Professional Development Engagement (PDE) is defined as "the level of undergraduate engagement in professional development." It reflects career-related work preparation for "life after college" and is a distinct externally-focused component of student engagement (SE). The increased college retention and subsequent job placement…

Comparison of the community integration of 60 mildly retarded former special school students and 60 nonretarded regular school students found that 77% of special school students were employed (60% in open employment) compared to 80% of regular students; and that 55% of regular students had married compared to 12% of special students. (DB)

This article describes a summer work experience program for seven blind rural high school students in Ohio, consisting of two weeks of work evaluation/adjustment and eight weeks of paid work experience using job coaches. Results indicated success in improving participants' understanding of work-related issues in general. (Author/PB)

Occupation-specific education in high school lowers the dropout rate and increases wages and employment when training-related jobs are obtained. Unfortunately, most vocational graduates lack such employment. State funding formulas for local vocational programs should be based on the school's success at job placement, not on recruitment for…

Discusses the Boston Compact, a 1982 agreement between Boston's business, governmental, and educational leaders to establish a system of priority hiring for high school graduates in return for the school system's assurance that it would improve education. Describes background and implementation since 1982, focusing on how well these goals have…

Information is provided concerning efforts to improve institutional arrangements for the transition from school to work of high school graduates. Half of all high school graduates move into the workforce, but the attention given this group is almost always in terms of whether they are academically and vocationally equipped before they leave…

The Training Opportunities Program (TOP) is an occupational project for New York City high school students. TOP trainees are placed in businesses and agencies with facilities, equipment, and human resources not available in the public schools. In 1983-84, the third year of the program's operation, TOP was funded to serve 2,000 students. An…

The report summarizes research collected in the Portland State University Transition Project which researched the impact of job-club-type training upon the school-to-work transition outcomes for mildly handicapped high school students. The project also examined reuse of job search skills in the search for leisure opportunities. The project…

Describes the grades 11-12 joint vocational program at an Ohio vocational school to illustrate the components in an educational matrix designed to meet the needs of all students. Programs include career development, assessment/evaluation, basic skills lab, occupational work adjustment, occupational work experience, and placement and followup. (CT)

A successful vocational education system will include the following: (1) close cooperation between industry and schools; (2) the ability to promise success and attract capable students; (3) enough flexibility to allow students to choose other options; (4) preparation for lifelong learning; and (5) assurance of equitable access to vocational…

The JOBSTART demonstration was carried out between August 1985 and October 1986 to gain information on effective ways to solve the problem of high unemployment rates and low skills levels of many high school dropouts. JOBSTART was targeted to disadvantaged high school dropouts, and provided them with basic educational and occupational skills…

The final report of the 3-year Valley Transitional School Project, serving Augusta, Staunton, and Waynesboro schools, all located in Augusta County, Virginia, contains information on the project accomplishments, population characteristics, evaluation activities, dissemination activities, replication, products developed, and conclusions and…

The "Bridges...From School to Work" project, funded at five sites by the Marriott Corporation, develops competitively paid internships for students with disabilities in their final year of high school. Of 762 students accepted by the program, 86% received internship placements, 82% completed their internships, and 75% were offered…

The Part-Time Jobs portion of the Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (AIDP) Program in New York City provided job-readiness training and job placements in an effort to motivate students to improve academic achievement and school attendance. Programs were implemented at schools with a student attendance rate at or below the citywide median…

The Connection, a 15-month demonstration program which provided educational and social services to high-risk adolescents at South High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is reviewed and evaluated in this report. The program, conducted through a collaborative effort between the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Public Schools, provided…