Work-integrated learning (WIL) is crucial for the development of employability skills and has an influence on employment outcomes. Given the significance of WIL pedagogies for graduate preparedness and transitions into work, concerns have been raised on the barriers to access and participation in WIL for some cohorts of learners. Equity and…

It has become evident within higher education and within (or in partnership with) the workplace that there is a growing demand for an integration of learning within the workplace. Formal and intentional models and processes utilizing experiential learning methods and pedagogy are often referred to as work integrated learning. However, there is a…

Career pathways (CP) has gained prominence as a strategy to ensure that high school students and displaced workers acquire the college and career readiness skills needed in a fast-changing, globalized economy. In an effort to ensure future success for CP, Stephen F. Hamilton examines the School-to-Work (STW) movement of the 1980s and 1990s and…

This self-study guide provides state and local education agencies and schools with a tool to assess implementation of career readiness practices across a district or secondary school and to plan improvements. It is arranged by implementation areas that have been found to be important to career readiness efforts based on a review of the literature…

This paper reports on a project which is designed to increase the participation of high school students in accounting work experience placements. The focus of the paper is on an Australian-based project which overcomes the identified barriers to offering high school accounting work experience placements with a resultant increase in the number and…

ACT's annual Condition of STEM reports provide essential national data on student interest and achievement in STEM subjects. The latest report--"STEM Education in the U.S.: Where We Are and What We Can Do"--takes the data one step further by pairing the latest findings with promising practices aimed at improving STEM achievement and…

Employment is one of the biggest contributors to quality of life for people with disabilities--and that means well-planned work experiences should be an integral part of transition preparation for every secondary and postsecondary school aged youth. Make that happen with this practical guide, developed to help educators, transition specialists,…

Cooperative education is a method of instruction that enables students to combine academic classroom instruction (school-based learning component) with occupational instruction through learning on the job (work-based learning component) in a career area of choice. Emphasis is placed on the students' education and employability skills. Co-op is a…

This handbook has been compiled for coordinators of cooperative education programs at the secondary level in Maine. The handbook includes in-school classroom instruction relating to specific jobs and the world of work. Introductory material includes the Maine Association for Cooperative Education Constitution, By-Laws, and 1991 officers. The…

A blind individual offers career education guidelines concerning helping blind children make realistic vocational choices, providing job awareness, setting up work-experience programs, and developing special job-seeking skills. (DB)

This module describes methods for creating and improving vocational programs for special needs learners. It also provides a list of resources available to educators and parents working with vocational programs. The guide includes a list of definitions and uses a question-and-answer format to provide information on the importance of vocational…

Intended as a planning and implementation aid for European political decision makers and organizers of projects that train and employ disadvantaged young people, this document consists of three sections. The first section systematically elaborates on major planning areas (objectives, pedagogy, integration into employment, staff qualifications, and…

This document, which is based on a survey of over 500 staff members involved in approximately 150 work experience programs in the United Kingdom, deals with developing work experience programs and training the staff involved in these programs. The research project on which this document is based is briefly described. The first major section deals…

A core component of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, work-based learning refers to programs that provide students with exposure to or actual experiences in workplaces. Typical work-based learning programs include youth apprenticeship, internship, job shadowing, cooperative education, and mentoring. This document contains reprints of seven…

The purpose of the career activities presented in this manual is to help students decide on the training they would like to pursue as Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) participants. Although the manual is specifically designed for use in CETA programs, it can be used in any career exploration program. The activities are divided into…