To engage all learners, schools must offer career-pathway courses that combine academics and deeper learning. Gene Bottoms, until recently head of the Southern Regional Education Board, describes a transformation he believes must happen in US high schools--adopting curriculums that include intellectual rigor in career and technical education (CTE)…

Critical thinking is the sort of mental activity that uses facts to plan, order, and work toward an end; seeks meaning or an explanation; is self-reflective; and uses reason to question claims and make judgments. Any subject--be it physics, algebra, or auto repair--can promote critical thinking as long as teachers teach the subject matter in…

Author presents a number of operational programs with some of their respective characteristics which may be of value in planning programs in local school districts. (Author/CB)

What would happen if schools offered all students the same challenges and opportunities that some schools now offer only their "best" students? The Southern Regional Education Board addressed that question in 1987, when it developed the High Schools That Work Model. Blending challenging college-preparatory content with modern vocational and…

Describes the Enterprise High (Michigan) program for school dropouts. Supported by the United States Department of Labor, the program centers on teaching students how to earn a living and how to manage life. Includes an outline of the school's basics and references. (MD)

Drawing from research on at-risk students, a general model for the development of alternative programs of the school-within-a-school for at-risk secondary students is presented. Outlines the characteristics for the program under administration, teacher culture, student culture, and curriculum. A sidebar cites characteristics of exemplary…

In a recent project involving two midwestern high schools, vocational and academic teachers participated in a project promoting interaction and mutual reinforcement. Innovative matches were found in agriculture and biology exchange classes, a technology outreach program, a study of world protein distribution, and a furniture marketing project. The…

Technology education is a new direction in education and requires a shift to a more universal and process-oriented educational approach. The Bernard High School (NJ) has replaced its industrial arts program with a totally articulated technology education program that will become effective in fall 1987. (MD)

Unskilled and low-level jobs are rapidly disappearing, partly through technological advances. High school graduates are functionally illiterate. The college prep curriculum is too theoretical; the vocational curriculum is more relevant, but its watered-down academics attract less capable students. To enter today's competitive job market, students…

Alberta's new Career and Technology Studies (CTS) program updates and expands existing business education, home economics, industrial education, and vocational education into an integrated curriculum for grades 7-12, reorganizing them into 22 strands. CTS is appropriate for all students and allows them to investigate concepts and technology across…