Search

Apprenticeship is a time-tested learning model and workforce development strategy. In the United States, registered apprenticeship (RA)—a structured form of apprenticeship that is regulated and overseen by government agencies—has been expanding from skilled trades into new industries. To inform this expansion and contribute to the understanding of how the model serves apprentices and employers, the author undertook a systematic literature review and a qualitative synthesis of empirical research, interpreting findings on RA over a 30-year period. The review identified 36 scholarly studies and an additional 98 articles from the practitioner literature. The synthesis derived three themes: expansion, benefits, and outcomes for minoritized groups, revealing gaps in research on the curricular and instructional design elements of RA that promote retention, completion, career advancement, and learning for apprentices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We think of bookstore chains-Barnes and Noble, Brentanos, Walden Books, or the defunct Borders-as recent phenomena. But, the roots of franchised bookselling lie deep in American publishing history. A case can be made that late eighteenth century publisher-printer Isaiah Thomas, of Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, was the originator of the bookstore chain. At his zenith, Thomas and various partners had eleven stores operating in a network reaching from Boston to Albany to Baltimore, with branches in New Hampshire and Vermont. Driving the Thomas publishing-bookselling enterprise was a form of vertical corporate integration of publishing services (all the way from papermaking to distribution of product) that would, under today's antitrust laws be hard to justify legally. At the time, in the 1790s-1810, Thomas's multiple interlocking businesses were, nonetheless, truly a bookman's empire, with bestsellers like almanacs and textbooks leading the way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the implementation, strengths and weaknesses and challenges encountered during the use of the apprenticeship model, a system designed to provide early intervention practitioner development. A comprehensive system of personnel development (CSPD) is required from states providing services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 1997). Key elements for implementing a CSPD program include classification of early intervention personnel, standards of practice guidelines and evaluation of practitioner's knowledge.