The Storefront School for mentally disabled youth in Ottawa (Ontario) serves as both a classroom and a headquarters for students who are assigned work in the shopping mall. Visibility of the program makes the public more aware of the potential of the mentally handicapped. (MLF)

Suggests several ways that schools can help potential high school dropouts or students with no job skills to succeed. Indicates that programs should include monitored work experiences, community and neighborhood involvement, redirected vocational training, and career information and counseling. (JOW)

Carter reviews changes in the workplace and in campus recruitment procedures that affect student job placement and describes the University of Missouri's job development program (cooperative education, internships, part-time work, work study, service learning, and volunteering). Franta expands on service learning's effect on career development.…

Tech prep is a series of courses and work experiences that prepare students for postsecondary education or work; often, two years of secondary and two years of postsecondary education are involved. Existing programs show increases in achievement, lower dropout rates, and higher enrollment in community colleges. (SK)

A blind individual offers career education guidelines concerning helping blind children make realistic vocational choices, providing job awareness, setting up work-experience programs, and developing special job-seeking skills. (DB)

This paper reviews and analyzes law and litigation concerning the legal parameters within which schools can provide nonpaid instructional work experiences to students with disabilities. It covers the Fair Labor Standards Act (1938), recent federal appellate and district court cases, and recent guidelines of the Departments of Education and Labor.…

Describes a variety of programs which provide youth with visual impairments with work experiences. These include transition programs which may rotate students in various positions such as cooperative programs with nonprofit agencies, internships for blind college graduates, employment in rehabilitation businesses, and National Industries for the…

In the 1990s, federal education legislation and policies have encouraged state and local efforts in educational reform and placed a new emphasis on education for and about work. These initiatives have engaged the active participation of a broad range of partners and have spurred a variety of locally customized programs and practices. Nationally,…

A study was conducted to provide insight into employer participation in Georgia youth apprenticeship programs that offer work experience and learning at the work site. Data were gathered through a survey sent to a random sample of 206 employers, of the 450 employers involved in youth apprenticeship programs in the state. Analysis of the 121…

An evaluation was conducted of the first year (1990-91) of Project HIRE (Hiring into Rewarding Employment). Project HIRE was a 3-year federally-funded project designed to assist students with disabilities to gain and retain meaningful employment by maintaining secondary support services until this transition is completed successfully. During the…

A major problem in the educational system of the United States is that a great number of students and graduates lack a career objective, and, therefore, many workers are unhappy. Offering a variety of supervised field experiences, paid or unpaid, in which students see workers in their occupations will help students identify career choices.…

This paper provides a historical overview of sheltered workshops and presents information about service innovations and mission expansion. The first workshop in the United States was the Perkins Institute, opened in 1837 for individuals with visual handicaps. This workshop was typical of "categorical" workshops that were established during this…

This handbook contains rules, regulations, and expectations required of General Cooperative Education (GCE) students in Huntsville High School (Arkansas). The guide contains the following sections: (1) what is the GCE program; (2) basic beliefs concerning GCE; (3) rules and regulations concerning employment; (4) rules and regulations concerning…

This report describes three common options for designing a vocational curriculum for special-needs students and then cites operating vocational programs that use each of the options. Mainstream vocational programs, which are modified to suit special needs, as well as self-contained classes and cooperative work-experience classes, are covered. Also…

The purpose of the Rural Student Vocational Program (RSVP) is to provide rural high school vocational students with work and other experiences related to their career objective. Students from outlying schools travel to Anchorage, Fairbanks, or Juneau (Alaska) to participate in two weeks of work experience with cooperating agencies and businesses.…