Disputes critics' claims about the negligible impact of an associate degree on income. Uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 to demonstrate how associate degrees have increased wages for members of this group. (DMM)

Youth apprenticeship initiatives offer relevant, work-based learning to non-college-bound youth, preparing them for high-skill jobs and building generic employability skills. (SK)

Critically reviews a study commissioned by the Scottish Education Department (SED) on the transition to adulthood of young people with special educational needs. Although the research serves the political purposes of the SED, it contains sampling problems and unrepresentative case studies and fails to address cost effectiveness. (KS)

In the 1970s, Edmund King's postcompulsory education research program in five European countries identified the educational needs of the 16-20 age group and influenced related national policy. During the 1980s, King led a research commission and a World Council International Network resulting in a common framework of themes for comparative…

A career-life-planning model for high school students has four components: (1) guidance and counseling; (2) community bridging (conflict resolution, mock job interviews); (3) interdisciplinary instruction; and (4) portfolios that include a four-year educational plan, career exploration data from the computerized Guidance Information System,…

Presents three options on a critical issue, transition from school to work: career education, school-to-work opportunities system, and school-to-employment system. Suggests that the information is essential to begin a dialogue on developing a framework and process to establish a successful school-to-employment system. (JOW)

This article reviews reform movements addressing the transition problems of high school students with disabilities, such as the work-study movement of the 1960s and legislative initiatives and programs of the 1980s. It discusses four considerations for the 1990s: (1) applying what we know; (2) changing the system; (3) building partnerships; and…

Issues emerging at a September 1993 Belgian conference on the relationship between higher education and employment are summarized, including reasons for reemergence of concern, key actors and constituents, need for further information about labor market needs, how to approach the need for system/institutional change, growth of specialized…

Higher education must exploit opportunities for workplace learning to serve adult degree-seeking students by assessing workplace learning, integrating it into the curriculum, and sharing resources with companies. Continuing education is best positioned to serve working adults' learning needs. (SK)

Guidance counselors should be authorized to place at-risk learners in nonconventional educational programs to help them acquire the basic skills for functioning productively in society. Counselors must emphasize the remedial individual and guide educators away from the acceptance of failure for 25-35 percent of their students. (MLH)

Examines the postschool attainment effects of offering courses in typing and keyboarding as part of general education, using national survey data from the High School and Beyond data set. Regarding employability and earnings, society's investment in keyboarding instruction is money well spent. Taking high school keyboarding courses significantly…

European integration and changes in Eastern Europe are changing the position of Finland. Educational planners should respond by declaring the ideology of education for lifelong vocations dead. Schools should prepare people for unlearning (adaptation to change) and for alternating education and work. (SK)

If the labor market rewarded learning in school, high school students would respond by studying harder, and local voters would willingly pay higher taxes to finance better local schools. Instead of using rank in class or relative measurement standards, educators should measure student competency by external absolute standards, the way Scout merit…

Although well intentioned, Oregon's Certificate of Initial Mastery Plan offers no apprenticeship programs for non-college-bound students. In contrast, Japan's Oita Media Technology High School and Hita Rinko High School of Forestry exemplify the nation's longstanding focus on technical education and industry-specific trade schools. The new…

Presents a model of youth transition from education to work that takes into account the disrupting effects of global economic crisis and massive computerization. Suggests that investment in new technologies reduces employment and polarizes remaining jobs to unskilled and highly skilled categories. Discusses psychosocial integration strategies…