Current career pathways initiatives recapitulate in many ways both the issues motivating the school-to-work movement of the 1980s and 1990s and its recommended solutions, notably more work-based learning, especially apprenticeship. But that movement's energy dissipated in the face of college for all. Nonetheless, some of its achievements and many…

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…

Work experience can be beneficial to high school students, especially when the work is regular and less than 20 hours/week. Previous studies have found that school-related work experience provides more learning opportunities with fewer negative consequences than jobs unrelated to school. This study analyzed responses of 22,183 seniors from 868…

U.S. observers of German apprenticeships are impressed with the quality of vocational training provided, the sense of purpose given to (part-time) academic schooling, and the smooth transition apprentices make from adolescence to adulthood. In Broome County, New York, Cornell University has initiated a Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project to…

Work-based learning is a way to increase students' engagement in learning and prepare them for employment. Inspired by the apprenticeship concept, the 1994 School-to-Work Opportunities Act supports other types of work-based learning, including visits to workplaces, work-like experiences, and employment. Article notes youth apprenticeship…

West German apprenticeship combined with part-time vocational schooling--the dual system--provides a smooth transition from school into careers for German youth. One source of complexity in the structure of apprenticeship is the relationship between apprenticeship, which is controlled nationally, and vocational schooling, which is controlled by…

The challenge of engaging students with learning has led educators to rediscover apprenticeship. German apprenticeships enroll 70 percent of noncollege-bound teenagers in various manual, technical, and administrative fields in work/school programs that are not dumping grounds for weak students. The roles of U.S. employers, teachers, cooperative…

While the United States has no effective bridges between school and work, half of West Germany's 16 to 18-year-olds learn a career in the workplace while attending school one day a week. This model can be adapted for American students to increase their employment opportunities and make academic learning easier. (Author/LHW)

Youth jobs can serve as an introduction to employment, but few jobs for young adults in their 20s make use of their skills. Young people will be motivated to succeed in school only when they can find employment in jobs that pay well above minimum wage and provide benefits, security, and opportunities for advancement. In order to improve the…

Simply placing young people in workplaces does not guarantee they will learn. This article discusses seven effectiveness principles (governing technical competence, breadth, personal/social competence, expectations and feedback, teaching roles, academic achievement, and career paths) and recommendations derived from a youth apprenticeship program…

Relating school learning to work can make adolescents take school more seriously. One mission of schools is to prepare the young to assume work roles. Schools were used to teach basic academic material and a work ethic that were equally applicable to a wide range of occupations. John Dewey argued that preparation cannot be effective unless it…

Youth apprenticeship is the ultimate school-business partnership. The article explains youth apprenticeship, then describes the Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project, which created a school-to-work transition system. The program combines two years of high school and two years of postsecondary technical education to students who probably would…

Compares American and German educational system structures, emphasizing organizational and curricular features of school- and work-based preparation for the labor market. The countries have fundamentally different school to work transition models which significantly affect their students. The article makes recommendations for improving both…

A description is presented of the Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project in Broome County, New York, which enrolls 25 high school juniors from 5 school systems in newly created apprenticeships in manufacturing and engineering technology, administration and office technology, and health care. Apprentices spend 10-20 hours per week (plus summers…

The educational and employment opportunities available to noncollege-bound youths in Germany and the United States were compared. The analysis focused on the following: the future of youth and work, the transition from school to career, apprenticeship, academic education, and vocational education. The existing U.S. apprenticeship system, in which…