This digest defines the term "extended school year" (ESY) and notes the issues of regression and recoupment which have led to development of ESY services for students with disabilities. The digest then provides answers to the following questions: (1) When is ESY needed? (2) How is eligibility for ESY determined? (3) What are some factors…

Seventy-seven references from the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) database and the Exceptional Child Education Resources database are presented, on the topic of prereferral interventions for students with learning and behavior problems. References are arranged by database and then alphabetically by author. Information for each…

This article discusses some of the various school-reform strategies that have been implemented since the publication of A Nation at Risk. It opens with an examination of standards-based accountability and some of the concerns and objections surrounding this movement. It asks whether standards are achieving their purpose, looks at the role of state…

This CRitical Issues Bibliography focuses on higher education partnerships with the community. It is divided into: (1) general resources about the value of community and college partnerships and trends related to these collaborations; (2) model programs and best practices from programs and institutions that engage particular communities; and (3)…

This booklet provides a broad-based definition of the population of students with special health needs and offers information about specific subcategories of conditions. These subcategories include traumatic brain injury; pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex; and…

Four approaches to examining learning styles of college students are reviewed, and the use of information about learning style in the classroom, student affairs, and in the overall college work setting is addressed. Areas where additional research is needed are identified, along with steps that colleges can take to enhance the learning process.…

This document contains nine papers exploring the school-to-work transition and the role of career education in smoothing that transition. The following papers are included in the first section, which sets the context for the role of career education: "The School-to-Work Opportunities Act and Career Education" (Pat Nellor Wickwire);…

This monograph describes the theory and practice of the invitational learning model as it applies to school counseling and development. Invitational learning is a paradigm for personal and professional functioning, and for organizational restructuring, based on four values regarding the nature of people and their potential and the nature of…

According to the school-to-work (STW) program philosophy, STW efforts should be comprehensive and begin as early as preschool. At the elementary school level, the developmental process of career education begins with career awareness designed to broaden student knowledge about careers and connect academic learning to the workplace. Developing…

The terms "learning communities" and "communities of practice" are being used with increasing frequency to describe the phenomenon of groups (communities) of individuals learning together. Theories focusing on the social nature of cognition and meaning, as opposed to those focusing on individual learning, are stressed. In works…

This set of five digests provides an overview of the issue of attaining excellence in vocational education. The first digest deals with effective schools research, characteristics of effective schools, implications of effective schools research for high school vocational education, and strategies for improving school effectiveness. Covered in the…

Increasing globalization has spotlighted a range of international approaches to career and technical education (CTE), including the German dual system, the British National Vocational Qualifications and General National Vocational Qualifications, and Australia's Vocational Education and Training and Technical and Further Education systems. Across…

This document contains six papers exploring emerging viewpoints, issues, and trends related to mentoring and adult learning. "Mentoring: From Athena to the 21st Century" (Catherine A. Hansman) traces the definitions of the term "mentor" and mentoring practices that have evolved since antiquity. "Emerging Perspectives on…

Electronic learning, also known as e-learning, is generally defined as instruction and learning experiences that are delivered via electronic technology such as the Internet, audiotape and videotape, satellite broadcast, interactive television, and CD-ROM. Web-based learning, computer-based learning, and virtual classrooms are some of the…