Action-learning, activities designed to give students the opportunity to acquire and apply knowledge in practical situations and to learn via participation, is a popular concept aimed at restoring relevancy to the public schools. Vocational and occupational curriculum, experience-based academic programs, and various volunteer and career education opportunities are all considered types of action-learning programs. Although there are shortcomings and problems involved in instituting action-learning programs, public school districts (especially in large urban areas) are devoting considerable effort and resources in the area of experiential learning. The Urban Education Studies (UES), in an effort to identify and examine successful action-learning programs in the urban setting, surveyed 29 large school districts and made on-site visits to five of these districts. Based on the UES findings, eight major trends in action-learning projects were identified. After summarizing the findings, the following generalizations were made: past experience in traditional vocational and occupational programs has been extended to a diverse and broad spectrum of career opportunities; the objectives of action-learning programs are such that the community, students, industry and business are able to identify and support them; and the inclusion of personnel with practical work experience and the availability of resources provide new dimensions and the flexibility required by the action-learning programs. However, the evaluation of action-learning programs is not matching the speed of innovation of new curriculum. (BM)