A stocktake of issues and activities in vocational education and training in schools through the perspectives of the published literature and policy documentation between 1997 and 2003 is the subject of this report. It identifies progress made and concludes that vocational programs in schools are meeting expectations and have achieved a legitimate place in the school curriculum, but that several implementation issues remain. Specific key findings are: (1) As VET in Schools has evolved, early concerns about its value have been addressed and it has achieved a legitimate place in the school curriculum for senior year students in Years 10, 11 and 12. Earlier research had found that, in many schools, VET programs were of low status and seen as a "soft" option. However, a major recent study reports a "sea change" in cultural attitudes within schools, although industry acceptance of these programs remains an issue; (2) Research undertaken towards the end of the timeframe considered by this project and focused on short-term outcomes, suggests that school VET is helping students to move on to work or to post-school VET at higher qualification levels, and that structured workplace learning is a key mechanism for achieving this. It is of concern, therefore, that the amount of real work experience is diminishing per student in VET in Schools programs; (3) While a range of personal and social benefits of school VET programs have been identified by students and their teachers--such as improved student motivation and confidence and reduced absenteeism from school--the emerging outcomes data suggest that VET in Schools programs apparently have not kept more young people at school. Rather, they have made school more attractive for those students already planning to continue their studies; and (4) The literature also makes it clear that the practicalities of implementing VET in Schools programs, including the structured workplace learning components, remain major obstacles that are poorly understood by policy-makers and system-level managers. (Contains 2 tables.) [This research was funded through the Australian Department of Education, Science and Training. The author/project team was funded to undertake this research via a grant under the National Vocational Education and Training Research and Evaluation (NVETRE) Program.]