An effective system of education and training is important for both social and economic reasons. Its role in the Polish economy is to provide the current and future labour force with skills to facilitate both continuing productivity growth and reallocation of resources as structural adjustment proceeds. Important reforms to decentralise primary…

A representative survey of over 30,000 people aged 16-64 years across the 15 member states of the European Union and Norway sought Europeans' preferences for increasing or reducing the number of hours worked per week. Key finding included the following: (1) 51% preferred to work fewer hours in exchange for lower earnings while 12% preferred to…

Of the 400,000 graduates in the United Kingdom in 1998, more than 200,000 had first degrees and the others had undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications. More than one in three graduates had already undertaken paid work while still in school (primarily in the service sector). The demand for graduates among the traditional recruiters and reports…

This book contains 10 papers about developing a systematic approach to the school-to-work transition in Europe and the United States; the role of training and formal qualifications; and unemployment and social inequality. The following papers are included: "Understanding the School-to-Work Transition--An Introduction" (Thomas Lange);…

Examination of data concerning such topics as enrollment in nontraditional vocational programs and comparative earnings of male and female vocational graduates indicates that efforts to reduce sex bias and sex role stereotyping in Michigan's secondary vocational programs have resulted in increased attention to the issue at the local level. Such…

This study used data for a representative sample of 8th graders from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988. The intent was to (1) compare student's dropout status with variables such as demographics, academic and economic factors, limited English proficiency status, and other risk factors of dropping out, (2) distinguish factors…

The impacts of the adult basic education and training (ABET) courses offered by the Centre for Adult and Continuing Education (CACE) in South Africa's Northern Cape Province were examined. Data were collected through questionnaires, open-ended and semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis. Of the 221 students enrolled in the…

Alaska's State Training and Employment Program (STEP) was designed with the primary objective of reducing current and future claims against Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits by providing training to those who are unemployed or facing unemployment. STEP is also charged with fostering growth of existing businesses and attracting new businesses to…

The question of whether graduates of Australia's technical and further education (TAFE) programs are getting what they want from training was examined. A market segmentation approach was used to analyze data from the 2001 Student Outcomes Survey (SOS). The market segments analyzed covered 93% of TAFE graduates surveyed in the 2001 SOS. The…

After more than three decades of development and two decades of evaluation, career academies have been found to be effective in improving the performance of students in high school, particularly for students at greatest risk. Career academies have become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy that includes…

A Canadian study of the school-to-work transition followed students enrolled in grade 11 in 1990 (n=177), 1992 (n=172), and 1994 (n=347) in Seven Oaks School Division's three high schools. Based largely on questions from the Statistics Canada (SC) School Leavers Survey and SC Graduates Study (1997), the telephone survey focused on these elements:…

There is a strong and growing argument for higher educational attainment in the United States. The jobs that are expected to support the economy in the coming years will depend on a skilled workforce that is able to learn and adapt quickly to new challenges. However, demographic patterns demonstrate that relying on the traditional K-16 pipeline to…

Data from the U.S. Census and more limited surveys aimed at specific artist occupations were used to profile the employment and earnings of four groups of artists in 1970-1990: authors, artists who work with their hands, performing artists, and architects and designers. The following items were examined: evidence of multiple job holding;…

This overview paper highlights implications of keynote papers and discussion at the first National Issues Forum held by the Research Center for Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Australia. It discusses evidence that the school-to-work (STW) transition is a problem for an increasing number of young people and why. It outlines the…

Presents statistics on a variety of subjects related to blacks in higher education: (1) survey statistics from the 25 highest-ranked national colleges and universities; (2) effects of actions of the mass media; (3) influence of intact families on black higher education; (4) how affirmative action encourages blacks to attend college; and (5) black…