Research on the effectiveness of career exploration as viewed by 1100 senior high school students involved in Experience-Based Career Education (EBCE) projects in 16 states is reviewed. Results suggest that the learning potential of community experience can be improved in the following six ways: (1) offering challenging work; (2) selecting…

The study reports on a data-based work experience model for secondary students with autism. The objectives were to increase competency and independence, provide a variety of experiences to assess skills and preferences, and modify interfering behaviors. Five autistic students, aged 16-20, were sent to community work sites providing a variety of…

This handbook provides guidance to schools operating Community-based Vocational Education (CBVE) programs for students with disabilities and encourages the adoption of CBVE programs by schools not presently using this approach. By following the information and examples contained in this handbook, schools can proceed with confidence to operate…

The Community Observation Project in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) has helped more than 100 secondary students with disabilities to learn prevocational skills and behaviors through observation and hands-on experience at 20 local businesses. Details of program implementation, including recordkeeping forms, are provided. (DB)

Describes the benefits of community-based career education and offers suggestions on setting up a program. Discusses locating and recruiting community resources, placement of students in the community site, follow-up interviews and other liaison activities which help students apply academic knowledge, test the feasibility of plans and develop…

A community based (Conejo Valley, California) vocational program was designed to give handicapped junior and senior high school students a variety of real world experiences in the natural setting. Advantages of the community based approach include immediate transfer of learning, opportunities for generalization, provision of role models by other…

The Community-Based Services Work Adjustment Program provides vocational assessment, work adjustment training, social adjustment training, extended sheltered employment, transitional/supported employment, and competitive job training and placement through on-the-job training at natural community work sites. The program serves mentally retarded,…

This module provides information on supported employment as outlined in the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986, P.L. 99-506. It discusses models of supported employment; the roles of vocational rehabilitation counselors, school district personnel, and job coaches; and what school district personnel can do to prepare students for supported…

Project COMPETE (Community-based Model for Public School Exit and Transition to Employment) was a federally funded service demonstration project to investigate new procedures for secondary education and transition services for youth with moderate, severe, and profound mental retardation. The goal of Project COMPETE was to develop and validate a…

This catalog contains more than 600 abstracts of model programs in California designed to help business, education, and community groups establish or expand partnerships in support of local education. An executive summary precedes the abstracts. The program abstracts are divided into 21 sections corresponding to specific forms of involvement.…

Project COMPETE (Community-based Model for Public School Exit and Transition to Employment) was a model demonstration project designed to develop linkages between public schools and community rehabilitation agencies, in order to provide work training to severely handicapped youth, aged 16-22. The schools took on responsibility for providing…

This casebook has been compiled in response to the expressed need of administrators, counselors, and teachers of occupational education in New York State to share knowledge about programs and initiatives that are successful in helping at-risk students remain in school and graduate with sound occupational skills. Each initiative described in this…

Eastern Michigan University is in the second year of a pilot program designed to promote law-related education and partnerships between the university and local communities. The collaborators in the project are the university, the Constitutional Rights Foundation, and the Taylor (Michigan) Public Schools. The goal of the project is to develop…

This paper describes a three-phase program which places students with disabilities into job sites in strip malls, enclosed malls, industrial parks, and individual businesses to prepare them for their transition to independent living. The paper explains that in phase 1 of the program students train at a different site each day; in phase 2, students…

Credit alternatives allow local school systems to take advantage of community learning resources as an enrichment for, or supplement to, school learning experiences. The first part of this handbook describes credit alternatives that may be used by local school systems to provide individualized curricula for diagnostic and prescriptive instruction.…