This bulletin describes practitioner-identified strategies that can help build effective school-to-work systems in rural areas. The first section highlights these strategies for rural school-to-work partnerships: start early; identify educational and economic opportunities in the community; entrepreneurial experiences; community service-learning;…

This proceedings document provides the texts of 13 presentations given at a 2-day conference in 1991 which focused on policies, materials, programs, and activities being implemented in Alabama to foster the successful transition of youth with disabilities to adult life. Two papers address the national scene: "Transition: Old Wine in New…

Concerns about the isolation of youth and the decline of available social capital have given rise to a new wave of workplace mentoring programs focused on youth in poverty. Most such programs have targeted youth in school and community settings; however, youth mentoring efforts in workplace settings are becoming increasingly prevalent for several…

Schools do a very poor job of preparing noncollege-bound youth to make the transition from high school to employment and adult life. A lack of formalized transition systems compounds the problems that many noncollege-bound youth encounter as they try to obtain meaningful, career-sustaining employment in primary labor markets. Various instructional…

A study synthesized critical findings and implications for teacher preparation from three major research studies and databases completed in 1987-88 by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education: Postsecondary Occupational Education Delivery: An Examination (Hollenbeck et al. 1987); Vocational Teacher Education: A Survey of Preservice…

Developed to assist community college administrators and faculty in enhancing vocational educational programs and services, this Vocational Education Resource Package profiles four vocational education programs at California community colleges that show promise in serving special population students. First, the Applied Mathematics for Electronics…

This longitudinal study examined adolescents' mental health, academic achievement, and behavioral adjustment in relation to work intensity during high school. Data were collected from approximately 1,000 adolescents during a 4-year period, beginning in the subjects' freshman year of high school. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed…

This volume presents information on secondary vocational education compiled by the recently completed National Assessment of Vocational Education. Chapter 1 provides information about regional, district, and school-level availability of vocational education and the institutions that provide it. It reports the following: availability differs by…

A 1991 study tour to Germany, Denmark, and Sweden investigated youth education and training policies, systems, methods of financing, and programs. Concerns were integration of academic and practical skills training, assessment of student competencies for employment, expectations and outcomes of employment preparation for all youth, and system…

A study to explore organizational conditions that facilitate workplace learning involved 35 resource development consultants in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and line staff from 22 organizations in a 9-hour participatory research workshop using Appreciative Inquiry--a technology emphasizing the positive or "life-giving" forces which…

Black student attrition and its causes were studied at Indiana University. Approximately 60% of black students do not graduate within 5 years of their initial enrollment, in comparison with 40% of white students. A mail survey identified 48 institutional factors and asked students to respond to each was sent to all African American students who…

Louisiana Tech University conducted a program to reduce drop-out probabilities for at-risk special needs adolescents as part of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). Eighty-six students between the ages of 14 and 16 were chosen as "at-risk" based on economic disadvantage, lower academic performance, behavioral and adjustment problems,…

This self-instructional module, the twelfth in a series of 16 on techniques for coordinating work experience programs, deals with regular coordination activities. Addressed in the module are: (1) the nature and scope of the regular coordination activities that must be conducted by teacher-ccordinators, and (2) the effective management of regular…

This collection of eight papers reflects Dutch experiences on topics of common interest and concern in the education of less able 16 to 19 year olds throughout the European economic community. "An Outline of the Dutch System of Education" (Philippa Andrews and Colin Turner) provides a basic background to Dutch education, concentrating…

The context for education in Sweden is for a society in which citizens enjoy economic well-being and social provision. The educational system consists of a grundskol and an integrated upper school combining the gymnasium, vocational school, and the professional school preparing students for subuniversity qualifications. Nineteen higher education…