America’s workforce development network is a complex system with many moving components to serve today’s most vulnerable populations in finding and sustaining work. This research project set out to discover whether or not the Workforce... more
America’s workforce development network is a complex system with many moving components to serve today’s most vulnerable populations in finding and sustaining work. This research project set out to discover whether or not the Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act or WIOA is effectively serving disenfranchised young adults (16-24) in their efforts to find positive economic mobility. This mixed-method study looked at comparisons between WIA, the previous workforce development program and WIOA, the current workforce program. In addition, interviews were conducted with both workforce and education professionals to better understand how WIOA has changed the relationship, if it all. The study reviewed that while programmatic changes occurred, there is a greater emphasis on working together to prepare students for careers which has required school districts and local workforce development boards (LWDBs) to work closer together even with decreased funding to serve students. The quantitative data discovered that disenfranchised young adults are not finding greater success under WIOA vs. WIA.
Problem-based service learning (PBSL) is an approach to literacy instruction recently proposed by the authors (2018) with the vision of promoting differentiated learning that exposes and encourages students to use twenty-first-century... more
Problem-based service learning (PBSL) is an approach to literacy instruction recently proposed by the authors (2018) with the vision of promoting differentiated learning that exposes and encourages students to use twenty-first-century skills. Primarily guided by the principles of service learning, civic engagement, and problem-based learning, PBSL takes into consideration the skills learners— especially minority and underserved students—need today to be successful in their classrooms and will need in the future to be successful in their workplaces.
