This book analyses and elaborates on learning processes within work environments and explores professional learning. It presents research indicating general characteristics of the work environment that support learning, as well as barriers to workplace learning. Themes of professional development, lifelong learning and business organisation emerge through the chapters and contributions explore theoretical and empirical analyses on the boundary between working and learning in various contexts and with various methodological approaches.

Readers will discover how current workplace learning approaches can emphasise the learning potential of the work environment and how workplaces can combine the application of competence that is working, with its acquisition or learning. Through these chapters, we learn about the educational challenge to design workplaces as environments of rich learning potential without neglecting business demands.

Expert authors explore how learning and working are both to be considered as two common aspects of an individual s activity. Complexity, significance, integrity and variety of assigned work tasks as well as scope of action, interaction and feedback within its processing, turn out to be crucial work characteristics, amongst others revealed in these chapters.

Part of the Professional and Practice-based Learning series, this bookwill appeal to anyone with an interest in workplaces as learning environments: those within government, community or business agencies and within the research communities in education, psychology, sociology and business management will find it of great interest."

The coaching/mentoring approach is probably the most effective way of helping others to achieve optimum performance in the workplace. Dr MacLennan's book covers the entire subject from basic skills to designing and implementing a tailor-made coaching and mentoring system. He starts by explaining the nature of achievement and the factors that determine it, and then introduces a seven-stage model that will enable managers and supervisors to encourage their people to develop their skills. He examines the problems commonly encountered and shows how to overcome them or, in some cases, turn them to positive account. The book is interactive throughout, using cartoons, humour, self-assessment questions, case studies and illustrations to reinforce the text. A particularly valuable feature is a set of checklists that together summarize the key elements involved. Coaching and Mentoring is, quite simply, a comprehensive manual of the best methods known today of helping people to succeed.

This title was first published in 2003. The book covers the areas of: entrepreneurship and economic development; entrepreneurship theories (traditional and alternative); entrepreneurship education and training programmes; a comparative European analysis of entrepreneurship programmes; a profile of the aspiring entrepreneur; assessing effectiveness; and a framework for the design and development of entrepreneurship training programmes. Readers should gain a significant insight into the effectiveness of entrepreneurship training programmes from both the programme providers' and participants' point of view. Key features of the book include: an up-to-date review of the literature in this field; a comparative analysis of entrepreneurship programmes with a European perspective; an in-depth treatment of the effectiveness issue both on a qualitative and quantitative basis, and a longitudinal study involving a control and comparator group. The framework proposed by the authors should be applicable on a European scale.

This book provides an account of the curricular consequences of the outcomes approach to education (NVQs GNVQs etc). It contains contributions from leading experts in the field and, as such, is likely to become the core text in this area. An initial discussion of the main themes leads the reader into a discussion of key ideas and the theory behind the Outcomes approach covering, in addition, issues concerning standards and quality. Areas of the curriculum covered include assessment, modularization, flexible learning and work-based learning, higher level competences and the autonomous learner. It should be of interest to all concerned with the development of the curriculum, ranging from school sixth forms through further and higher education to professional industrial trainers with an interest in the development of education and training in the UK.

Accounting, often described as "the language of business", requires a diverse set of written, listening and oral communication skills if those who practise it are to be effective. Given the pace of change relating to, for example, the evolution of international accounting standards and the demands for greater transparency, accountants must be clear, responsive, and audience-focussed communicators. Employers of accountants consistently comment on the need for their new graduate recruits and trainees to have strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills. In this light, accounting educators face the challenge of designing and delivering programmes that reflect professional expectations on the part of employers and clients, and educating students on how to make informed communication choices in order to achieve desired results and to build good working relationships. The chapters in this book deal with such topics as accounting students' perceptions of oral communication skills; competence-based writing skills; and the development of listening skills. This book is derived from articles originally published in Accounting Education: an international journal.

Originally published in 1990, this title offers a range of perspectives from practitioners, administrators and researchers, examining personal experiences of disaffection in students and staff within the context of national political, social, and economic change. The transitions include moves into employment, training of continued education. Expressions of unease and disquiet are set clearly within the political context of marginalized status for minority groups, highlighting issues relating to disability, gender, class and race, in which the process of transition has been impeded through discriminating practices. The book includes reflections from practitioners, offering coping strategies and flexible approaches, and responses from administrators indicating their awareness of the need to support practitioners during the process of change.

Government attempts in recent years to create a national system of vocational education and training have marked a profound shift both in educational policy and in underlying concepts of the purpose of education. Relations between schools and the working world are changing all the time and the implementation of ideas of vocationalism has forced a blurring of the time-honoured boundaries between education concerned with concepts, and training concerned with skills. Now the challenge is to define how schools can give young people the foundations for life in a working world in which they are likely to have to change jobs, and where work will fill a smaller proportion of their lives than ever before. Meeting this challenge will require profound changes in the educational and training systems in the direction of a core of fundamental studies for all young people, and a more broadly based approach to training. "The Vocational Quest" offers a critical assessment of the evolution of vocationalism in Britain in historical terms and examines how the particular forms that have come into being in the last few years, compare with developments in other parts of the world, including continental E

Supplies the educational or vocational teacher with advice on the effective and successful running of a training group. The author uses a number of anecdotes from his own experience as a trainer to illustrate group work sessions and structured group activities of various kinds.

This detailed reference work describes the vocational training systems available in EC member states. It deals with the vocational qualification systems within each country and outlines EC programmes that promote the recognition of training schemes.

Universities exist within the river of time, so we have treated them historically. They have stood since Magna Carta, with their structures essentially unchanged. Universities are also institutions, so we have examined their functions. The three basic functions, educating the faculty, teaching the students, and collecting knowledge, remain robust. Universities are an existential necessity in western culture. They produce the essential knowledge, technology, and skills necessary for an industrial society. Money is, and always has been, the main problem within universities. Education is hideously expensive. Most of the problems that critics point out can be traced to a lack of money. These critics also often complain that universities are in crisis. In fact, see no sign of this apocalypse. Universities are doing pretty well. They produce an immense amount of knowledge and technology. The faculty teaches pretty well, the students are learning (at least something), and the only permanent problem is inadequate funding.

The effective development of human resources within the organisation is one of the most powerful contributions to the long-term growth and survival of the enterprise. This systematic and practical approach to training principles and practice, first published in 1972, provides a unifying framework as a guide to problem solving and action by executives. This step-by-step account, illustrated by case histories, shows how to apply the principles to analysing and solving varied training problems within organisations. This title will be of interest to managers, executives, and students of business studies and human resource management.

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

The original and thoughtful essays in "The Making of a Counsellor" offer a double contribution to the literature on counselling. In the first place, they demonstrate the versatility of psychoanalytically based counselling, as they describe how the ideas and techniques are used in settings which on the face of it seem to offer little scope for a counsellor. Two case studies illustrate work done with "impossible" clients; other essays on both orphans and debtors, accountancy trainees and expatriate employees, mathematicians, and musicians take the reader into new ways of thinking about these groups of people. More traditional, perhaps, are essays about work with neurological patients, adolescent youth club members, traumatized families, and the chronically and mentally ill, but each one speaks from the position of a counsellor breaking fresh ground in understanding the complexity of the problems and the richness of the counselling relationship. This is the second aspect of the book. The authors of the essays were all at the end of the two-year course leading to a Diploma in Adult or Student Counselling, and they portray in the writing something of the personal process of struggling t

Recognition of the link between vocational education and economics and social development is resulting in a wide range of educational and training strategies within individual nation states and supranational bodies like the European Community. This book brings together 12 case studies which illustrate the expansion strategies used by successful distance learning programmes to respond to the increasing demand for more flexibility and alternative delivery modes of vocational education. Each case illustrates different implications of expanding distance learning systems as they affect corporate strategies and structures, planning, training design, marketing and delivery systems, as well as cost-effectiveness and the strategies for managing change.

Although university studies do not always provide translators with the necessary skills, many of them continue in their professional capacity, which is understood to be the result of self-directed learning processes. Thus, translators seem to be not only agents of their own education, but also products of translation operations. The data obtained by means of a questionnaire covers three areas: specialisation and the market, qualifications and competence as well as affects and attitudes. Also, a general description of translators' specific self-directed learning strategies is provided. The results reveal that institutional training has virtually no importance in the professional education of translators and that the skills missed most in their everyday activity are those they failed to acquire by means of self-directed learning procedures.

Most organizations are adept at using small groups - witness the widespread use of teams. Yet, how do you work with 20 to 500 people at a time? How would you involve all stakeholders in a critical issue or the organization's future? How can you generate contributions, consensus and commitment from the bottom up? People want to contribute but often are frustrated through a lack of opportunity or means. Large Group Processes allow people to participate over things that matter to them. Participation leads to commitment and commitment to ownership. Working with large groups is relatively new, but these processes are proving very effective with positive outcomes. Audiences can be customized with stakeholders who might be inside or outside the organization, such as employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, the general public and any other interested parties. Applications are wide-ranging, touching on almost every aspect of organizational life. The Large Group Facilitator's Manual offers you a blueprint for planning, preparing, running and reporting successful large group events. The authors walk you through six different processes from concept to step-by-step facilitation with sample invitations, checklists and even scripts. It is the first facilitator's guide to cover so many processes with such detailed instructions.

Investing in the training of staff ensures that standards are maintained and that skills are developed in the work force. This results in a large demand for training, and an increasingly wide range of staff are being asked to take on a teaching role to help out specialist teachers and trainers. This can often be a baptism of fire, and it is common for the individual to come away with negative feelings about the whole teaching experience. Frequently there is recognition that skills and knowledge about teaching need to be acquired.

This is a practical resource for all inexperienced teachers, offering a thorough and thoughtful guide to the key tasks and skills of training. Starting with the first task of assessing learners' needs, the book shows the reader how to develop teaching effectiveness in fostering experiential learning. Additionally, by means of review chapters, the book encourages readers to reflect on their teaching actions, so as to develop better coping skills as teachers.

The book follows the style of the 'Personal and Professional Development' series, using exercises, questionnaires and case studies. Other titles in the series include "Managing Time, Interpersonal Conflicts at Work, Effective Teamwork, Coaching for Staff Development, Basic Evaluation Methods, and Assessing Your Career."

The editors charged contributors to examine individual aspects of policy and practice considering, inter alia, three sub-themes. The first is the competence-based approach and its implementation; the second is an exploration of who are the winners and losers as government has placed national economic development at the heart of its policies and programmers for education and training. A third theme is the process of change and intervention itself. While apparent in all the chapters, it is most easily traced in the case studies where policies initiated at national level by government and other bodies are modified by factors in the local context and are implemented in ways which are acceptable to individual organizations. The New Training Initiative made competence-based qualifications a key component of its agenda for improving Britain's VET performance. This has now emerged as the pervasive influence on both VET policy and practice and, features with different degrees of optimism and unease in several chapters.

`This book offers an insight into the structure and delivery of careers education, discusses the meaning and impact of vocational guidance, and provides a political and historical context. It is thorough and well researched, and will be of interest to those delivering, researching and participating in careers education and guidance' - Careers Guidance Today `This book is an important contribution to a discourse in which there have been too few voices' - British Journal of Guidance & Counselling Careers Education takes a critical look at policy and practice in the context of the new role of the privatized Careers, Education and Guidance Service. Suzy Harris places the present situation within the context of subordination to market principles; delineates the changing and uncertain relationship between schools and the Careers Service; shows how the politics of curriculum relevance marginalizes careers teaching; describes the downward path to complete exclusion from The National Curriculum and points the way for policymakers to eschew rhetoric and rebuild the Careers Service This book will be an essential resource to help careers and guidance practitioners make sense of their situation, for students and researchers seeking to understand current policy, and inform policy- making. `Essential for teachers doing courses in careers education and guidance' - Tony Watts, NICEC

This collection covers how success and well-being relate to each other in early career development in the domains of employment and education. It gives a conceptual overview of success and well-being as established in the psychological research tradition, complemented by educational and sociological approaches. The volume presents articles on success and well-being in applied contexts, such as well-being as an individual resource during school-to-work transition, or well-being and success at the workplace. Work psychologists, social psychologists, educational researchers, and sociologists will find this book valuable, as it provides unique insights into social and psychological processes afforded by the combination of disciplines, concepts, and a diversity of approaches.

Jessup's widely acclaimed book provides explanations of the many facets of National Vocational Qualifications: who they are for, why they have been developed, how they work, and the benefits they confer. The author explains how NVQs relate to a wide range of issues in education and training.

This study of the problems confronting institutions for the creation of occupational skills in seven advanced industrialized countries contributes to two different areas of debate. The first is the study of the diversity of institutional forms taken by modern capitalism, and the difficulties currently surrounding the survival of that diversity. Most discussions of this theme analyse economic institutions and governance in general. The authors of this book are more specific, focusing on the key area of skill creation. The second theme is that of vocational education and training in its own right. While sharing the consensus that the advanced countries must secure competitive advantage in a global economy by developing highly skilled work-forces, the authors draw attention to certain awkward aspects of this approach that are often glossed over in general debate: The employment-generating power of improvements in skill levels is limited: employment policy cannot depend fully on education policies While the acquisition of skills has become a major public need, there is increasing dependence for their provision on individual firms, which can have no responsibility for general needs, with government action being restricted to residual care for the unemployed rather than contributing at the leading edge of advanced skills policy. The authors argue that public agencies must find new ways of working with the business sector, acquiring expertise and authority through such means as supporting skills standards and taking the lead in the certification of employers as trainers. There must also be reconsideration of the former role of public-service employment as a provider of secure if poorly paid employment for low-productivity workers. The countries covered are France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

This book, first published in 1966, is an introduction to the life and work of Georg Kerschensteiner, the pioneer of the modern German system of vocational education, a system which is largely responsible for Germany's remarkable industrial recovery and advancement after the Second World War. This title will be of interest to students of education and history.

This book analyses the learning experiences of students of Business English at a Chinese university. It addresses several topical issues in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) education and Business English teaching, including how ESP students learn, how they develop multiple identities. In particular, it focuses on their professional identity in the classroom, and how these identities are transferred to the workplace. This allows the author to present a model of learning Business English that corresponds to the lived experiences of students in China, but which can also be applied to other ESP learner contexts. In doing so, he demonstrates how to research the professional identity of ESP learners from multiple perspectives, and contributes to the validity of research on language learning and learner identity. This book will appeal to scholars of English for Specific Purposes, Second Language Acquisition, and TESOL Education.

First Published in 1999. This title examines one publicly funded training program by describing the complex, dynamic process of fostering small business ownership. This case study focuses on the behaviors and environments that influence entrepreneurial success and show how a teaching methodology can contribute to an environment that encourages entrepreneurship. This study provides, not only an example of the efficacy of entrepreneurial training but suggests findings beyond business start-up as measures of program results.