Federal legislation has driven and been receptive to the vision of a rigorous, relevant career and technical education (CTE) system integrated with academics and aligned across middle school, secondary school, and postsecondary education. This article uses a social policy analysis approach to trace the history of federal CTE policy throughout the…

The 2013 edition of the "Digest of Education Statistics" is the 49th in a series of publications initiated in 1962. The Digest has been issued annually except for combined editions for the years 1977-78, 1983-84, and 1985-86. Its primary purpose is to provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American…

Discusses the background and purpose of 1994's School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA). Focuses on the implementation of STWOA's three components (i.e., school-based learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities), highlighting the role of tech prep in joining school- and work-based instruction. Argues that community colleges are…

The School to Work Opportunities Act is a comprehensive approach to work-based learning through integrating academic and vocational education, integrating school- and work-based learning, and linking secondary and postsecondary education. The most critical challenge is finding enough employers to provide workplace experiences for students. (SK)

Three pieces of education legislation that the federal government enacted in 1994 are interlocking and designed to support a systemic approach to state and local educational improvement. The Goals 2000: Educate America Act, School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA), and Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) offer an opportunity to move from a…

Focusing on the role of community colleges in implementing the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, the 12 essays in this volume describe strategies and practices developed by colleges to address the provisions of the Act and help develop a global workforce. The following articles are provided: "Assessing the Community College Role in…

Signed into law in May 1994, the School-to-Work Opportunities (STWO) Act provides states and communities with funds to develop systems that connect academic knowledge with technical skills and workplace competencies. The Act links the Goals 2000: Educate America Act with workforce and economic development and is designed to help the nation prepare…

Congress is working to complete legislation to create block grant funding for work force development. Nearly 100 vocational education, job training, adult education, and other work force education programs that previously were separately funded will compete for the reduced funding available. The Carl D. Perkins Act of 1990 and School-to-Work…

The article reveals philosophical, social, and practical difficulties with ongoing governmental policy in vocational education, focusing on the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, which is designed to construct a national transition system administered at state and local levels. Alternative approaches are suggested. (SM)

The School-to-Work Opportunities Act broadens the meaning of curriculum by calling for integrated learning organized into coherent sequences around broadly conceived career majors. Work experience, as well as academic and occupational study, is an assumed element of the integrated school-to-work curriculum. A variety of strategies for curriculum…

A study obtained early information on the effects of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994 on states' efforts to develop and implement effective systems of school-to-work transition. Systems in eight states were studied: California, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. State leaders understood the need…

In 1994, Alaska began the process of using its grant funds from the National School-to-Work Opportunities Act to design a school-to-work system to meet the following objectives: obtain commitment and involvement from Alaska's governor and officials involved in human resource development; develop an implementation plan for a statewide system to…

The challenge of preparing young people for employment and facilitating the smooth transition from school to work has spurred the enactment of the federal School-to-Work Opportunities Act (STWOA), in May 1994. The intent of STWOA is to establish a national framework in which states can create work- and school-based learning systems that include…

This paper presents an argument supported by evidence that the positive effects of education reform legislation take time to accumulate, and, given time, have the power to bring about improvement. Specifically, the course-taking patterns in mathematics of CTE students in the years following the 1990 Perkins II Act and 1994 School-to- Work…

An inventory of business-linked charter schools operating in the United States was developed. The data collection methods used to develop the inventory were as follows: soliciting nominations from key contacts in each state having charter school legislation; comparing the nominations with lists of charter schools from selected state education…