There are millions of youth ages 16 to 24 who are out of school and out of work. They cost the nation billions of dollars every year and over their lifetimes in lost productivity and increased social services. They also represent an opportunity for the nation to tap the talents of millions of potential leaders and productive workers at a time when…

In the 1980s and 1990s important demographic, economic, and social changes will affect the nation's schools, families, and workplaces. In anticipation of these developments, there is renewed interest in formal educational attainment and basic academic skills. A concerted national effort to address the current crisis in basic skills development…

A followup study assessed the effectiveness of the Milwaukee public high school career specialty programs. A total of 160 program graduates completed surveys in the first, second, and fifth years following high school graduation. Included in the survey were multiple-choice questions pertaining to current educational and employment status, the…

The state of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia in 1997 was evaluated by collecting data on the following key performance measures: participation and achievement in VET; employer views on VET; student outcomes from VET; VET's benefits for particular client groups (females, people from rural and remote areas, indigenous…

In September 1998, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) established a 1-year task force to review the NCES's role concerning lifelong learning. The eight-member task force established a working definition of lifelong learning ("a process or system through which individuals are able and willing to learn at all stages of life,…

The changing nature of work and the role of educational processes and cultures of practice and research in helping put people back into the center of learning and preparing individuals for lifelong learning were examined in the context of Australia's technical and further education institutes, higher educational facilities, and private providers.…

This document contains 35 papers from the program development section of an international conference on vocational education and training (VET) for lifelong learning in the information era. The following are among the papers included: "Using Quality Indicators to Create World-Class Curricula: From Concept to Application" (Curtis Finch,…