This collection of four papers addresses the choices that students, teachers, and school administrators make in regard to their education and career paths. They include: (1) "Understanding Entry into the Teaching Profession" (Eric A. Hanushek and Richard R. Pace), which analyzes the characteristics of teachers in public elementary and…

Two research reports provide results of two Ohio studies to investigate factors that influence a student not to enter a high school vocational curriculum. The studies focus on the Vanguard Joint Vocational School (JVS) and five feeder comprehensive high schools and the Lawrence County JVS and seven feeder comprehensive high schools. Both reports…

This study sought to determine and examine the barriers to student enrollment in vocational education programs, especially as they related to ethnic minority, economically disadvantaged, limited English proficient, handicapped, migrant, and female students, as perceived by students, parents, and vocational advisory committee members in the Yakima…

At the request of the Future Farmers of America (FFA), an analysis was conducted of reasons for a decline in membership in 1977-79 after a 40-year period of steady growth. Factors such as the vocational-agriculture teacher shortage, number of chartered FFA chapters, certification status of teachers, FFA membership costs, and contract length of…

A survey of part-time degree students in British postsecondary education looked at student attitudes, background, and resources and policies and practice related to recruitment and admission, curriculum and assessment, course structure, student facilities, and student support. (MSE)

The Public Relations section of the proceedings contains the following 11 selected papers: "If We Build It, Will They Come? Testing the Theory of Planned Behavior as a Predictive Model for Use in Determining How Career Counseling Centers Can Better Promote Their Facilities and Services" (Carolyn Ringer Lepre); "Student Preferences…

Reducing class size was considered an important element in a revised health course at Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania). However, reducing class size to approximately 15 students per class would require 38 sections, more than the health faculty could handle. To recruit additional instructors, the course was marketed to faculty and administrators…

A study examined the career aspirations of disadvantaged students enrolled in vocational education programs. During the first phase of the study, the researchers reviewed the literature pertaining to the phenomenon of job aspirations as it pertains to or explains the disproportionate enrollment of disadvantaged students in low-level programs.…

Factors that affect college students' choice of studies and implications for colleges and universities that are competing for the declining numbers of students were assessed. A student-selection process model, derived from the innovation-decision model, provides some insights into the choice process and indicates the likely limitations of the…

A sample of 2,564 black college students attending 19 predominantly white colleges in the south were surveyed to determine their attitudes and opinions about their institutions. The students were generally female, under 21 years of age, single, and enrolled full-time. The survey focused on four areas: campus life and activities, college choice,…

This "think piece" on ways to increase demand for learning in the United Kingdom is designed to stimulate debate among policy makers and managers in the new learning and skills sector. Section 1, on context, addresses these issues: low skill levels; delivering skills to employers; low adult participation; and negative attitudes. Section…

Nationally, Hispanics represent 3 percent of the teaching force and comprise nearly 10 percent of the population. Yet there appears to be little progress in the employment of minority, including Hispanic, teachers. This paper describes a survey administered to 605 high school seniors in Grand Rapids (Michigan) to determine attitudes of Hispanic…

This article describes the Jaime Escalante Math Program, a system that in 1989 helped an East Los Angeles high school set a record by administering over 450 Advanced Placement exams, having administered only 10 tests in 1978. The article is presented in three sections. The first section describes the program, discussing origins and backgrounds:…

Award-winning economic education projects devised by Alaska teachers included three elementary (K-6) projects and three second level (7-12) ones. Faith Greenough's students (Chinook Elementary School, Anchorage) compared Tlingit traditional and market economies in Alaska, so economics became an integrated part of elementary instruction. Marie…

A study examined the barriers to recruitment and retention of disadvantaged, unemployed, underemployed, and out-of-school youth as perceived by students, teachers, counselors, and administrators. To identify such students and barriers, researchers used the following data collection procedures: on-site interviews with 10 Florida area vocational…