This report provides an overview of the economics of vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and on the changes and policy development in VET over the past decade. The book is organized in seven chapters, with the first chapter providing an overview of the scope, background, and changes of VET in Australia during the 1990s, as well as…

To raise vocational completers' academic achievement through school reform, the High Schools That Work (HSTW) network of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) promotes 10 key practices for raising academic achievement. The impact of these key practices was examined in a study of how 424 schools adopted them in the following six clusters:…

The implementation and student outcomes of Tech Prep were examined in a study of eight consortia that represented a range of Tech Prep models and approaches in urban, suburban, and rural locations across the United States. Data were collected from the following sources: field visits; follow-up survey of Tech Prep participants and nonparticipants;…

A study tracing the United States economy over the last 40 years reports the skills needed in the changing economy around the turn of the 21st century. Data sources were the March Annual Demographic files of the Current Population Survey for 1970, 1980, 1990, and 1996, and the Public Microdata Sample of the 1960 Census. The study notes the rise of…

The education systems that are in place throughout the world were created for a society different from the one that exists now. These outdated educational systems lead to a lack of motivation on the part of teacher and student and stifle new initiatives. Actions to improve this situation include the following: (1) revising the current amount and…

A total of 130 Minnesota employers who had participated in local welfare-to-work partnerships with social service agencies and other community members were interviewed by telephone for their views on welfare reform. (This nonrandom sample was selected by partnership staff.) Differences among rural and urban/suburban employers were examined, and…

A two-phase study examined the skills required of competent end-users of computers in the workplace and assessed the computing awareness and technological environment of first-year students entering historically disadvantaged technikons in South Africa. First, a DACUM (Developing a Curriculum) panel of nine representatives of local business and…

The extent of coordination and integration of welfare and work force development systems was examined in a study that involved site visits to 12 localities in 6 states. The following factors were found to promote coordination: a previous history of coordination; a strong local economy and low unemployment; access to technology; greater financial…

This white paper outlines a proposed framework for post-16 learning in England. Chapter 1 discusses the principles underpinning the new policy, which are as follows: investing in learning to benefit everyone; lifting barriers to learning; putting people first; sharing responsibility with employers, employees, and the community; achieving world…

As exporters of oil in the Middle East and throughout the world, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) must address the following challenges in the area of development and economic growth: (1) an increasingly integrated world economy in which technology and knowledge will be paramount; (2) the need to diversify its economy from a natural resource-based…

The 1998 Workforce Investment Act (WIA) consolidates more than 70 programs and gives states the flexibility to partner with local governments to develop streamlined services providing universal access. Because adult education and postsecondary vocational education are required partners in the one-stop systems being established through Title I of…

This paper discusses the need for increasing the provision of education and training in Australia and the problems in financing it. Section 1 discusses the problems to be addressed: need for more education and training due to technological and global change affecting employment and unemployment, together with the aging of the population. Section 2…

The relationship between learning and family formation and dissolution was examined through a review of the literature that focused on education and family life in Great Britain and elsewhere. The following topics were examined: learning, marriage, and cohabitation; learning, dissolution, and divorce; changing patterns of childbearing in…

Canadians' employment and working patterns were examined by analyzing the 1998 survey called New Approaches to Lifelong Learning and other recent surveys by Statistics Canada. "Work" was defined as comprising household labor, community volunteer activities, and paid employment, and "learning" was defined as comprising informal…

This document contains materials for use in conducting a 1-hour presentation for administrators of school-to-work (STW) programs in New York State in order to elicit their support for the state's STW initiative and encourage them to share information about the initiative with others in their communities. The document begins with nine tips for…