In a survey of 242 seventh and eighth grade students ranking highest (129) and lowest (113) in occupational attitudes and abilities, those who believe a variety of careers possible have high self-esteem, middle to high socioeconomic status (SES), cognitive vocational complexity, and are mostly female. Those doubtful of their career potential have…

A study examined how older employees themselves assess the effects of age on their learning at work and job competence and how older workers rate the importance of different aspects of competence. Then the study compared the results of the first two questions by looking at the subjective age-effect ratings on competence aspects of various…

A study charted family, school, workplace, and community experiences that are relevant to the vocational development of high school students, focusing on five areas of influence: allowance practices within the family, economic status, paid work experience, volunteerism, and gender differences. The data were from the "Youth Development…

A research study examined differences in cooperative education work activities and situations as varied with the students' experience and career maturity. Experience was indicated by the number of prior work placements; occupational maturity was defined in terms of values, future plans and expectations, and scores on an inventory of career…

Twelve construction cluster skill standards and associated benchmarks were developed as part of a federally funded school-to-work initiative that included the following parties: the Chicago Public Schools; City Colleges of Chicago; and business, labor, and community organizations. The standards, which include core academic, generic workplace…