This paper deals with the problematic nature of the transition between education and the workplace. A smooth transition between education and the workplace requires learners to develop an integrated knowledge base, but this is problematic as most educational programmes offer knowledge and experiences in a fragmented manner, scattered over a…

This document, which is based on 3 years of research on 14 school-to-work programs across the United States, outlines pedagogical strategies for work-based learning. Pedagogy is defined as the organization of the social activities, organizational structures, and cultural practices by which newcomers, such as student interns, come to acquire and…

This document highlights the practices of companies in rural areas that have successfully connected workplace experiences to classroom learning through school-to-careers partnerships. First, the following fundamental components of school-to-careers are explained: school-based learning; work-based learning; and connecting activities. The next…

Rural school districts in five Arkansas towns set up school-based development corporations (SBDCs) to provide vocational and career training relevant to the needs of rural high school students and the community and to improve the economic and social welfare of the community as a whole. Each SBDC owned and operated businesses using student labor…

This document presents four case studies illustrating how selected high schools from across the country have implemented the career academy model schoolwide. The case studies profile the career academies of the following schools: (1) Ben Franklin High School (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); (2) Oak Grove High School (San Jose, California); (3) South…

Like most cooperative education programs, the one at Nashville State Technical Institute in Tennessee benefits all concerned--the student, the college, business and industry, and the community. Among the many benefits of the cooperative education program are the following: clarification of student career goals, provision of relevant professional…

The role of small enterprise in Australian school students' workplace learning was examined. First, the literature on structured workplace learning in Australia, Europe, and North America was reviewed. Next, four structured learning programs in South Australia and four in New South Wales were studied. Interviews were conducted with a total of 41…

This document presents guidelines and resource materials to assist individuals in planning career academies. Chapter 1 defines career academies as programs designed around the following key elements: (1) development and cultivation of a small learning community; (2) a college preparatory curriculum with a career theme; and (3) partnerships with…

This document is a guide to workplace mentoring that is intended to assist individuals who are interested in or involved in placing students in work-based learning experiences as part of Connecticut's school-to-work initiative, Connecticut Learns. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) the purposes and principles of workplace mentoring;…

This document is intended to provide New York schools, business/industry representatives, and others with resources to develop or further refine work-based learning (WBL) strategies or components. Section 1 presents background information on the following topics: (1) the scope of WBL; (2) foundations for the development of WBL; (3) categories of…

This document examines issues in schoolwide application of career academies. Part 1 reviews the three defining features of career academies: (1) a career academy is a small learning community in which a cluster of students share several classes each year that are taught by the same team of teachers over a period of 2-4 years; (3) each academy…

The literature on work placements in education and training courses and current Australian practice related to work placements was reviewed. The review focused on the school, university, and vocational education and training (VET) sectors. The following major issues were considered: lack of a common name and common body of literature; purposes of…

This document is intended to assist new and experienced vocational education teachers in the United Kingdom who are delivering General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) and vocational A-levels. The following are among the topics discussed in the guide's four sections: (1) developing an approach to vocational learning (establishing links…

This document is intended to assist health care organizations in designing and implementing a school-to-career (STC) initiative within their organization. Section 1 presents an overview of STC that discusses the following topics: skills needed by the health care industry's future workforce; the definition of STC; special needs of the health care…

This book examines the rhetoric surrounding the notion of informal learning in order to expand debate about the uses of informal learning in workplaces and about attempts to "recognize" it through competency-based standards. The following topics are among those discussed in the book's eight chapters: (1) the nature of informal learning…