The concept of lifelong learning is surrounded by competing myths or visions that represent very different perspectives about the purposes and goals of education. In recent years, policy statements and the learning initiatives resulting from them are based on a predominantly economic rationale. They argue that globalization and technological…

Parents have a major influence on their children's attitudes toward work and life. Handicapped youth, who have more difficulty than other youth in making the transition from school to work and adult life, have a special need for parental guidance. Parents can play key roles in transition, especially in the areas of career exploration, job search…

The career academy is a high school model that integrates school-to-work elements in a personalized learning environment. Academies have these three essential features: a school within a school; partnerships with employers; and integrated academic and occupational curriculum centered on a career theme, occupation, or industry. J. Kemple (1997)…

To dispel concerns that career education does not belong in middle school, it may help to reinterpret a career more broadly as life, not just work. Middle school students should view career paths as a broad range of options available to them. In addition, early career education may help to dispel sex-role stereotypes and self-limiting practices of…

According to the theory of multiple intelligences (MI), intelligence is a set of abilities, talents, and skills in eight areas: mathematical-logical, spatial-visual, bodily-kinesthetic, musical-rhythmic, verbal-linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic. All humans possess these intelligences in varying degrees, and most people can…

Proponents of competency-based education and training (CBET) promote it as a way to improve the correspondence between education/training and workplace requirements. CBET's opponents consider it excessively reductionist, narrow, and rigid, as well as theoretically, empirically, and pedagogically unsound. The following are among the issues…

The numbers of women with low literacy levels, the increased labor force participation of women, and increasing literacy requirements on the job make the case for the inclusion of a literacy component in employment programs for women. Such programs should strive to be comprehensive, learner-centered, flexible, standards-based, and linked to…

From its beginnings in 1906, cooperative education has evolved into a program offered at the secondary and postsecondary levels in two predominant models: (1) students complete multiple cycles of equal periods of academic coursework and paid employment; and (2) students' school day is split between school (usually in the morning) and work (usually…

Cooperative education can enhance classroom instruction by providing practical work experience that is relevant to students' career goals. Among co-op's benefits to students are increased relevance of learning and motivation for study; improved self-reliance, self-confidence, and responsibility; contacts with potential employers; and higher…

Incidental learning is unintentional or unplanned learning that results from other activities. It occurs often in the workplace, during the use of computers, and in the process of completing tasks. Incidental learning occurs in many ways, including the following: through observation, repetition, social interaction, and problem solving; from…

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) requires Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) to establish Youth Councils as a sub-group focused on low-income youth at risk, ages 14-21, who face barriers to school completion. Youth Councils present an opportunity to develop a comprehensive employment and training system. The WIA's vision of a…

Although evidence for the existence of multiple careers is limited, the literature of career development, training, and human resource development has predicted that individuals will have many careers as well as jobs across the lifespan, and small-scale studies and trend analysis suggest that individuals may need to plan and prepare for different…

The renaming of vocational education (VE) as career and technical education (CTE) has been motivated partly by the need to address VE's image. However, name changes go beyond concern for image. Today's CTE offers broader career pathways than did previous VE programs. After a decade of academic-vocational integration and tech prep, it is recognized…

Since the 1970s, federal legislation and public and private sector initiatives have attempted to increase the numbers of women employed in occupations considered nontraditional for females. In 1998, women accounted for 20-25% of employees in a handful of nontraditional occupations (NTOs) but less than 10% of employees in many other NTOs. Secondary…

The lifelong process of career development poses special challenges for people with learning disabilities (LD). Literature on employment issues for adults with LD frames on-the-job problems in terms of individual deficits or recasts the issues as a function of the significant societal barriers faced by those who do not fit the norm. Research on…