The costly supplemental or alternative programs that combat chronic school failure and continued high dropout rates are not always effective for the following reasons: (1) students do not always find out which programs are available, and (2) if no suitable program is available, there is usually no one responsible for trying to create one. People…

The chronic scarcity of career jobs and increased demands for mental ability in the workplace have necessitated school-to-work (STW) transition programs that prepare noncollege-bound youths not only for their first full-time job but also for continued learning and career transitions throughout their working lives. Among the main ideas advanced for…

This document, which is based on the findings of case studies of how four high schools from across the country have successfully implemented the schoolwide career academy model, presents recent developments and best practices in schoolwide career academies. The document consists of a brief introduction describing the case studies and one chapter…

After more than three decades of development and two decades of evaluation, career academies have been found to be effective in improving the performance of students in high school, particularly for students at greatest risk. Career academies have become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy that includes…

This report, which is directed toward policymakers, educators, employers, researchers, and others interested in the school-to-work (STW) movement, synthesizes literature on the development and effectiveness of STW programs since 1993. Part I provides an overview of the STW movement and examines the effectiveness of STW efforts in terms of…

This book offers a comprehensive guide to the Career Academy high school model, including detailed descriptions of the model, practical advice, case histories, histories of existing programs, evaluation results, and an analysis of the model in the context of other research and policy analysis. Part 1 of 3 gives an overview of the dilemmas and…

Reviews studies on the demand for learning at work, trends on currently working students, and the effects of both school-supervised and not-school-supervised work experiences. Concludes that labor market demands and the number of students currently working present an opportunity to use work as a deliberate learning experience. (FMW)

After their 1969 inception as an electrical academy in a Philadelphia high school, the number of career academies grew steadily for two decades; since 1990, their growth has accelerated. Until the mid-1990s, they existed only as smaller units within high schools, but numerous high schools have since converted themselves entirely into career…

This document proposes methods by which the public purposes of postsecondary vocational education may be more effectively implemented. Part 1 reviews the public purposes of public vocational education (which are postulated as: to increase individuals' satisfaction at work; to increase the access to employment of underrepresented groups; and to…