Advances in Developing Human Resources

The human resource development (HRD) field is still searching for a widely accepted identity. However, because development is a ubiquitous process, because understanding and facilitating it requires insights from many disciplines, and because cultural, maturity and other contextual factors determine how development issues are framed, the pursuit continues. Is the continual search for greater clarity about what HRD is and how to facilitate it a strength or a fool’s errand?

This issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources (ADHR) does not answer this question, but it does help clarify what is happening as universities evolve programs to develop HRD professionals who can add value to development processes at individual, organizational, and societal levels.

Scholars and practitioners interested in the history and current global status of HRD and HRD education, HRD practitioners and people aspiring to HRD roles in business or societal institutions.

The development of human resource development (HRD) practitioners and scholars in university-based courses and programs is a significant but underexplored area of research. No recent scholarship has addressed the views of those who teach HRD subject matter, the methods they use, or the challenges they face in their work. Moreover, although HRD is recognized as an international field, HRD education has not been examined with an international perspective.

The purpose of this study was to examine HRD education as an international phenomenon. An overview of the research on HRD education is provided, and the results of a thematic analysis of interviews with 40 HRD educators who teach in higher education institutions in North America, Europe, and Asia at three annual HRD conferences in the United States, United Kingdom, and Taiwan are presented in four broad themes: the nature of HRD, contextual differences, curriculum, and teaching and learning.

This study will be of interest to those who teach and study HRD and develop curriculum for HRD courses and programs for higher education institutions and other organizations, as well as to those who hire HRD graduates.

Very little research has examined the current state of human resource development (HRD) education in the United Kingdom, or the factors influencing its genesis and development.

We analyze historical and contemporary factors influencing HRD education in the United Kingdom, identify different levels and providers of HRD qualifications, and outline curriculum content of HRD programs. Our aim is to clarify the current situation, by proposing a tripartite model of stakeholders in HRD education based on the United Kingdom but which might assist in the analysis of HRD education in other geographic areas.

HRD education in the United Kingdom is largely influenced by three key stakeholders: the U.K. government, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (the professional body for human resources), and the academy. Our analysis reveals complex and dynamic interactions between these stakeholders, which have implications for them as well as learners, practitioners, and researchers.

There is hardly any information in English available on human resource development (HRD) education in the Netherlands, although the practice of HRD in this country is flourishing and HRD education is growing, especially within the private sector. Almost all relevant information is in Dutch, which makes it difficult for non-Dutch-speaking scholars and practitioners to appreciate the significant investments that have been made in HRD and HRD education in the Netherlands.

This article brings together a wide range of information about academic and non-academic HRD programs, Dutch HRD professional associations, and HRD certification and accreditation efforts in the Netherlands. This information is grounded in an overview of the emergence of HRD/lifelong learning initiatives over the past three centuries.

Scholars and practitioners interested in the history and current status of HRD and HRD education in the Netherlands, especially those who do not speak Dutch, will benefit from the information provided in this article. People looking to enroll in an academic or non-academic HRD program or those who seek professional associations, accreditation, or certification in the Netherlands will also find this article useful.

To address national issues associated with societal development, many countries are recognizing the need to educate individuals who will lead developmental initiatives. While many previous studies have been conducted to examine how and what content of human resource development (HRD) has been taught in Western countries, similar research efforts have been rarely conducted in Asian countries such as South Korea. The lack of comparative study creates a research gap in understanding how HRD programs have been designed and implemented in different countries.

In an effort to meet this research need, this study investigates the current status of graduate HRD programs and what constitutes the field of HRD in South Korea.

Stakeholders are faculty members who are teaching in HRD programs in South Korea, HRD practitioners in South Korean organizations, and cross-cultural researchers focusing on curriculum studies.

Human resource development (HRD) university programs, so named, have been found dominantly in the United States. However, university programs in HRD have emerged elsewhere, interestingly, more often in developing countries than in other developed countries. But, globally, we know virtually nothing about these programs, their histories, their curricula, their missions, and their research, as there is an almost complete gap in international literature.

Two countries in ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Thailand and Malaysia, were selected as case studies for HRD education in developing countries or upper-middle income countries as defined by the World Bank; they are also the most active in the Academy of HRD (AHRD) in Asia as they have hosted the Asian AHRD conference twice within a decade. Because of the paucity of literature on this topic, we accessed related websites to determine details about the HRD programs, supplemented by our own information related to these two countries based on our knowledge of HRD education in these two countries. The study showed that HRD education in these two countries is at the stage of established, based on the taxonomy developed within the article. More than one university in each country is offering HRD majors in undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels.

The information in this article should be of interest to anyone interested in international or global HRD, potential students who wish to study HRD in these countries, officers and members of the AHRD, members of the Program Excellence Network (PEN) of AHRD, and anyone generally interested in HRD in higher education.

Human resource development (HRD) education does not take place only in academic institutions. There are hundreds of global professional organizations or associations that are designed to give professionals in the field of HRD opportunities to share their knowledge. Yet, there has been little research to determine what such organizations anticipate contributing to professionals’ education. Particularly problematic is the large number of professional organizations at global, regional, country, and local levels, all of which claim to add to professionals’ expertise.

There is little literature focusing on specific HRD professional organizations. In this article, we explore samples of both academic and practitioner professional organizations globally and on each populated continent. We have identified educational outcomes that are part of the educational missions of professional organizations and associated modes. Data were gathered through websites, interaction with professional networks, and our personal experiences.

HRD practitioners and academics need to be aware of the significant contributions made by professional organizations to HRD education. This is especially important in countries where there is little to no formal HRD education offered in universities, as well as for all professionals, academics and practitioners, who desire to expand their global knowledge. Greater intentionality of this mission may improve the outcomes experienced by professional organizations and help others select appropriate organizations with which to affiliate.

The different perspectives on human resource development (HRD) academic programs in this issue call for a theoretical contribution that situates and extends the descriptive detail offered in the articles from countries around the world.

This article proposes that the sociology of new academic fields with its emphasis on differentiation, legitimacy building, and mobilization of resources can serve as a guiding framework to understand current programs and point to directions for future growth.

Scholars and practitioners interested in the history and current status of HRD and HRD education.