This paper reviews issues in fostering closer connections between higher education and the workplace and summarizes results of a 1995 survey of 404 New Jersey employers concerning the knowledge, skills, and abilities that New Jersey employers expect from higher education graduates and their suggestions for improving college-based workforce…

This collection of background materials and guides is intended to assist Wisconsin educators involved in providing vocational experience programs for students with disabilities. Following an introductory section, the second section presents information on the following federal laws: Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); Individuals with Disabilities…

The 1994-95 school year was the first year of the MECA (Manufacturing, Engineering, Construction, Automotive) partnership implementation in the Saginaw (Michigan) Public Schools. MECA's purpose was to nurture the potential of youth while placing them in workplace environments that had not been a traditional part of applied learning in secondary…

The Science Teachers as Research Scientists (STARS) program is a scientific work experience program conducted at the University of Missouri-St. Louis that provides secondary science teachers internships with faculty researchers. This report evaluates the STARS program with respect to the teachers' (n=17) first summer experiences only. Both…

The United States has no coherent strategy for helping noncollege-bound students develop the competence for middle-level jobs. The need for more emphasis on the needs of noncollege-bound students became apparent during the 1980s as less-educated workers began encountering more wage and employment difficulties and as occupations requiring…

The Postsecondary Program School-to-Work Transition Activity in Carroll County Public Schools (Maryland) has been identified as an exemplary school-to-work program that includes students with disabilities. This program serves 25 students aged 17-21 with disabilities in a noncategorical setting with a large majority of students having significant…

This self-instructional module, the eighth in a series of 16 on techniques for coordinating work experience programs, deals with developing and implementing training plans. Addressed in the module are the purposes and features of a training plan, developing a training plan, and implementing a training plan for each student in the program. The…

This handbook was designed to assist school administrators, vocational administrators, vocational agricultural teachers, and area consultants of vocational agriculture in developing, implementing, and improving an agricultural cooperative training program (especially in Texas). The handbook, which presents information in a narrative format,…

This document contains executive summaries that report on short-term projects undertaken as part of the U.S. Department of Labor's Apprenticeship 2000 initiative, the purpose of which is to determine the future role of apprenticeship in meeting needs for a skilled work force. The 13 studies are on the following subjects: (1) issues relating to…

The Alternative Youth Employment Strategies (AYES) Project began as one of the demonstration projects funded under the Youth Employment and Demonstration Project Act in 1980. The program, which features three training models, is targeted toward high-risk, disadvantaged youth, especially minority youths from urban areas who had prior involvement…

This guide presents criteria for local evaluation of cooperative education programs. The first section of the guide defines cooperative education and sketches the elements that determine a cooperative education program. The second part of the evaluation guide contains components to be evaluated in cooperative education programs. Each component is…

Various factors, including an increase in the standard of living of the population throughout the Western industralized countries, the need for better-qualified workers, and the necessity of providing alternatives to unemployment for young people, have led to increased demands for training courses provided immediately after compulsory schooling.…

This module is one of a series of 127 performance-based teacher education (PBTE) learning packages focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational teachers. The competencies upon which these modules are based were identified and verified through research as being important to successful vocational teaching at both the secondary and…

This guide to youth unemployment problems is based on the belief that a comprehensive system of program initiatives offers the best solutions. The principal focus is on vocationally at-risk youth. The first chapter defines and describes the target group, and outlines needs and appropriate responses. The second section describes the following eight…

This manual provides guidelines for establishing and conducting a cooperative vocational education program. The guide is organized in seven sections that provide information in narrative format on the following aspects of a cooperative education program: overview of the cooperative method of instruction, definitions, benefits of cooperative…