Provides an annotated bibliography of materials from the ERIC system that focuses on the economic benefits of obtaining a community college degree. Includes national surveys that use unemployment insurance wage records and other administrative databases, and single college surveys distributed to graduates. (VWC)

A Washington high school's new school-to-work initiative requires students to demonstrate their learning and exposes them to alternative learning venues. Students assemble portfolios that document their learning, summarize their learning before the community, and outline postgraduation plans. Implementation tips are presented. (MLH)

Delivering a school-to-work curriculum requires appropriate professional development in workplace content and pedagogy. Educators can initiate ancillary learning strategies by forming study groups; reading trade and technical publications; participating in structured field trips, seminars, and teacher externships; and designing student assessments…

Tackles Arnold Packer's assertion that U.S. workers' productivity has declined in recent years. The quality of education in developed nations is only loosely coupled to national economic health. Many educators and economists are increasingly skeptical of the notion that better schools mean a more prosperous nation. (MLH)

Includes "How Chatham Central Does It!" (Smith); "State's Perspective" (Brown); "It's a Team Effort" (Perritt); "CDEs [Career Development Events] in Preservice Teacher Education" (Torres, Sabo); "Tony the Tiger and a New CDE" (Stevenson); "New CDEs" (Crabtree); "Bridging the Gap…

Competence models have evolved into a link between organizational strategy and organizational and individual performance. Training professionals use them to synthesize individual capabilities and organizational core competencies. Educators and policymakers use them to link workplace requirements to educational programs and curricula. (SK)

Provides cross-country estimates on private rates of return to higher-education qualifications across various transitional economies spanning Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet Union. Rates tend to rise in most transitional economies over the period considered. Rate variabilities help explain variabilities in wage…

Explores subjective aspects of human-capital investment decisions in education. Explores connections that 11th- and 13th-year British students perceive between their education and the labor market, and between qualifications mechanisms and life chances. Most students believe education plays a market-signaling role and a marginal role in raising…

Explains how academic teachers are participating in summer externship programs and discovering that work-based learning yields across-the-board benefits for teachers, students, and employers. Offers guidelines for making the most of externship experiences. (JOW)

Although opportunities for externships for teachers in rural areas are limited, rural teachers must seek out work sites in advance or travel to distant sites to gain the practical experience they need to bring back to their classrooms. (JOW)

Suggests ways to add the dimension of workplace reality to the teaching of business writing in the classroom, focusing on audience analysis, collaborative writing, and effective models of a variety of workplace documents. (SR)

Comments on how communication instruction can prepare students to be street-smart professionals. Imagines what the futures of universities may look like with developments in computer technology. (SR)

InterAmerican College in San Diego (California) is an 18-month-old institution that specializes in helping college-educated immigrants acquire U.S. degrees so they can find jobs that make use of their prior education and skills. Despite obstacles, including lack of accreditation, the state-licensed institution may fill a niche. (MSE)

A study found no differences in the effectiveness of single- and multiple-work auditory prompts in teaching five adolescents with moderate mental retardation to transition through a chain of vocational tasks into work settings. Self-operated auditory prompts were effective for teaching workers to manage their own task change behavior. (Author/CR)

Describes an attempt to evaluate the Transition Systems Change Initiative despite geographically dispersed program sites and different program goals, activities, and impacts. The design focused on common impacts and unique accomplishments of the projects by making maximum use of existing data. Project directors were involved in planning,…