The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to determine the value and expectations for student participation in supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs, as expressed by first-year, agricultural education teachers in Oklahoma who were alternatively certified. This study revealed that teachers in this study value the fact that…

Student Learning Communities (SLCs) for high school and college students with disabilities interested in pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees were piloted at a major Midwestern university from 2009 to 2011. Students participated in a series of weekly sessions and/or a residential campus experience as part of a…

Drawing from the contributions of vocational psychology, this study examined school engagement as a mediator of academic performance through the effects of career preparation (career planning, career decision-making self-efficacy), parental career support, and teacher support among diverse urban youth in middle school and high school (N = 285).…

The disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have experienced problems in producing adequate numbers of graduates to meet workforce needs in these fields. Although entrance into the STEM fields has grown, this growth is not keeping pace with the overall needs of the labor market. Better understanding of the important…

Forty-one states have adopted the Common Core State Standards. Now, implementing the Standards--to realize their purpose of increasing the college and career readiness of high school graduates--takes on primary importance. This transition to implementation introduces a number of challenging questions: What is the baseline of student performance on…

The intent of this study was to identify the needs and preference of high-achieving high school students. In terms of career related programs in high school, students listed AP courses and mentoring as their preferred career-related programs. Also, students stated that career guidance by counselors, workshops or sessions, and tech prep were the…

Equipping youth with and without disabilities for the world of work has been the focus of ongoing legislative and policy initiatives. The authors examined the extent to which career development and vocational activities were available to and accessed by youth with severe disabilities or emotional and behavioral disorders attending 34 urban,…

More schools are designing intellectually demanding career/technical (CT) courses--aligned with 21st-century requirements--to prepare students for further study, advanced training and work. They are using effective leadership, embedding essential college-readiness standards into CT courses, making CT courses more intellectually challenging, using…

Based on NAEP data, many adolescents may not be adequately prepared for postsecondary education. This is a Year Five report from a seven-year longitudinal study of a student cohort starting in sixth grade year (n = 50). It uses a quasi-experimental design, and collects data from surveys, interviews, and reflective statements to evaluate mentoring…

The work value system, its development, and its relationship with work experiences can be modeled as an adaptive control system [Ford, D. H., & Lerner, R. M. (1992). "Developmental systems theory: An integrative approach". Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications]. This study employed longitudinal data from 1000 participants (Youth Development Study;…

REL Pacific at McREL, 1 of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), serves educators in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Guam, Hawai'i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic…

The need for new forms of schooling with a learner-centered focus underlies the urgency to retool and enhance the systems that are used to leverage improvements in teaching and learning. In order to transform education at this most fundamental level, policy leaders and educators must focus on crafting integrated systems for defining and developing…

College and career readiness offers a distinct purpose to the high school experience. This experience must provide a variety of options with a clear focus on fruitful opportunities for success. Meaningful citizenship in any learning community demands that all students participate in a pathway of sequenced, practical, related classes and achieve…

The formation of future occupational expectations is a critical career-development task for adolescents that has a significant impact on adult occupational attainment. However, sociopolitical barriers constrain the occupational expectations and attainment of poor youth of color. Extant research has suggested that sociopolitical development, the…

This qualitative study examined the educational and career plans of a sample of urban minority high school students who voluntarily participated in a dual enrollment program at a private, technology-based community college in a metropolitan center in the northeastern United States. This program allows students to take college courses in science,…