This document is the first in a series of reports about Texas's refugees and is an analysis of more than 1,000 Vietnamese and Laotian refugee interviews. What follows is an examination of the relationships English proficiency and education have with Southeast Asian refugees' income, mammogram screenings, smoking, citizenship, possession of a…

The WorkAbility Program was a 3-year project initiated in October 1991 by the Metropolitan Community Colleges (MCC) in Kansas City, Missouri, to increase the employability of students with disabilities by addressing needs for career counseling, mentoring, job search skills preparation, and career-related work experiences. The five sections of this…

Although the National Targets for Education and Training in England and Wales include indicators for lifelong learning, and the progress towards the targets set for these indicators has been lauded by politicians and other observers, much of this apparent progress is actually accounted for by changes in these same indicators. However, once the…

This report contains profiles of eight states (Colorado, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont) that describe the states' efforts to include youth with disabilities in School-to-Work efforts. Data were gathered on each of the states through written records of state resources and grants, web site information,…

This book posits that "plain talk" is needed on the subject of evaluation in vocational education and training. In the first chapter, conceptual issues are discussed. Chapter 2 focuses on the reasons for, and methods of, evaluation. Chapter 3 presents and assesses the value of a broad range of evaluation techniques, including outcome measures,…

A study examined the following questions to ascertain what progress has been made in improving the educational achievement of vocational students through the "High Schools That Work" initiative: (1) What progress has been made in raising the achievement of vocational students to national averages or higher? (2) What things matter in…

Young people must prepare themselves for lifelong learning and frequent job changes. Optimists predict a new world of work with many creative, interesting, satisfying jobs; pessimists believe society will finally run out of work and foresee unemployment and social downgrading for a majority of people. There are indications at present of both…

This guide is a tool to assist educators in the development of high-quality work-based learning sites and other school-employer connections in New Hampshire as part of the state's school-to-work program. The guide provides implementation ideas for seven strategies for work-based learning experiences (industry tours, job shadowing, service…

Although apprenticeship used to be viewed as academically questionable, today many educators consider it an ideal vehicle for the work-based learning necessary for the school-to-work transition. In particular, youth apprenticeships are seen as having potential to minimize youth floundering in the labor market, ensure educative work experiences,…

This book describes an effort by Jobs for the Future (JFF) to help communities keep their school-to-career reform efforts on track through a process of goal setting and measurement that sets realistic and achievable reforms while still building toward fundamental educational change. The process is called "benchmarking," and those involved must:…

A survey was conducted of a randomly-selected sample of TAFE (Training and Further Education) graduates in Australia who completed vocational education and training (VET) qualifications during 1999 and of TAFE students who successfully completed some training ("module completers") and left the TAFE system. Analysis of the responses of…

A study examined the impact of high school vocational education and training (VET) courses on small, rural communities in Tasmania (Australia). Data were gathered from site visits and interviews with school principals, VET coordinators, and VET students from three rural Tasmanian high schools. Findings show that the programs met the immediate…

An approach is needed that recognizes a "system" of pathways results from an interaction between Australian pathway designs and reforms of policymakers on the one hand, and the decisions by young people and their families on the other. (Pathways are combinations of education, training, and employment activities that can be taken to…

Retention of college graduates by employers across the United Kingdom was examined. Data were collected through a survey of 362 organizations and interviews with 36 employers and their graduate employees. Most employers were unworried by their levels of graduate retention; two-thirds expected to keep new recruits for the foreseeable future. Rates…

As the sun, moon, and stars helped sea captains to navigate, policy (defined as a formalized idea to encourage change) indicates general direction and speed but does not establish a specific approach to achieve implementation. Formal and informal policies have advantages and disadvantages. These are steps in navigating policy formation: identify…