Pressing Forward: Increasing and Expanding Rigor and Relevance in America's High Schools is organized to place secondary education, specifically the goals of preparing young adults to be college and career ready, in contemporary perspective, emphasizing the changing global economy and trends in policy and practice. High school students must be…

The purpose of this study was to examine students enrolled at community colleges and universities in North Carolina about their perceptions of their college preparation experiences. The study specifically examined student perceptions as to the role that high school teachers, high school counselors, parents, and college admissions and recruiting…

"Learning Around the Clock: Benefits of Expanded Learning Opportunities for Older Youth" identifies and describes Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELOs) that improve academic performance, college and career preparation, social and emotional development, and health and wellness outcomes for underserved youth. The term "expanded learning…

In its second year, the Tech Savvy Girls Project adopted "Teen Second Life" as a platform for interest-driven learning and designed projects and objects around themes important to them and their futures as technology-using, creative people. By using the building tools in an open-ended virtual world, they were able to pursue interests common to…

A multivariate multiple regression analysis predicting the educational goal aspirations and expectations of 89 Mexican American high school students was examined based on Lent, Brown, and Hackett's (1994) Social Cognitive Career Theory and prior research findings with Mexican American samples. No gender or generational status differences were…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Urban Renewal: New Alliance Research Shows U.S. Urban Economy Will Grow By Billions of Dollars If High School Dropout…

"Career Development in the Schools" describes a dynamic process that continues to evolve in its rationale and practice. In many schools and in a variety of scholarly writings, the status of career development is controversial. Some observers assert that career development should be seen as a by-product of all of the knowledge and activities that…

This article provides an overview of the development and implementation of Career Connections, a specialized curriculum specifically designed to address existing gender and disability barriers, in addition to increasing self-awareness and building self-confidence. The Career Connections curriculum consisted of four modules: (1) Self-awareness; (2)…

The purpose of this study was to empirically test the hypothesis that students who participated in a contextualized, mathematics-enhanced high school agricultural power and technology curriculum and aligned instructional approach would not experience significant diminishment in acquisition of technical skills related to agricultural power and…

Offering a primer on action research methodologies and examples of practice, "Students in Transition: Research and Practice in Career Development" responds to a dual challenge facing career development educators--designing cutting-edge career development interventions and demonstrating their effectiveness. Overviews of quantitative and qualitative…

"High Schools That Work" (HSTW) is the oldest and largest of Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB's) several school improvement initiatives (which also include "Middle Schools That Work"). The central purpose of HSTW is to engage students so fully in their learning that they stay in school and complete a rigorous, relevant…

The research reported here was funded by the UK Department for Education and Skills to consider the influence of the school on the decision by young people to participate in learning on completion of compulsory schooling. A national sample of 24 schools across England participated in this study. Research methods included focus group interviews…

The purpose of Career Development in Higher Education is to provide a broad and in-depth look at the field of career development as it applies to individuals involved in higher education activities, in a variety of educational and vocational training settings. The book will examine some of the field's major themes, approaches and assumptions using…

This guide has been developed as a resource to be used by and with youth in grades 9-12 and beyond. It will help them consider the following questions: What am I good at? How do I know my options? Should I take a year off or apply for some post-secondary program? Structured around the newly designed High School Students tab on the Alberta Learning…

This issue brief explores effective educational models for serving English Language Learners (ELLs) in ways that build upon these students' assets and prepare them for college and careers. The brief derives from an AYPF field trip to Texas's Rio Grande Valley region. On May 6-8, 2009 AYPF led a group of national policy leaders on a fact-finding…