Education in today's world is very challenging. From concerns over the funding of career and technical education (CTE) to discussions about the achievement gap and dropout prevention, to debates about what it means to be college- and career-ready, the role of CTE in educational reform paradoxically is both at the forefront and on the backburner of…

This is the latest in a series of case studies highlighting best practices High Schools That Work (HSTW) network schools and districts are implementing to prepare students better for further studies and careers. Fort Mill High School is in Fort Mill, South Carolina, an outlying suburb of Charlotte, North Carolina. Fort Mill links high quality…

Although career and technical education (CTE) Programs of Study (POS) were introduced in the Perkins IV legislation, neither the spirit nor the elements of POS are new in the history of CTE as a vehicle for high school reform. POS have evolved over several decades of efforts to create effective transition programs from secondary to postsecondary…

Pacesetting high schools, middle grades schools and technology centers have changed classroom and other practices to prepare students to meet postsecondary requirements and rising workplace needs. The strategies include raising expectations, project-based learning, guidance and advisement, improving students' reading and writing skills,…

Ensuring effective progression from vocational qualifications to higher education has become an important issue internationally as a part of government strategies to raise skill levels and to provide more equitable access to tertiary level study. From September 2008, the Government in England has begun to introduce a new set of qualifications for…

Recent policy changes have facilitated an expanded role for VET in Schools in supporting school completion, with vocational education and training (VET) in schools qualifications and subjects receiving increasing recognition in senior secondary certificates. Despite increased attainment of VET qualifications amongst 15 to 19-year-olds (Australian…

The apprenticeship training system in Germany, where training takes place in both private companies and vocational schools, has traditionally played an outstanding role in the development of young skilled workers. However, particularly since the start of the new millennium, the chances of smooth transition from secondary school to an…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of compiling, analyzing, and summarizing the data for Indicator 1--Graduation--from the FFY 2010 Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and amended State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted by states to the Office of Special Education…

Quality Implementation in Transition is a framework designed to guide transition specialists and administrators in the implementation of total quality management. The framework uses the tenets set forth by W. Edwards Deming and is intended to help professionals facilitate change within transition programs. (Author/JOW)

The demand for improved postschool outcomes has shifted school reform strategy from incremental efforts to fundamental change. Collaboration is consistently identified as an effective approach for fostering communications and creating new systems. Social and vocational educators must become skilled collaborators to influence the course of change.…

A study analyzed the experience of eight schools that had begun working to integrate their academic and vocational education programs several years before passage of the 1990 Perkins Act amendments. The following common themes were identified as collectively defining integration as a distinct reform effort: (1) richer, better sequenced curricula…

Six communities engaged in planning processes to improve vocational programming for students with handicapping conditions. The collaborative efforts involved the schools, community agencies, and employers in recommending strategies for change. This report is based on a study of the six collaborative planning projects 1 year after their completion.…

This study examined processes and strategies utilized by states to implement transition policies designed to facilitate coordination of the state-level service delivery systems of special education, vocational education, and vocational rehabilitation. The study used a model involving four policy instruments: mandates, inducements, capacity…

An advisory committee comprised of school officials and community members was formed to assess the provision of special vocational programming to handicapped students served by the Vigo County School Corporation (Indiana). The committee examined student needs-related, school and curriculum-related, and business-related issues addressed in Federal…

Despite the fact that American society persistently separates home from workplace and extends adolescence, most American youth make the school-to-work transition with a minimum of pain and reasonable success. A substantial minority do not, however, and there is need to improve the transition process especially for those who have been economically…