Individuals who are deaf have historically faced significant obstacles to equity in employment. This secondary analysis of data from the second National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS2) examined (a) intensive vocation-related courses taken by students who are deaf and (b) their impact on long-term employment outcomes. Deaf students in general…

This document describes work-based learning, a process that connects school and work and makes it possible for students to get a head start on a career by combining classroom study and practical experiences in a "job-like" setting or with an actual employer. It contains a personal guide to some of the work-based learning programs that are…

A study compared the attainment of national vocational qualifications (NVQs) in Scotland and other U.K. regions. Data from the Labour Force Survey and case studies indicate that Scotland underperforms England in the attainment of NVQs, suggesting improved performance in the achievement of academic and traditional vocational qualifications in…

This report examines how the "good practice" model of work-based learning (WBL) and its tools can be used with students having learning difficulties and disabilities. The model is a partnership model involving three prime partners: production professionals (employers), learning professionals (trainers and teachers), and the…

This paper reviews barriers to developing work study options for students with mild mental retardation. These include the debate over the existence of the entity mental retardation, the relationship of political/economic factors and schooling, the purpose and content of secondary education, and the interaction of personal values with these…

This booklet reviews the literature on transitional services for youth with behavior disorders, provides examples of successful programs and activities, and identifies key elements of successful programs. Specific sections of the monograph address the following areas: long-term life adjustment; transition studies; vocational assessment; social…

Although the historical involvement of business in cooperative education has led to more insistance by some on a greater degree of involvement, others question not only the extent of business involvement but also the involvement per se. The fact that business participates in education and that schools seek and accept this participation provides…

This publication provides guidance to state and local administrators responsible for planning and implementing comprehensive school-to-work systems for all students, including youth with disabilities, under five key federal laws: (1) School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994; (2) Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as amended in…

This report describes activities of Project Work, a federally funded program to provide vocational preparation skills and transition services for high school students with disabilities. The program served 150 students at a large urban high school in San Diego (California). Three major objectives were accomplished: (1) development of an…

This report presents the first product of a comprehensive 5-year evaluation of a major federal effort, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994), which provides 5-year federal grants as "seed money" to design systems involving work-based learning, school-based learning, and connecting activities. The report is based on extensive site…

Every high school student should not only be provided with appropriate academic instruction but with supervised work experience as well. For the past 70 years, the number of students in cooperative education programs has grown steadily. Despite these steady gains, the best estimates place no more than 10 percent of all vocational education…

A variety of linkage components that can help build and maintain effective relationships between the worlds of work and education are identified, and barriers to the development of such relationships and techniques for overcoming them are described in this report. The first section lists different forms of industry/education cooperation and their…

Intended as a source of information and guide for educators and business people, this report describes a variety of successful cooperative programs between businesses and schools, explains how they operate, and provides some advice from those experienced with programs about how to estabilsh and operate cooperative endeavors. Chapter 1 focuses on…

This newsletter issue provides rehabilitation professionals with various information pieces concerning transition from school to adulthood for young people with disabilities. An introduction identifies specific challenges in transition programming and stresses the goal of fully integrating young people with disabilities as interdependent parts of…

Field research was conducted to identify and examine the most recent trends in vocational and technical education during the Chinese Post-Cultural Revolution years of 1976-1981. Prior to the Revolution more than half of the middle school students participated in skill training before graduation. All such programs were abolished during the…