Career and technical education (CTE) is forced to be reactive. A good example is the fact that CTE cannot prepare students for jobs that do not exist. Outside forces create the demand for occupations and workers: CTE has to react to the demand. CTE must also respond and react to changes created by legislative mandates and administrative order. Due…

American businesses and industries have long identified shortages in key career and technical areas--some of these areas require two- or four-year college degrees, whereas others simply require industry certifications. Career and technical education (CTE) has the potential to play a central role in filling these gaps. The current Carl D. Perkins…

In an American economy where the advancement of technology and globalization means that a high school diploma alone is no longer able to provide family-sustaining earnings to many, certificates represent one piece of a multi-pronged solution on the road to a workforce with 60 percent postsecondary attainment. Though certificates currently aren't…

There is a critical need to identify solutions to the unemployment of high school dropouts. When a student prematurely leaves school, the economic, social, and political impacts result in negative consequences for the individual and the community. Of the nearly 2.2 million students who drop out of high school every year in the United States,…

The revisions to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 require that career and technical education (CTE) programs provide students with a clear pathway from secondary to postsecondary education, and into high-wage, high-skill and high-demand careers. States nationwide are developing programs, called career pathways, to…

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,…

The National Research Center on Career and Technical Education has supported four studies on one of the major components of Perkins legislation: programs of study. In this article, we present qualitative data linking the research center's longitudinal projects based on programs of study, via a one-time cross-case study of sites deemed highly…

The article describes the Community Vocational Training program, a transition program that trains and places high school seniors with mild handicaps in permanent employment and postsecondary schools. Considered are theoretical foundations, recruitment, on the job experiences, the employment skills workshop, staff roles, and outcomes. (DB)

An integrated work search and leisure search curriculum was developed at Portland State University to teach mildly handicapped secondary students how to improve their transition skills. Outcomes are documented in terms of employment, job search competence, and satisfaction with leisure activities. (TE)

This annotated bibliography describes over 200 books, journal articles, digests, curricula, and monographs on the transition of youth with disabilities to work, community living, and postsecondary education. Resources are listed alphabetically by author within the following categories: (1) basic information on transition, (2) vocational/career…

This directory contains project profiles and summaries of current and newly expired projects funded under the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services Secondary Education and Transition Initiative. Most of the information is based on a 1993 survey of project directors and project competition data. The compendium is divided into…

The monograph addresses, from an Australian perspective, strategies to help disabled youth make the transition from school to work. The first chapter discusses underlying philosophy and principles (normalization, independent living, self-determination, the role of education in the transition process, and the role of work in adult living). Issues…

Five employers who were currently participating in school-to-work opportunity programs in the finance, health, hospitality, machining, and printing/graphic arts industries were interviewed to determine why and how employers participate in school-to-work transition programs. The employers were selected to represent a cross-section of industries,…

This report on transition services for students with disabilities in Nebraska schools begins with an outline of the development of transition programming as part of special education services, noting federal legislation in this area and the importance of intra-agency and inter-agency cooperative agreements. The role of career education in the…

Describes a vocational program for special education students at Kennebunk High School in Kennebunk, Maine, that guides students from the classroom, to an in-house business, to a community-based job-learning position, and then to placement in an appropriate job. Stresses opportunities in small business and entrepreneurship as well as…