Beyond The Skills Gap

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Beyond the Skills Gap

Author : Matthew T. Hora
Publisher : Harvard Education Press
ISBN 13 : 1612509894
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (125 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond the Skills Gap by : Matthew T. Hora

Download or read book Beyond the Skills Gap written by Matthew T. Hora and published by Harvard Education Press. This book was released on 2019-01-02 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can educators ensure that young people who attain a postsecondary credential are adequately prepared for the future? Matthew T. Hora and his colleagues explain that the answer is not simply that students need more specialized technical training to meet narrowly defined employment opportunities. Beyond the Skills Gap challenges this conception of the “skills gap,” highlighting instead the value of broader twenty-first-century skills in postsecondary education. They advocate for a system in which employers share responsibility along with the education sector to serve the collective needs of the economy, society, and students. Drawing on interviews with educators in two- and four-year institutions and employers in the manufacturing and biotechnology sectors, the authors demonstrate the critical importance of habits of mind such as problem solving, teamwork, and communication. They go on to show how faculty and program administrators can create active learning experiences that develop students’ skills across a range of domains. The book includes in-depth descriptions of eight educators whose classrooms exemplify the effort to blend technical learning with the cultivation of twenty-first-century habits of mind. The study, set in Wisconsin, takes place against the backdrop of heated political debates over the role of public higher education. This thoughtful and nuanced account, enriched by keen observations of postsecondary instructional practice, promises to contribute new insights to the rich literature on workforce development and to provide valuable guidance for postsecondary faculty and administrators.

Beyond the Skills Gap

Author : Matthew T. Hora
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781612509914
Total Pages : 265 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (99 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond the Skills Gap by : Matthew T. Hora

Download or read book Beyond the Skills Gap written by Matthew T. Hora and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can educators ensure that young people who attain a postsecondary credential are adequately prepared for the future? Matthew T. Hora and his colleagues explain that the answer is not simply that students need more specialized technical training to meet narrowly defined employment opportunities. Beyond the Skills Gap challenges this conception of the "skills gap," highlighting instead the value of broader twenty-first-century skills in postsecondary education. They advocate for a system in which employers share responsibility along with the education sector to serve the collective needs of the economy, society, and students. Drawing on interviews with educators in two- and four-year institutions and employers in the manufacturing and biotechnology sectors, the authors demonstrate the critical importance of habits of mind such as problem solving, teamwork, and communication. They go on to show how faculty and program administrators can create active learning experiences that develop students' skills across a range of domains. The book includes in-depth descriptions of eight educators whose classrooms exemplify the effort to blend technical learning with the cultivation of twenty-first-century habits of mind. The study, set in Wisconsin, takes place against the backdrop of heated political debates over the role of public higher education.--

The Great Skills Gap

Author : Jason Wingard
Publisher : Stanford University Press
ISBN 13 : 1503628078
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (36 download)

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Book Synopsis The Great Skills Gap by : Jason Wingard

Download or read book The Great Skills Gap written by Jason Wingard and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2021-06-08 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An extraordinary confluence of forces stemming from automation and digital technologies is transforming both the world of work and the ways we educate current and future employees to contribute productively to the workplace. The Great Skills Gap opens with the premise that the exploding scope and pace of technological innovation in the digital age is fast transforming the fundamental nature of work. Due to these developments, the skills and preparation that employers need from their talent pool are shifting. The accelerated pace of evolution and disruption in the competitive business landscape demands that workers be not only technically proficient, but also exceptionally agile in their capacity to think and act creatively and quickly learn new skills. This book explores how these transformative forces are—or should be—driving innovations in how colleges and universities prepare students for their careers. Focused on the impact of this confluence of forces at the nexus of work and higher education, the book's contributors—an illustrious group of leading educators, prominent employers, and other thought leaders—answer profound questions about how business and higher education can best collaborate in support of the twenty-first century workforce.

Why Good People Can't Get Jobs

Author : Peter Cappelli
Publisher : University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN 13 : 1613630131
Total Pages : 109 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (136 download)

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Book Synopsis Why Good People Can't Get Jobs by : Peter Cappelli

Download or read book Why Good People Can't Get Jobs written by Peter Cappelli and published by University of Pennsylvania Press. This book was released on 2012-05-29 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peter Cappelli confronts the myth of the skills gap and provides an actionable path forward to put people back to work. Even in a time of perilously high unemployment, companies contend that they cannot find the employees they need. Pointing to a skills gap, employers argue applicants are simply not qualified; schools aren't preparing students for jobs; the government isn't letting in enough high-skill immigrants; and even when the match is right, prospective employees won't accept jobs at the wages offered. In this powerful and fast-reading book, Peter Cappelli, Wharton management professor and director of Wharton's Center for Human Resources, debunks the arguments and exposes the real reasons good people can't get hired. Drawing on jobs data, anecdotes from all sides of the employer-employee divide, and interviews with jobs professionals, he explores the paradoxical forces bearing down on the American workplace and lays out solutions that can help us break through what has become a crippling employer-employee stand-off. Among the questions he confronts: Is there really a skills gap? To what extent is the hiring process being held hostage by automated software that can crunch thousands of applications an hour? What kind of training could best bridge the gap between employer expectations and applicant realities, and who should foot the bill for it? Are schools really at fault? Named one of HR Magazine's Top 20 Most Influential Thinkers of 2011, Cappelli not only changes the way we think about hiring but points the way forward to rev America's job engine again.

The Talent Equation: Big Data Lessons for Navigating the Skills Gap and Building a Competitive Workforce

Author : Matt Ferguson
Publisher : McGraw Hill Professional
ISBN 13 : 0071827137
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (718 download)

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Book Synopsis The Talent Equation: Big Data Lessons for Navigating the Skills Gap and Building a Competitive Workforce by : Matt Ferguson

Download or read book The Talent Equation: Big Data Lessons for Navigating the Skills Gap and Building a Competitive Workforce written by Matt Ferguson and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2013-11-15 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Companies that can unleash the passions and gifts of their people will have a competitive advantage in the landscape of the future--becoming curators instead of keepers of talent. This book gives readers some of the keys to cracking that code." --CARLEEN HAAS, VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF TALENT OFFICER, HUMANA IS YOUR HR DEPARTMENT PREPARED TO FLIP THE BIG DATA SWITCH? At every stage of the employee life cycle, a data-driven approach to HR can help companies make smarter decisions about their most important asset: their people. In the wake of the greatest shock to the labor market since the Great Depression, companies are faced with looming skill shortages, retention concerns, and questions regarding the most effective composition of their workforce. The Talent Equation shows you how to navigate today's hiring climate and drive your business forward. Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, offers hiring professionals and business leaders a roadmap to attract and retain top talent. Ferguson and coauthors Lorin Hitt (Wharton School) and Prasanna Tambe (NYU's Stern School) commissioned a landmark big data study of more than 2,700 employers and 33 million resumes to find the relationship between market performance, education attainment, and employee tenure. The findings are enlightening--and quite surprising. The Talent Equation explores: The ROI of increased education levels and retention rates The benefits of continuous recruitment and talent pipelines technology market, and how workforce analytics tools are changing talent acquisition The importance of reducing longterm unemployment through training and reskilling Smart and timely, The Talent Equation also incorporates case studies from leading brands--both global and domestic--that further illustrate staffing issues facing executives today. The insights and research in the book are invaluable tools for anyone who wants to build and retain a dynamic, competitive, and productive workforce.

Hire Purpose

Author : Deanna Mulligan
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231553129
Total Pages : 307 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

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Book Synopsis Hire Purpose by : Deanna Mulligan

Download or read book Hire Purpose written by Deanna Mulligan and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-13 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A WALL STREET JOURNAL BUSINESS BESTSELLER The future of work is already here, and what this future looks like must be a pressing concern for the current generation of leaders in both the private and public sectors. In the next ten to fifteen years, rapid change in a post-pandemic world and emerging technology will revolutionize nearly every job, eliminate some, and create new forms of work that we have yet to imagine. How can we survive and thrive in the face of such drastic change? Deanna Mulligan offers a practical, broad-minded look at the effects of workplace evolution and automation and why the private sector needs to lead the charge in shaping a values-based response. With a focus on the power of education, Mulligan proposes that the solutions to workforce upheaval lie in reskilling and retraining for individuals and companies adapting to rapid change. By creating lifelong learning opportunities that break down boundaries between the classroom and the workplace, businesses can foster personal and career well-being and growth for their employees. Drawing on her own experiences, historical examples, and reports from the frontiers where these issues are unfolding, Mulligan details how business leaders can prepare for and respond to technological disruption. Providing a framework for concrete and meaningful action, Hire Purpose is an essential read about the transformations that will shape the next decade and beyond.

The Global Achievement Gap

Author : Tony Wagner
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0465055966
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (65 download)

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Book Synopsis The Global Achievement Gap by : Tony Wagner

Download or read book The Global Achievement Gap written by Tony Wagner and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2014-03-11 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the best efforts of educators, our nation's schools are dangerously obsolete. Instead of teaching students to be critical thinkers and problem-solvers, we are asking them to memorize facts for multiple choice tests. This problem isn't limited to low-income school districts: even our top schools aren't teaching or testing the skills that matter most in the global knowledge economy. Our teens leave school equipped to work only in the kinds of jobs that are fast disappearing from the American economy. Meanwhile, young adults in India and China are competing with our students for the most sought-after careers around the world. Education expert Tony Wagner has conducted scores of interviews with business leaders and observed hundreds of classes in some of the nation's most highly regarded public schools. He discovered a profound disconnect between what potential employers are looking for in young people today (critical thinking skills, creativity, and effective communication) and what our schools are providing (passive learning environments and uninspired lesson plans that focus on test preparation and reward memorization). He explains how every American can work to overhaul our education system, and he shows us examples of dramatically different schools that teach all students new skills. In addition, through interviews with college graduates and people who work with them, Wagner discovers how teachers, parents, and employers can motivate the &"net"; generation to excellence. An education manifesto for the twenty-first century, The Global Achievement Gap is provocative and inspiring. It is essential reading for parents, educators, business leaders, policy-makers, and anyone interested in seeing our young people succeed as employees and citizens. For additional information about the author and the book, please go to a href="http://www.schoolchange.org"www.schoolchange.org

Bridging the Skills Gap

Author : Shubha Jayaram
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319494856
Total Pages : 148 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (194 download)

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Book Synopsis Bridging the Skills Gap by : Shubha Jayaram

Download or read book Bridging the Skills Gap written by Shubha Jayaram and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-01-09 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume seeks to examine the skills development agenda for youth by exploring two key questions for sustainable livelihoods: What are the skills needed for employability in developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia? And, what skills are currently possessed by students and secondary school leavers? An introductory chapter will set the stage for the discussion and analysis to follow by reviewing in broad terms the current research on relevant topics such as global youth unemployment, the relationship between skills and economic growth, and the expansion of secondary education. The following chapters synthesize a series of background studies focused on Africa, South Asia and South-East Asia, including both a general overview and an in-depth look at several countries. The chapters introduce innovative models for skills delivery, and highlight some of the key elements of successful skills models, including multi-stakeholder partnerships, updated pedagogy, and innovative financing mechanisms. Each of the five core chapters of the book covers one theme, with the support of case studies to illustrate successes, challenges, and lessons in real world examples.

Beyond Digital

Author : Paul Leinwand
Publisher : Harvard Business Press
ISBN 13 : 1647822335
Total Pages : 142 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (478 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Digital by : Paul Leinwand

Download or read book Beyond Digital written by Paul Leinwand and published by Harvard Business Press. This book was released on 2022-01-04 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Two world-renowned strategists detail the seven leadership imperatives for transforming companies in the new digital era. Digital transformation is critical. But winning in today's world requires more than digitization. It requires understanding that the nature of competitive advantage has shifted—and that being digital is not enough. In Beyond Digital, Paul Leinwand and Matt Mani from Strategy&, PwC's global strategy consulting business, take readers inside twelve companies and how they have navigated through this monumental shift: from Philips's reinvention from a broad conglomerate to a focused health technology player, to Cleveland Clinic's engagement with its broader ecosystem to improve and expand its leading patient care to more locations around the world, to Microsoft's overhaul of its global commercial business to drive customer outcomes. Other case studies include Adobe, Citigroup, Eli Lilly, Hitachi, Honeywell, Inditex, Komatsu, STC Pay, and Titan. Building on a major new body of research, the authors identify the seven imperatives that leaders must follow as the digital age continues to evolve: Reimagine your company's place in the world Embrace and create value via ecosystems Build a system of privileged insights with your customers Make your organization outcome-oriented Invert the focus of your leadership team Reinvent the social contract with your people Disrupt your own leadership approach Together, these seven imperatives comprise a playbook for how leaders can define a bolder purpose and transform their organizations.

Bridging the Soft Skills Gap

Author : Bruce Tulgan
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118725646
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (187 download)

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Book Synopsis Bridging the Soft Skills Gap by : Bruce Tulgan

Download or read book Bridging the Soft Skills Gap written by Bruce Tulgan and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-09-15 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Solve the number one problem with today's young workforce—the soft skills gap The number one challenge with today's young talent is a problem hiding in plain sight: the ever-widening soft skills gap. Today's new, young workforce has so much to offer—new technical skills, new ideas, new perspective, new energy. Yet too many of them are held back because of their weak soft skills. Soft skills may be harder to define and measure than hard skills, but they are just as critical. People get hired because of their hard skills but get fired because of their soft skills. Setting a good example or simply telling young workers they need to improve isn't enough, nor is scolding them or pointing out their failings in an annual review. However you can teach the missing basics to today's young talent. Based on more than twenty years of research, Bruce Tulgan, renowned expert on the millennial workforce, offers concrete solutions to help managers teach the missing basics of professionalism, critical thinking, and followership—complete with ninety-two step-by-step lesson plans designed to be highly flexible and easy to use. Tulgan's research and proven approach has show that the key to teaching young people the missing soft skills lies in breaking down critical soft skills into their component parts, concentrating on one small component at a time, with the help of a teaching-style manager. Almost all of the exercises can be done in less than an hour within a team meeting or an extended one-on-one. The exercises are easily modified and customized and can be used as take-home exercises for any individual or group, to guide one-on-one discussions with direct-reports and in the classroom as written exercises or group discussions. Managers—and their young employees—will find themselves returning to their favorite exercises over and over again. One exercise at a time, managers will build up the most important soft skills of their new, young talent. These critical soft skills can make the difference between mediocre and good, between good and great, between great and one of a kind.

A New U

Author : Ryan Craig
Publisher : BenBella Books
ISBN 13 : 1946885576
Total Pages : 291 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (468 download)

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Book Synopsis A New U by : Ryan Craig

Download or read book A New U written by Ryan Craig and published by BenBella Books. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every year, the cost of a four-year degree goes up, and the value goes down. But for many students, there's a better answer. So many things are getting faster and cheaper. Movies stream into your living room, without ticket or concession-stand costs. The world's libraries are at your fingertips instantly, and for free. So why is a college education the only thing that seems immune to change? Colleges and universities operate much as they did 40 years ago, with one major exception: tuition expenses have risen dramatically. What's more, earning a degree takes longer than ever before, with the average time to graduate now over five years. As a result, graduates often struggle with enormous debt burdens. Even worse, they often find that degrees did not prepare them to obtain and succeed at good jobs in growing sectors of the economy. While many learners today would thrive with an efficient and affordable postsecondary education, the slow and pricey road to a bachelor's degree is starkly the opposite. In A New U: Faster + Cheaper Alternatives to College, Ryan Craig documents the early days of a revolution that will transform—or make obsolete—many colleges and universities. Alternative routes to great first jobs that do not involve a bachelor's degree are sprouting up all over the place. Bootcamps, income-share programs, apprenticeships, and staffing models are attractive alternatives to great jobs in numerous growing sectors of the economy: coding, healthcare, sales, digital marketing, finance and accounting, insurance, and data analytics. A New U is the first roadmap to these groundbreaking programs, which will lead to more student choice, better matches with employers, higher return on investment of cost and time, and stronger economic growth.

Beyond Addiction

Author : Jeffrey Foote
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1476709475
Total Pages : 336 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (767 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Addiction by : Jeffrey Foote

Download or read book Beyond Addiction written by Jeffrey Foote and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-02-18 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leading innovators in progressive addiction treatment outline a science-based program for overcoming addiction-related problems, demonstrating how to effectively use positive reinforcement and motivational and behavioral strategies. (Self-Help)

Job U

Author : Nicholas Wyman
Publisher : Crown Currency
ISBN 13 : 0804140782
Total Pages : 290 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (41 download)

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Book Synopsis Job U by : Nicholas Wyman

Download or read book Job U written by Nicholas Wyman and published by Crown Currency. This book was released on 2015-01-13 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get ready to relearn everything you thought you knew about what a successful career path can look like. Today, unemployment hovers at a near-record high, yet 3.5 million American jobs remain unfilled. Why? Because companies simply cannot find people with the skills they actually need. The good news is that this skills gap represents unprecedented opportunities for every person seeking a successful and exciting career. But these opportunities can’t be found inside the walls of the traditional classroom. Instead, they lie in the myriad of educational options that provide the technical, vocational, and soft skills on demand in today’s workplace, such as: -Professional certifications: Start your career faster in fields like bioscience aviation, culinary arts, and medical technology. -Associates degrees: Increase earning potential through inexpensive 2-year programs in subjects like civil engineering, environmental science, education, and nursing. -Apprenticeships: Earn while you learn under the direct supervision of a skilled expert. Far beyond the artisan trades, today’s apprenticeships can be found at companies like Volkswagen and Siemens. -Occupational learning: Refresh or reboot your skill sets through on-the-job training or online education. In Job U, you’ll learn about these paths to rewarding occupations; where to find them and how to parlay them into the best paying job in any field. And along the way, you’ll meet individuals of all ages who have attained their “dream jobs” through a non-traditional education: from an emergency air paramedic, to a lead mechanic of a racecar team, to an engineer of complex gas turbine generators, to a bestselling cookbook author. Whether you are recent high school or college graduate, or well along in your career journey, Job U will help you find your way to a more secure and prosperous future.

Investing in America's Workforce

Author : Carl E. Van Horn
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780692163184
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (631 download)

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Book Synopsis Investing in America's Workforce by : Carl E. Van Horn

Download or read book Investing in America's Workforce written by Carl E. Van Horn and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Power of Student Agency

Author : Anindya Kundu
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 0807763888
Total Pages : 193 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (77 download)

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Book Synopsis The Power of Student Agency by : Anindya Kundu

Download or read book The Power of Student Agency written by Anindya Kundu and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-10 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can we promote the learning and well-being of all students, especially those who come from some of the most disadvantaged backgrounds? Anindya Kundu argues that we can fight against deeply rooted inequalities in the American educational system by harnessing student agency--each person's unique capacity for positive change. To make his case, Kundu draws powerful narratives from a population of individuals who beat the odds to become academically and professionally successful. These strivers have overcome challenges such as broken families, homelessness, unexpected pregnancies, forms of abuse, incarceration, and more, to make it in the world. But it wasn't simply individualism, tenacity, resilience, or grit that helped them. Rather, as Kundu illustrates, it was a combination of social and cultural supports that paved the path towards their dreams, harnessing the inherent power of their agency. Book Features: A counter-narrative to the popular misconception that all students need is "grit." A strengths-based approach to education that is sensitive to students' communities and cultures. Rich, first-person quotes from individuals who have overcome immense odds. Useful diagrams for educational stakeholders on the relationship between grit and agency. Descriptions of dense sociological concepts presented in plain terms. Inclusion of fundamental and new waves in psychology.

Beyond the Gender Gap in Japan

Author : Gill Steel
Publisher : University of Michigan Press
ISBN 13 : 0472131141
Total Pages : 287 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (721 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond the Gender Gap in Japan by : Gill Steel

Download or read book Beyond the Gender Gap in Japan written by Gill Steel and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2019-01-23 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do Japanese women enjoy a high sense of well-being in a context of high inequality? Beyond the Gender Gap in Japan brings together researchers from across the social sciences to investigate this question. The authors analyze women’s values and the lived experiences at home, in the family, at work, in their leisure time, as volunteers, and in politics and policy-making. Their research shows that the state and firms have blurred “the public” and “the private” in postwar Japan, constraining individuals’ lives, and reveals the uneven pace of change in women’s representation in politics. Yet, despite these constraints, the increasing diversification in how people live and how they manage their lives demonstrates that some people are crafting a variety of individual solutions to structural problems. Covering a significant breadth of material, the book presents comprehensive findings that use a variety of research methods—public opinion surveys, in-depth interviews, a life history, and participant observation—and, in doing so, look beyond Japan’s perennially low rankings in gender equality indices to demonstrate the diversity underneath, questioning some of the stereotypical assumptions about women in Japan.

The Gap-Year Advantage

Author : Karl Haigler
Publisher : St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN 13 : 1466824328
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (668 download)

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Book Synopsis The Gap-Year Advantage by : Karl Haigler

Download or read book The Gap-Year Advantage written by Karl Haigler and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2005-08-01 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I'm not ready for college yet..." Those words need not cause panic and fear for parents. Taking time off before or during college is no longer the road less traveled for many students in the United States. A gap year offers students the opportunity to gain focus and discipline, learn to set realistic goals, get real-world experience, and ultimately get the most out of a college educaiton. A complete resource, The Gap-Year Advantage provides parents with all the advice, tips, and information they need to help students develop and implement a gap-year strategy. With answers to commonly asked questions such as "What do colleges think of gap years?" and "Can I be certain my cheld will go or return to college after taking time off?," education experts and gap-year parents Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson also offer guidance on researching program options, creating a gap-year time-line that complements the college-application process, communicating with students about their goals, and handling logistics such as travel, health insurance, and money. With anecdotes from students and parents across the country who have taken gap years, this valuable guide also provides extensive information on program options in the United States and abroad that include volunteering, travel, interning, and specialized study.