The successes of six handicapped adults are related; the incidence of disability and the problems of employment are presented. Methods of organizing to promote job opportunities are explained, and the following major projects for volunteer committees are reviewed in terms of the current state of affairs and what can be done: projects on…

Written both for the college-educated housewife who, through reading and community work, has kept her mind alert and who now seeks challenging employment suitable to her education, and for the employer who is seeking dedicated, enthusiastic personnel with growth potential, the book encourages adoption of new employment patterns of flexible work…

In an effort to reevaluate employment preparation in community college curricula, a review of recent research was conducted to identify the most valued skills in today's workforce. Among the abilities desired by today's employers are: (1) knowing how to learn; (2) competence in reading, writing, and computation; (3) effective listening and oral…

A study evaluated the Kentucky statewide school-to-work (STW) system through surveys of 633 K-12 teachers, phone interviews with 395 employer-participants in STW activities, and 328 randomly drawn employers. Data analysis identified six themes relevant to improving and sustaining STW: (1) working toward bringing program implementation to scale at…

The 16 chapters in this five-part book, each by different authors, trace the effects of welfare reform (mandated by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996), upon poor people in rural areas of the United States. The book begins with an introduction called "As the Dust Settles: Welfare Reform and Rural…

A research study in Australia examined the nature, extent, and methods of workplace learning for school students. Following a literature review that found that the proportion of school students who work part-time is increasing but that there is relatively little research on the learning outcomes of either work experience or work placements,…

A survey of 144 New Zealand employers of business administration graduates found the respondents did not believe business graduates and their educational institutions were performing at the level employers desire. Results indicate institutions should concentrate on incorporating employer-desired content into courses, maintaining communication with…

Responsibility for the declining quality of the work force is evenly distributed among managers, schools, students, and the government. What is required is a new publicly sponsored partnership linking the nation's enterprises, schools, and workers. Primary responsibility for improving the quality of the work force lies with the enterprise. The…

In August 1993, a third-party evaluator examined tech prep system development and implementation in Texas public schools and institutions of higher education. The second year of the evaluation focused on the following aspects of Texas' tech prep system: current status of statewide implementation, secondary school counseling, professional…

Fitchburg State College (Massachusetts), a comprehensive public college, initiated restructuring using Total Quality Management (TQM) techniques in December 1992. The effort's mission was to increase communication, to identify barriers to defined goals and service to students, and to find ways to overcome those barriers. Two surveys followed the…

A study examined the history, practice, and quality of cooperative education (CE) in two-year colleges in and around Cincinnati, Ohio. CE proved to be firmly ingrained and widespread in Cincinnati. The most common model of CE found in Cincinnati was the "alternating" model, wherein students complete 2-6 cycles of attending school for…

The Maryland Higher Education Commission surveyed more than 2,500 employers in the state to learn what programs at various degree levels were desired by employers. The results were examined along with labor market data about the projected number of job openings in specific occupational areas. It was concluded that nearly 60 percent of job openings…

A qualitative case study approach was used to identify the psychosocial effects of the high-fidelity, virtual reality simulation provided in the college-level air traffic control (ATC) training program offered at the Minnesota Air Traffic Control Training Center and to evaluate the applicability of virtual reality to academic/training situations.…

In an overall plan to assess institutional effectiveness, Johnson County Community College (JCCC) in Kansas conducts annual follow-up studies of students who completed career programs during the previous academic year, and also surveys employers of those completers. In fall 1993, surveys were mailed to 768 career program completers, including…

In 1991, the Task Force on Cooperative Education undertook a study regarding improvement of the cooperative education (CE) system in the United States. The first stage of the project entailed a mail survey of approximately 1,300 selected cooperative and professional educators, cooperative employees, and university state councils to determine…