren English, Anthony Graham, Dexter Wakefield, Frankie Farbotko

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

The purpose of this study was to gauge the state of inclusion in American Secondary Agricultural Education programs as perceived by state directors of agricultural education. It was found agricultural education is beneficial for minorities and women. Additionally, it was perceived that inclusion overall was critical for secondary agricultural education: however, barriers to its full implementation in secondary agricultural education were found to be the lack of role models, stereotypes, the perception of agriculture itself, guidance counselor support, and understanding student learning styles. Solutions to improving inclusion in secondary agricultural education were perceived to be preservice and inservice training in …