This executive summary of a research synthesis on critical aspects of curricular tools for successful transition from school to work for students with disabilities provides a brief discussion of the topics addressed in the full report, including: (1) the foundation for transition, including the goals and target populations; (2) a review of…

This paper describes storyboarding, a technique for team project planning which can be applied by students with and without disabilities in a wide variety of contexts. Introductory paragraphs describe the process and briefly review the history of storyboarding. Various roles of team members are delineated, such as sanctioner, project leader,…

This guide, which is intended for businesspersons and/or labor representatives, contains guidelines and questions for determining whether prospective training providers have the skills to develop/deliver successful employee training programs tailored to a particular firm's needs. The guide is divided into eight sections. Section 1 explains the…

The relative costs and benefits of workplace literacy training were analyzed. An analysis based on eight benefits/costs (training costs; higher productivity; high wages; nonwage compensation; less worker turnover; safer workplace; higher taxes; and improved self-esteem) established that workplace literacy training offers net benefits for workers,…

This document examines the 12 draft standards for accomplished vocational education teachers that were developed by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that was founded in 1987 to strengthen the teaching profession and thereby improve learning. The 12 standards pertain to the following…

The relationship between skill demands, changing work organization, and performance was examined in a study of workers across 15 "benchmark" jobs in each of 8 public utilities. Skills issues were assessed by plant managers, workers, and their supervisors. Randomly selected managers/supervisors reported a series of performance measures…

Play should be taken seriously because of its relevance for future workers. Current research indicates that the most successful workers are creative and socially capable rather than merely highly skilled or intelligent. Play enables children to develop lifelong interpersonal skills that will enhance success in the future workplace. Play scenarios…

In 1991, after 25 workers died in a fire in a rural North Carolina poultry-processing plant, reporters exposed the exploitation that workers had endured and the company's callous disregard for workers' safety. This paper draws on the story of the fire and its victims to challenge some popular assumptions about poverty in general; rural poverty in…

This report makes the case for school-to-work as a college preparatory strategy by presenting relevant evidence and by suggesting policies that will facilitate the college preparatory potential of school-to-work. The report begins by explaining why parents, students, and educators should care whether school-to-work can successfully prepare…

A study on moral development focused on the status passage from school to work. The paper-and-pencil form of the Moral Judgment Interview (an adaptation of Kohlberg's instrument by Gibbs and Widaman) was administered to young people aged 17-22 who had just finished schools and were starting as apprentices in insurance companies where they were…

Small businesses represent a resource of tremendous potential for school-to-work partnerships. Work in small businesses exposes students to many facets of running a businesses, and small businesses are creating most of the new jobs in the United States. On the other hand, small businesses have had limited involvement in school-to-work programs…

Too many of today's high school graduates do not have the academic knowledge and skills they need to get good jobs, to enter first-rate vocational training programs, or to earn college degrees. The "school-to-work" (or more broadly, "school-to-career") movement has the potential to bring together the high standards, proven instructional…

The "new capitalism" is unfolding in the context of a "powerful, intrusive, highly regulatory techno-rationalist business world view," which, as manifested in education reform as well as in wider changes at the level of the state, has impacted powerfully on language processes and practices. This world view, embraced by many…

Twenty-two transition programs illustrating effective community collaboration for youth with disabilities in Minnesota are profiled. These programs were selected because they applied a set of 10 quality standards developed to improve the transition process and adult outcomes for these youth, as well as to increase the cost effectiveness and…

The United States educational system is not meeting the increasing demand for highly skilled workers required in the international marketplace. While local, state, and federal governments spend $221 billion on public elementary and secondary education, only a small percentage of the nation's students have adequate reasoning and problem-solving…