Focusing on student experience rather than distinguishing between vocational or academic education is essential to preparing students for future society. Seven trends are influencing the future for adolescents preparing for the work world: (1) a shift from employment where manual labor, physical dexterity, and minimal education are needed for jobs…

Connecting Learning and Work is a set of initiatives that combines education reform, work-force preparation, and economic development to prepare individuals for a lifetime of learning, citizenship, and career success. This report describes shifts in thinking about how students learn: meeting the needs of learners; schools, communities, and work…

A task force studied youth work and its impact on the health, education, and safety of 16- and 17-year-olds. The study covered such issues as the following: effects of work on school performance, work's physical and psychological effects on young people, the effects work can have on young people's preparation for lifelong work, and what steps can…

The New Youth Entrepreneur curriculum is a series of 12 youth-oriented educational modules containing instructional materials, learning activities, and checkup exercises designed to teach students key elements of entrepreneurship. This document is the ninth module, and introduces students to recordkeeping and bookkeeping strategies essential for…

The linguistic and cultural diversity of America's school population has increased dramatically during the past decade, and is expected to increase even more in the future. But, for many children of immigrant and minority families, U.S. education is not a successful experience. One fourth of African Americans, one third of Hispanics, one half of…

The relationship between training and the growth in wage inequality was examined through an analysis of data from the January 1983 and January 1991 supplements to the Current Population Survey. The analysis focused on whether the distribution of training has changed in ways that may explain changes in the wage structure during the period studied…

This study examined the reasons why students enrolled at Boise State University (BSU) in Idaho during the Fall 1995 semester did not return for the Spring semester. A total of 443 students who did not return for the Spring semester were surveyed. The study found that BSU leavers were more likely than a national sample of college leavers to…

This guide resulted from the Teachers Assisting Teachers (T.A.T.) Program, which was established to address specific staff development issues that were created by the implementation of the National Workplace Literacy Program. The TAT program pairs workplace literacy teachers as mentors to help both teachers improve their teaching skills. Two…

This book analyzes the history of vocational education for girls in the United States since about 1900. The analysis is developed from the larger issues raised by what turn-of-the-century educators called "the woman question," or "What ought woman to be?" The book analyzes competing ideologies and correlates prescriptions with…

Project RETAIN (Retention in Education Technical Assistance and Information Network) is a Florida project that assists school districts through identification and dissemination of effective practices that keep students with mild disabilities in school. One part of the project was the development of a database of school district efforts in the area…

In response to states' serious shortcomings in preparing pupils for the work force, this decade has seen an explosion of new contracts between schools and outside individuals and organizations. This report focuses on business-school partnerships, specifically what makes them work well and how they influence education and business. Partnerships…

This comparative historical study examines political centralism in China in the Imperial Examination and the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE). Both systems served the political needs of the ruling classes and the commoners, although in a limited way for the latter. The Imperial Examination was once a positive force for social…

In October 1992, Western Nebraska Community College (WNCC) surveyed all 173 students who had graduated between June 1991 and July 1992 to determine their current educational and employment status and their perceptions of WNCC. Completed surveys were received from 130 graduates, for a response rate of 75%. Study findings included the following: (1)…

This paper explores the transition from school to young adulthood of youth with disabilities from the first wave (n=939) of the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS). Two popular sociological perspectives which explain the postschool success of youth with disabilities were examined: human capital in the form of education and training, and…

This policy update provides an overview of the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program as it applies to youth with disabilities at the time of their transition from high school. The paper defines "disabled individual" and "substantial gainful work," outlines how income and resources are identified for determining…