Youth apprenticeship programs differ from the registered apprenticeship that is regulated by federal and state governments. Defined as a "learning program for young people, age 16 and older, that integrates on-the-job training with school-based instruction, that bridges high school and postsecondary schooling, and that results in both academic…

The terms "learning communities" and "communities of practice" are being used with increasing frequency to describe the phenomenon of groups (communities) of individuals learning together. Theories focusing on the social nature of cognition and meaning, as opposed to those focusing on individual learning, are stressed. In works…