In this essay, we discuss issues related to the integration of career exploration in our nation's middle schools. We discuss the theoretical and empirical basis for career exploration at the middle school level and identify selected barriers to its effective implementation, namely with regards to career advising and parent involvement. We also…

Launched in 2011, the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative aims to increase the ability of students with low basic skills to earn valued occupational credentials, obtain well-paying jobs, and sustain rewarding careers. AO encourages states to change the delivery of adult education for students interested in learning career skills by enrolling…

The second annual implementation report for the Accelerating Opportunity (AO) initiative in four states finds that: (1) colleges aligned pathways and supports with local needs; (2) students were satisfied with AO; (3) AO instructors grew more adept at team teaching; (4) colleges struggled to recruit adult education students; (5) states and…

A research project was undertaken to design, develop, implement, and test a model to examine and evaluate curriculum programs on a cost efficiency basis. The researchers used existing information and the computerized data management system at Nash Technical College in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, to evaluate the cost effectiveness of each…

The accountability program of North Carolina's 67 alternative schools was studied after its first year of implementation. North Carolina State Board of Education adopted a policy requiring alternative schools to participate in its ABCs Accountability Program during the 1999-2000 school year. The ABCs program is based on Accountability, Basics, and…

This handbook includes forms, applications, rules, procedures, and resource materials pertaining to every Future Farmers of America (FFA) activity, contest, or award that is part of the North Carolina FFA Association Program of Activities in 1989-90. Specific materials include certain individual awards, scholarship information, the face-to-face…

Discusses 11 problems hindering the implementation of the tech prep movement. Reviews a North Carolina project to develop a model approach to tech prep, highlighting required core and suggested courses at the secondary level and recommended elements at the postsecondary level. Lists components of a model tech prep system. (10 citations) (AJL)

This report describes planning, implementation, and evaluation procedures involved in conducting eight regional institutes to provide staff development activities for vocational teachers and counselors. The introduction summarizes project purposes and objectives and general background information on the 256 secondary and postsecondary teachers and…

This handbook was developed to assist local education agency personnel in establishing and administering high school apprenticeship programs, especially in North Carolina. The guide is organized in seven chapters that cover the following topics: (1) what apprenticeship is; (2) how a registered apprenticeship program works; (3) why employers choose…

The following papers are included: "Emerging Themes in Youth Apprenticeship Programs" (Evanciew); "Improving the U.S. System of School-to Work Transition for Youth and Young Adults" (Stone); "Recent National Studies and Reports on Education and Economic Reform" (Ellibee); "Improving Employment Readiness of Urban…

This performance report summarizes the services and activities provided for youth and adults in secondary and postsecondary vocational education in North Carolina from July 1987-June 1988, as mandated by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. Data are provided to reflect services to special populations, trends, growth in enrollment,…

These matrices summarize the content of the certification/chartering requirements established by nine first-round and three second-round implementation states to deliver services in One-Stop Career Centers. Seven areas or dimensions of design/operations are compared. The narrative accompanying the matrices is divided into two sections--a matrix…

This document provides a framework for academic and career/technical teachers who want to raise students' achievement through real-life projects reflecting the rigorous academic and technical standards needed for further learning in the workplace and postsecondary education. The document begins with definitions of the six A's of project-based…