This final report presents findings from data collection and analysis conducted during a five-year study by the National Dropout Prevention Center (NDPC) at Clemson University, in conjunction with colleagues from the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) at the University of Louisville. This project was one of three…

The current dominant account of aid to education focuses on schooling and official development assistance and talks in terms of policy work, donor harmonisation and, increasingly, budgetary support. However, this approach is limited in a number of ways. The return of international policy interest in vocational education provides an opportunity to…

The following forces that play on policymaking are examined: Social and cultural influences, the caste system with its attendant anxiety to conform, warring between equals, the competitive spirit unleased. On the question of what should be incorporated in policy, the author states that vocational educators should look inwardly and seek to make…

Reviewing the many possible outcomes (intended and unintended) of vocational education programs, the author posits four tests for evaluation criteria: appropriateness, importance, feasibility, and usefulness. He discusses policy implications of the lack of consensus over the particular outcomes for which vocational education should be accountable.…

The author lists some 20 principles as restated by state-level decision makers, presents definite ideas on how policy should be stated, and calls on states to review not only their policy statements but also their rules and regulations. (Editor/HD)

This paper focuses on transition programs for youth to postsecondary education, broadly considered. It addresses the following questions: (1) What models or programs of transition exist? (2) On what basis can we say one transition program is more effective than another? In other words, how is successful transition defined? (3) How are…

This publication on reviewing existing vocational education programs is the third in the Self-Help series of five booklets designed for Alaska administrators and teachers to improve vocational services provided to handicapped pupils. It begins with a checklist of implications for administrators and teachers. Reasons for program review and some…

The benefits of and issues associated with output-related funding (ORF) were assessed by examining the use of ORF in vocational education and training (VET) in the European Union and the United States. Data were gathered in the following ways: several online bibliographic searches; consultation with 54 experts, including VET researchers, national…

As long as vocational education is presented as an investment in the future, it must stand the test of economic evaluation. Research on its economic effectiveness is essential to more informed public policy and support for vocational programs. (SK)

Education and training for 16- to 19-year-olds have undergone expansion and diversification in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. In the context of high youth unemployment, the introduction by the central government of a host of vocational preparation programs has aimed to delay labor market entry for a significant proportion of 16-year-olds, while…

Both the federal administration and Congress, through more dollars and more legislation, are expanding the federal role in education. Major themes running through the various legislative proposals will result in a reduced emphasis on fiscal controls, encouragement for process-oriented requirements, better integration of federal programs, and…

The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (CEDEFOP) moved forward on the four major themes of its medium-term priorities in 2000, which were the following: (1) promoting competencies and lifelong learning; (2) facilitating new ways of learning for a changing society; (3) supporting employment and competitiveness; and (4)…

Authored by a political scientist, the study focuses on the impact of two alternative policies, "political strategy" and "service strategy," designed to deal with the problem of poverty in American society. The central concern is the effect of the policies on the poor. The service strategy assumes that the poor differ from the…

During the year 1981, the National Advisory Council on Vocational Education (NACVE), composed of 37 members, conducted 4 full-membership meetings, in addition to meetings of committees of the Council. As a result of these meetings, the Council issued seven papers on the following topics: vocational education in correctional institutions; policy…

Focus in this evaluation report of Iowa secondary vocational education is on jointly administered programs--those contracted services which are established either between two or more secondary schools or between a merged area school and one or more secondary schools. The report is a synthesis and discussion of information gathered from field…