The skills needed to do well in life are different from the skills needed to do well in school. Bringing the skills needed for life and work into the curriculum and pedagogy of high schools is one of the major challenges of this era of school reform. Drawing on examples of effective teaching and learning, this book addresses the question of how…

This handbook is designed to help secondary education teachers in Texas to conduct courses in a broad range of occupationally-specific training options in home economics. These programs usually include general related instruction, specific related instruction, and work-based instruction for careers in home economics areas. The handbook is divided…

This handbook provides suggestions for learning activities that teachers can use in providing an experience-based prevocational career education program such as the Study of Work Project that was conducted at Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey. The emphasis of the handbook is on developing connections between skill acquisition in the…

A brief description is provided of ways in which vocational programs have been modified for handicapped students at Portsmouth High School (New Hampshire). Examples are: (1) regular vocational programs with support services and modification curriculum; (2) special vocational programs in which pre-vocational entry level skills are developed prior…

The Study of Work Project implemented an experience-based prevocational career education program with 785 students from Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey. The emphasis of this approach was on developing connections between skill acquisitions in the classroom and skill application in occupational settings. The grant funded a community…

This curriculum guide was developed to help teachers and administrators in Connecticut Regional Vocational Agriculture Centers to update and upgrade their vocational agriculture curriculum in the areas of career development, supervised agricultural experience (SAE), and Future Farmers of America (FFA). The curriculum incorporates the competencies…

This document presents four case studies illustrating how selected high schools from across the country have implemented the career academy model schoolwide. The case studies profile the career academies of the following schools: (1) Ben Franklin High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); (2) Oak Grove High School (San Jose, California); (3) South…

This curriculum guide includes teaching packets for 12 areas of study to be included in a core curriculum for 11th-grade or third-year students enrolled in rural agricultural programs in Illinois. Each problem area includes some or all of the following components: suggestions to the teacher, teacher guide, competency inventory, information sheet,…

These course materials are designed to provide a foundation of basic knowledge in production agriculture as a prelude to further education in vocational agriculture. The guide contains 6 sections and 22 units of instruction. Each unit includes all or most of eight basic components: performance objectives, suggested activities for the teacher,…

To raise vocational completers' academic achievement through school reform, the High Schools That Work (HSTW) network of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) promotes 10 key practices for raising academic achievement. The impact of these key practices was examined in a study of how 424 schools adopted them in the following six clusters:…

This document examines issues in schoolwide application of career academies. Part 1 reviews the three defining features of career academies: (1) a career academy is a small learning community in which a cluster of students share several classes each year that are taught by the same team of teachers over a period of 2-4 years; (3) each academy…

Exploring the relationship between generic skills (sometimes called employability skills) and career and technical education (CTE) requires asking these three questions: Are such skills taught in CTE? Can they be taught? Do employers value them over technical skills. A literature review of 14 books, reports, and journal articles concludes that…

This teacher's instructional guide, which is part of a family and consumer sciences education series focusing on a broad range of employment opportunities, is intended to assist teachers responsible for teaching one- and two-year consumer and family economics programs for Texas high school students. The following are among the items included: (1)…

This reference book and teacher's instructional guide are intended for use in one- and two-year food science and technology programs for Texas high school students. The reference book provides information needed by employees in the food science and technology occupational area. Each chapter includes the following components: (1) a list of the…

This teacher's instructional guide, which is part of a family and consumer sciences education series focusing on a broad range of employment opportunities, is intended to assist teachers responsible for teaching one- and two-year interior design programs for Texas high school students. The following are among the items included: (1) introductory…