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From: Judy Wagner <jwagner@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu>
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Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:1797] New major publications from ERIC/ACVE
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The ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education announces
two new major publications, both of which are available in full text on the
ERIC/ACVE website.
Achieving Life Balance: Myths, Realities, and Developmental Perspectives
Information Series No. 387
by Spencer G. Niles, Edwin L. Herr, and Paul J. Hartung
Order No. IN 387, Price $8.00
http://ericacve.org/majorpubs2.asp?ID=27
Changes in the nature of work and of the work force have
made it
increasingly difficult for adults to achieve balance
in their lives.
Balance may be defined as effective participation in
life roles that
are central to one's self-concept. Therefore, the
meaning of a
balanced life is different for each individual, and
definitions of
success must be individualized and expanded to
include goals
related to multiple life roles. Yet, many adults live
lives devoid of
balanced participation in life roles that are
important to them.
To assist career development practitioners in helping
individuals
deal with life-role balance, this paper begins by
sketching the
evolving role of work in society, describing the
factors that are
driving the emerging trends in work. These contextual
factors foster
or inhibit the potential for achieving life-role
balance.
Donald Super's life-space theory is presented as a
framework for
adult career development. Using this framework, the paper
discuses how individuals can crystalize their
life-role identities,
develop life-role readiness and adaptability, and
move from role
conflict toward life-role integration.
The discussion is placed within the larger context of
changing
demographics, increasing cultural diversity, and the
need to adopt
a multicultural mindset, recognizing that different
cultural values
influence how individuals understand and achieve
life-role balance.
The paper concludes by depicting the movement away from
narrowly defined notions of career development toward
the concept
of human development.
A Framework for Defining and Assessing Occupational and Training Standards
Information Series No. 386
by David H. Fretwell, Morgan V. Lewis, and Arjen Deij
http://ericacve.org/majorpubs2.asp?ID=28
Occupational and training standards have economic and social
outcomes and benefits. The link between human capital
investment
and productivity is well documented in what is an
increasing
technological workplace, as are the linkages between
the level of
education and training, employment, wages, poverty,
social
inclusion, and cohesion. Individuals with low
educational levels
need opportunities to improve their human capital if
they are to
improve wages and their economic status and be able
to engage
more fully in civil society.
Developing countries face a number of challenges,
compared to
developed countries, in designing national
occupational and training
standards and related assessment systems. Developing
countries
need to select alternatives that are appropriate for
local conditions
and that reflect the availability of resources to
sustain the systems.
A country may decide to start with pilot activities
at the local level in
high-priority occupations and sectors, then move to a
national
approach. Continued local development may lead to
fragmentation
and duplication and may not promote internal and
external labor
mobility. Some national leadership is needed.
Stakeholders-including employers, professional
associations,
labor, and education and training institution
representatives-need to
be involved. Employer participation is critical to
ensure that the
process is demand and output driven. Employer
participation may
be difficult to maintain, particularly in countries
where the informal
and small business sector dominates. Multiple sources
of labor
market information should be used to help define
priorities for
standards development. Medium-term qualitative
employer surveys
can provide economic and employment information in
countries
where other sources of data are not available.
Occupational standards, or employment specifications,
must be
defined by employers following procedures agreed upon
by all
stakeholders. Several approaches are used for
development of
these standards, and a country is advised to review
each before
beginning the process. Developing countries should obtain
occupational standards from other developed and
developing
countries for benchmarking purposes. A country may
want to adapt
selected standards for internal use, particularly
those which are
international in scope, to save resources, facilitate
labor mobility,
and promote inward investment. Assessments, or
performance
specifications, are used to evaluate and document what an
individual can do as a result of formal or informal
training.
Training standards, or learning specifications, are
used to define
curricula in training institutions. Leadership for
design of
assessments and training standards can be from the
training
sector but the content must be based on occupational
standards.
These linkages are often weak in developing countries.
If a country decides to embark on development of national
standards, stakeholder involvement must be formalized
early in the
process. Countries that embark on national standards
development
need a long-term view as national systems can take
3-5 years to
develop before they have an impact on employment and
training.
Development should be prioritized to get the maximum
benefit from
resources. Financing must be available for
development and
recurrent expenses to ensure sustainability.
Stakeholders should
each contribute resources. Careful thought must be
given to the
selection of staff and the institution that will host
the national
system, to ensure credibility of the products and
continued
stakeholder support. Good dissemination of public
information is
needed to get standards products understood and used by
stakeholders. Finally, although standards are
necessary they are
insufficient to ensure high-quality formal training.
Well-trained
instructors, supporting materials, and equipment are
also essential
elements of the training process.
Order information is also included on the website.
Judy
Judy Wagner / wagner.6@osu.edu / ericacve.org/
ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education
1900 Kenny Road / Columbus OH 43210-1090 USA
614/292-8625; 800/848-4815 (ext 2-8625); FAX: 614/292-1260
TTY/TDD: 614/688-8734
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