Education's central challenge is to prepare learners for contributory and satisfying lives in a global economy in which they are productive enough for the nation to be globally competitive. Being globally competitive means that the benefits of foreign trade accrue to all on the basis of each country's pursuing its comparative advantages intelligently. This is related to the integration of academic and vocational education, because human productivity depends on what one does (vocational) with what one knows (academic). The nature of changes need to be examined and rethought with a global perspective to allow for an intelligent response. The basic restructuring of the world indicated by trend shifts will not leave untouched the system that prepares people to produce within it. Learners must be taught transferable skills or processes to deal with resources, people, information, systems, and technology with a foundation of basic skills, thinking skills, and personal qualities. This lays the philosophical groundwork for another global view of vocational-academic integration--how it can serve as the foundation for the reform and restructuring of education. This reform is based on the meaningful restoration of the natural connection of academic concepts and vocational applications from the real world into the educational setting. The effect of such reform would be promotion of learning for all. Such an effort would involve partnership of business and industry with education. (YLB)