The changing workplace has altered workers' roles and forced them to assume primary responsibility for their own career development. Continued employment is increasingly being tied to lifelong learning and ongoing skill development. Just as workers are recognizing the need to ensure their marketability to employers, so too are employers facing…

There is an increasing awareness of the usefulness of foreign language training in a number of seemingly diverse areas. Foreign language students develop not only technical skills related to language use but also tangible advantages in the job market because of their increased communication skills. Mastery of languages also enhances the enjoyment…

The digest briefly summarizes the characteristics and current trends in special education programing for exceptional children. Exceptional children are described as having physical, mental, or behavioral handicaps and ranging in age from birth to 21. Requirements of basic federal legislation (The Education for All Handicapped Children Act) and…

School-to-work transition services are intended to help youth develop the skills and attitudes they need to find and keep employment, maintain a meaningful adult life-style, and develop positive social interactions. Eligibility for such services has now been broadened beyond disabled students to include students with economic or educational…

Businesses are working with schools in ways that can affect every aspect of the education process. The most widespread form of business help takes place in the classrooms. School leaders need to be clear with themselves as to how much and what kind of involvement they want businesses to have in their schools. Business leaders can also help schools…

Business has begun to play a more active role in education, spurred on by the need of education to obtain alternate sources of funding and by the desire of business to reduce youth unemployment and educational deficiencies. Research has shown that a communication gap exists among business executives, educators, and students. Some…

The digest presents recent statistics regarding educational services for handicapped children, including data on who is being served, how that population is changing, and what trends are affecting special education today. The report answers the following questions: how are handicapped children defined for purposes of the Education for All…

The School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which was designed to improve student learning, in-school retention, and transition to the workplace, requires the restructuring of secondary education and the extensive involvement of business in preparing youth for the workplace. School-to-work initiatives reflect the conditions of the settings and contexts…

Career educators and counselors have long recognized that factual information about careers and employability skills, presented in traditional classroom formats, do not prepare students to enter the workplace. This digest explores the move toward stronger experiential learning in career education. Career education initiatives such as work…

This digest examines community college welfare-to-work programs and the strategies employed to enhance program completion, job retention, and educational advancement. It begins with a discussion of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, and the implications of this "work-first" oriented legislation…

Career education is moving away from addressing careers as a single choice in time, or as one unit or course in a curriculum. This digest discusses the infusion of skills (research, thinking, questioning) into the regular school curriculum and describes one such infusion program. Research indicates that instilling these skills into education…

This digest examines reasons for youth unemployment and its effects, the counselor's role in school-to-work transitions, vocational adjustment, intervention strategies, and current needs. (BH)

This digest presents summary information on the characteristics and needs of children with learning disabilities (LD). The federal definition of learning disabilities is given and the existences of differences at the state level noted. Next viewpoints on various issues are briefly considered including the special educational needs of students with…

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 traditional relationships between rural and urban areas and the changes brought on by specialized rural industries discussed. The digest reviews work that has investigated the impact of farming, manufacturing, and mining on education. The effect of agricultural activity on academic achievement, especially via vocational agriculture programs,…