The ability to evaluate and accurately articulate the outcomes associated with leadership development programs is critical to their continued financial and administrative support. With calls for outcome-based accountability, the need for rigorous evaluation is particularly relevant for those programs administered through the Cooperative Extension…

The authors report the results of a three-year longitudinal study of retention among undergraduate engineering students enrolled at four major universities. The study demonstrates that self-efficacy can be a critical factor in student persistence and can be broken down into three components: work, career, and academic self-efficacy. The authors…

Mark Van Doren, the noted literary scholar, once remarked, "The college is meaningless without a curriculum, but it is more so when it has one that is meaningless." Many current critics of undergraduate curricula in America assent to the crucial need for programmatic renewal in our colleges and universities. They bemoan the cookie-cutter…

Virginia's SHARP logger program is a Cooperative Extension program currently providing training to over 1,500 loggers, foresters, and others. We conducted a mail survey of SHARP loggers to characterize program participants, assess programming needs, and evaluate program effectiveness. Results indicate a diverse group of participants in terms of…

Nearly a score of years ago a group of men and women, vitally interested in carrying into effect some plan by means of which people in the Old Dominion would realize the necessity for a wider democracy in education, met in Richmond, Virginia. Then it was that the germ of the Cooperative Education Association came into existence, and the following…

Virginia's community colleges could easily be more closely linked to the economic and industrial development upgrade occurring through the Commonwealth. The colleges' educational partnership programs, which have recently been stimulated by government encouragement and intercollegiate cooperation, are ready-made facets of industrial training and…

To improve cooperative programs by selecting qualified students, Manchester High School in Chesterfield County, Virginia, uses teamwork in the form of a screening committee consisting of the principal, assistant principals, program coordinators, and guidance counselors to review student applications, examine student records, and interview the…

This guide presents a systematic approach to developing competencies that will enable teacher-coordinators to meet effectively the occupational needs of students and to provide a source of well-trained individuals for business and office occupations. The guide consists of ten competency-based instructional modules which outline procedures for…

A vocational agriculture instructor describes the Agricultural Cooperative Training (ACT) program at Nottoway (Virginia) Senior High School for on-the-job training in agribusiness and agricultural production. Especially important are student and site selection, ACT guidelines, a parent-student-employer-school written agreement, and the student…

A study investigated the feasibility and advisability of restructuring Virginia public vocational education programs to provide blocks of time larger than those traditionally provided for on-the-job, cooperative, and apprenticeship training. Data were collected through a review of research and of education-work models; telephone and personal…

This manual provides background information and guidelines for teachers who develop and implement cooperative education programs in Virginia. It includes both the Virginia guidelines for operation of cooperative education programs and training materials for cooperative education teacher-coordinators. The guide contains 15 sections that cover the…

This guide provides an overview and a curriculum for the Education for Employment (EFE) program, which prepares students in targeted populations for independent living and productive careers. The courses encourage students to engage in activities that allow them to blend their academic and vocational studies and employment experiences to solve…

Designed for students participating in the cooperative education program at Tidewater Community College (Virginia Beach Campus), this handbook includes the following information and guidelines: the philosophy of the college and the broad objectives of its cooperative education program; specific student, employer, and college objectives; a…

This guide was developed for use in implementing a secondary or postsecondary program to prepare workers in the field of child care services in Virginia. The program uses the career ladder concept and meets the criteria for tech prep programs in the state. The guide is organized in eight sections. Section 1 contains a career ladder chart, program…

This resource list identifies 151 instructional products and guides to help teachers plan Education for Employment programs and facilitate student learning. The resources listed are drawn from publishers and various state and professional curriculum centers. Each listing includes a brief description of the resource, publisher, item order number,…