During 1990-91, Michigan schools piloted an innovative portfolio approach enabling students to discover, document, and develop employability skills in academics, personal management, and teamwork. Not an improved sorting system, the project encourages students to recognize successes, seek opportunities to improve skills, and gain confidence in…

High school is an inescapably vocational institution whose occupational focus is largely hidden. Integration of vocational and academic education through academies, occupationally focused schools, and occupational clusters may eliminate "shopping mall" course selections, improve teaching of all subjects, enhance student engagement with learning,…

Examines some of the concerns related to the transition of leaving high school and going on to the next phase in career development. Discusses the schools' role in providing a smooth transition from school to work. (JOW)

This follow-up study of 227 individuals with learning disabilities who had attended vocational-technical programs found that there was a high employment level for both disabled and control group students, but the types of jobs and earning levels did not match well with their training and anticipated incomes. (Author/JDD)

Describes Germany's "dual system," in which trainees serve two-year apprenticeships with businesses while studying vocational and general subjects in school. Discusses the growing number of apprentices with full academic school-leaving certificates, conflicts between schools and businesses, and debate over the relative merits of…

Daniel Boyd, film teacher at West Virginia State College, describes his life and career as an independent filmmaker, including his educational background in film, efforts to market his films within the film industry, and development of scripts and films. (TES)

Describes the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program (MECOP) at Oregon State University and how it demonstrates the power of an effective business/education partnership. Examines the history of the program since its inception in 1978 and reviews its current status in 1993, when the program supports 81 students interning among 31 companies…

International comparisons of academic achievement are faulted by methodological problems. U.S. schools are doing better in international comparisons than we have been led to believe. However, there are shortcomings. An education reform agenda needs to treat poor urban and rural schools as patients in an intensive-care ward. (MLF)

Reviews education and training aspects of Clinton proposals and recommends funding of prenatal care, Head Start, and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); parenting training for WIC, Head Start, and welfare recipient parents; revival of career education; expansion of cooperative education and tech prep; assessment of national standards and…

Uses data from Venezuela's 1987 Household Survey to update returns to education and compare them to 1975 and 1984 figures. Returns to education have been maintained despite the educational explosion occurring in Venezuela during the period investigated. Although higher education is most heavily subsidized, primary education remains the most…

Earnings functions have been widely used to estimate the returns to education and training. Many studies have relied on the Mincerian specification for the earnings function, which embodies several assumptions. A study of Brazilian workers' wages finds that the Mincerian specification yields upwardly biased estimates of the returns to education,…

Reflects on the federal legislative action of 1993 and 1994 concerning educational reform. Some of the legislation to be acted upon in 1994 includes the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, School-to-Work Opportunities Act, Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and Safe Schools Act. (BB)

A lifespan model of career education suitable for rural learners with disabilities includes career consciousness (preschool and elementary education); investigation of career aptitude (middle school and junior high school); career examination (early high school); career experience (later high school); and career acquisition (later high school and…

Problems between educational visionaries and business leaders arise from a lack of meaningful dialogue about accountability. Instruction cannot change without changing evaluation. The new dialogue should focus on five premises: children are not products; content and process are interrelated; school flexibility is a two-way street; educational…

Reports from the United States Department of Labor have stated that school to work transitioning have become integral in developing education programs. The article describes good programs' characteristics and notes key issues surrounding the education of a workforce needed to keep U.S. business and industry competitive. (SM)