A study investigated undergraduate psychology students' perceptions of an internship experience as it contributed to their transition to entry-level employment after graduation. It was found that the internship provided unique experiences, particularly concerning cooperation and communication with colleagues, but did not affect career choice or…

Uses career history data from 15 women in professional engineering careers to examine some educational concomitants of nontraditional career choices. The focus, from an interactionist theoretical perspective, is on how women actually experienced becoming an engineer. The educational influences identified are those perceived by women themselves to…

Explains how one college student overcame the barriers of living in an isolated, rural area of Tasmania (Australia) to achieve his goal of a career in flying. Stresses the importance of schools encouraging not only student retention but also the formulation of students' personal visions and goals. (LP)

Due to disappearing jobs and large-scale automated production of goods and services, schools face a choice between "kallikakization" (creating and perpetuating a split between the comfortably endowed and the deprived) and achieving a new balance in social regulation/control arrangements. Postmodern schools can avoid kallikakization by…

Describes how social and economic conditions in Papua New Guinea in 1995 led to an emerging ambivalent attitude toward education among villagers. Illustrates how local conceptions of schooling changed when promised links between education and modernization went unfulfilled, leading villagers to valorize "traditional" identity and…

Argues that law schools systematically and pervasively fail to study and teach about the legal profession. This is seen as an ethical failure by the legal academy to meet the needs of its three principal constituencies: students; the bar; and society. Three concrete strategies that all law schools should undertake to address issues graduates will…

In China, lifelong learning has a long history--as a way to prepare for traditional civil examinations, which opened opportunities for social mobility and, later, to train the adult workforce to meet national economic objectives. In Shanghai, adult education has recently become essential for adapting the workforce to rapid economic change, but…

A study investigated attitudes of 147 high school students toward participation in an instructional unit to encourage development of work ethic, appropriate work attitudes, and employability skills, including interpersonal skills, initiative, and dependability. A majority found the unit helpful and the instructional methods appropriate. (MSE)

Research on co-op education in Canadian secondary schools indicates that it was under-appreciated in ministry policy. However, participants felt that cooperative education was a career exploration opportunity, contextualized the academic curriculum, taught work ethics, and prepared students for postsecondary programs. A clearer commitment to…

Two studies involving adolescents with disabilities examined secondary and transition practices. Findings indicate that career-related work experience and completion of student-identified transition goals were highly associated with improved graduation and employment outcomes. Individualization of services around student goals and personalized…

Reviews and analyzes the responses of a small number of fifth graders, eighth graders, and high schoolers to detailed interviews concerning the purpose or efficacy of studying history. Reveals a sizable range of rationales characterized by age, interest, and ethnic background. Considers possible implications for teaching and curriculum…

This study examined whether a curriculum-embedded assessment, the Practical Assessment Exploration System (PAES), could be used with students with disabilities to predict job-related outcomes three to five years later. Results with 103 students assessed in seventh and eighth grades suggest that the PAES offers some promise for evaluating student…

Describes results of a multi-year effort by the National Transition Network to evaluate the State Systems Change Initiative. Among findings were that states were successful in increasing stakeholder awareness of transition issues, increasing the participation of students with disabilities and their parents, and enhancing collaborative…

Explores the process of workplace learning and problem solving by examining Western and local enterprises in South China. Discusses whether the managerial concepts embedded in Chinese culture help or impede collective learning and concludes that new ways of working and learning are emerging through the interaction of Western and Chinese culture.…

Outcomes data from seven medical schools with successful special programs to increase the rural physician work force identify three core features: a strong institutional mission, targeted selection of students likely to practice in rural areas, and a focus on primary care, especially family practice. Rural residency programs should collaborate…