The purpose of this study is to determine the transferability of the Quality Improvement Process Model implemented at Lively Area Vocational-Technical Center, in which a survey instrument was developed to assess employees' perception of the institution's culture which includes: (1) administrative leadership, cohort relations, general satisfaction; and (2) ability to satisfy various quality standards utilized by business, industry, and other schools, as well as the ISO 9000 Series Registration Program. The survey was administered to approximately 50 percent of this school's personnel. / A second instrument, developed to assess employee perception of the Quality Improvement Process currently being implemented at the school, was a questionnaire administered, one-on-one, to approximately 44 percent of the non-surveyed school personnel. The findings of this questionnaire and the above mentioned survey were triangulated against two other standardized instruments. / This case study has determined that each school must adopt and implement nine basic tenets in the educational setting to successfully implement a Total Quality Education (TQE) improvement process. These nine tenets are: establish a clear and concise "Quality Improvement" mission statement, create a "quality" cultural transformation within the institution, define what quality is according to your customer, educate and train all personnel in "quality" concepts and procedures, work as a team, always place the customer first in the process, establish all personnel's accountability within the "Quality Improvement" process, constantly measure improved processes, and establish a policy for continuous quality improvement. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-05, Section: A, page: 1595. / Major Professor: H. B. Thomas. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--The Florida State University, 1991.

Thesis (M.Sc. in training)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-124). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-69). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-69). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2001. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-124). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 154-163).

<p> Given the growing rates of youth and young adult unemployment today, particularly in urban contexts, this grant proposal seeks funding to support the development of a soft skills training program for youth ages 15-24 in the Baldwin Park area of Los Angeles County. Essential soft skills needed to help youth secure and retain successful employment can include the interpersonal skills of better communication with supervisors and co-workers the job, teamwork, conflict resolution, and the capacity to regulate time management. The goal of this program is to increase employability by giving these inner city youth an increasingly valued skill set in order to promote an increase in youth employability in this community. A comprehensive grant funding search identified the California Wellness Foundation as a potential funding source for the proposed program. The actual submission or funding of the grant was not a requirement for the successful completion of the grant proposal.</p>

This dissertation examines literacy practices in settings that have been transformed by changes in capitalism of the last forty years. These settings are characterized by increased technologization, accrediting processes, team-building, and a requirement for independent critical thinking on the part of workers. The two school-to-work programs included in the dissertation are biotechnology and nursing. Both were sited in a two-year urban community college and both had the characteristics mentioned above. However they also provided a contrast it two ways. First, nursing is a traditional practice that has recently been transformed by changes in capitalism while biotechnology is a completely new field that didn't exist forty years ago. Second, students in these school-to-work programs were pointed towards different class positions within their work settings; biotechnology students toward elite positions, and nurses toward a more traditional and less elite position. The dissertation examines how apprentice workers in these settings learn new practices of a changed capitalism through literacy and other discursive processes as they move back and forth between school and work settings. It also examines students as they learn other aspects of capitalism through the grammars of their respective fields. These include gendered work identities, highly prescriptive critical thinking processes that bear the footprints of a sociohistorical past, and new processes of thinking and acting that are characteristic of a new moment in capitalism.

<p> The purpose of this quantitative descriptive survey research was to assess and describe the effect of technology training on career and technical education (CTE) teachers&rsquo; perceptions of computer self-efficacy and technology practices in a vocational school district in New Jersey. CTE schools prepare future citizens and workers for the challenges of a global technological society. Technology training is crucial to the success of CTE teachers who have the daunting task of better educating students and developing the highly technical skills and problem-solving abilities of workers to compete in the global marketplace. A purposive sample of 84 teachers who attended technology training in the district completed technology-based surveys and six teachers agreed to participate in an interview and classroom observation. Triangulation of the findings of the surveys, interviews, and classroom observations helped to validate the methods and lend important insights to CTE leaders on the effectiveness of technology training. Findings indicated that CTE teachers are using technology in the classroom, but not implementing at levels consistent with developing the higher order thinking and problem-solving skills of students. A practical suggestion for technology training designs included the use of adult learning theories and constructivism for improving the levels of technology implementation among CTE teachers. Recommendations of the study targeted annual technology assessments, post-secondary collaborative partnerships, and supportive leadership to address the needs and concerns of teachers.</p>