This course description was developed by educators for use at the Work Opportunity Center which was established to teach high school dropouts and/or hard-core unemployed youth. The ultimate objectives of the marketing and merchandising curriculum are to prepare students for careers in distribution and to assist them in graduating from high school. Instruction includes topics on retailing, the sales process, and human relations on an individualized basis conducted in an innovative atmosphere of "learning by doing." Features of this course description include a program evaluation, an annotated bibliography, a summary of teaching techniques and materials, and case studies. Related documents are available as VT 011 518-VT 011 533 in this issue. (JS)