What research is most useful for people involved in school reform? At NCRVE, we hear that educators learn best from real-life, successful programs. Our researchers regularly produce case studies on programs on the cutting edge of current reforms. Presented here are excerpts from recent reports on cooperative education, career guidance and special populations programs, work-based learning programs, and seminars linking school-based and work-based learning.
Following each excerpt is a short description of the document.
How best to prepare for work? Historically, work itself was the only way of preparing for work-at a father's right hand, near a mother's knee, in apprenticeship programs both formal and informal, or through on-the-job training. But these methods have their own limitations and politics: they may not be effective for complex occupations, they often limit the range of occupations an individual can consider, and-particularly as the pressures of profit-making have taken over, in the long decline of apprenticeship during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries-they may be more exploitative than nurturing. And so school-based preparation has gradually taken over from work-based preparation, both in the specific sense that professional and occupational education prepares individuals for employment, and in the more general sense that a great deal of schooling is justified by its value in employment.
But not without a sense of loss: The view that school-based preparation is inadequate-too "academic," too removed from the realities of work-has persisted throughout this century. . . The most recent renewal of interest is the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, which provides federal seed money for school-to-work programs incorporating school-based learning, work-based learning, and connecting activities to make the two consistent with each other.
This report studies the co-op seminars developed as part of the Cooperative Education Program at LaGuardia Community College in New York City. These seminars, taken by students while they are in co-op placements, "are intended to raise general issues about work, about occupations in general, and about the competencies required on the job."
[Among the less tangible elements in schools and institutions with outstanding programs is a strong belief in students' abilities.] First and foremost, personnel involved in excellent programs are caring people who advocate for students and believe in their innate abilities. Teachers, staff, administrators, and employers all assume students are capable, and take pride in their abilities, strengths, and successes. They never or rarely discuss their students' limitations or failures with us. Rather, they talk about their students' successes and how they have overcome their problems. Teachers involved with the program sometimes admit that they have been convinced of the program's merits. These teachers are the ones who encourage reluctant colleagues to accept students with special needs into their classrooms. One teacher confessed his resistance to accepting students and/or participating in the program until he was finally persuaded into allowing a student with a learning disability into his class. That student became his star pupil. Currently, the teacher enjoys telling other faculty about his shortsightedness and the great rewards of working with students with special learning needs.
This report discusses twenty key components shared by exemplary vocational special populations programs, from administrative leadership and support to program evaluation, integrated academic/vocational curriculum, instructional support services, and work experience opportunities. Profiles of model programs show how success occurs in a variety of settings and backgrounds.
Interest in school-to-work programs combining school-based learning and work-based learning has expanded substantially in the past few years, particularly with the passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994. However, there are relatively few examples or models of school-to-work programs in this country from which individuals attempting to develop new programs might learn... This paper describes a naturally occurring "experiment" in work-based learning that is quite long-lived and widespread: the cooperative education programs that take place in the two-year colleges of the Cincinnati, Ohio areas... The results provide a variety of lessons for others attempting to develop school-to-work programs...
There was considerable agreement that gaining skills and becoming familiar with work was the most valuable benefit of co-op. Students, employers, and education coordinators agreed as well that it is useful for students to get out of their school environments in order to put their learning in context:
"It's something other than sitting in a classroom or even in a lab, it's the real world. You drew it, you just put it together and it still doesn't work. But we're on a deadline, we've got to have this done because we've got a customer that's screaming for it, you know. So here is the real world."
This report discusses conditions crucial to exemplary co-op programs, including a "high-quality equilibrium" of students and work experiences, sustained by the close working relationships of employers and schools. Also explored are challenges such as equitable access, and the split between employers with educational motives and those who see co-op students as short-term labor.
What do school counselors do?
What should they be doing?
Why are they criticized so frequently?
These and similar questions have challenged school counselors for some time... When schools fail to clearly define the counselor's role, school administrators, parents with special interests, teachers, or others may feel their agenda ought to be the guidance program's priority. The results often lead to confusion and criticism. Furthermore, the changing terminology concerning the guidance program exacerbates the situation. Traditionally, the guidance program was considered an ancillary student service isolated from the instructional program and designed primarily to encourage students to attend college. Much of the counselor's work was reactive and crisis-oriented. Today, there is general agreement that the guidance program... refers to a comprehensive, developmental program designed to benefit all students in their journey through school and in preparation for the future. The program is designed to address the developmental needs of students appropriate to their age group (i.e., elementary, middle, secondary, or postsecondary).
The full report contains information about three secondary schools striving to build comprehensive, integrated career guidance and counseling programs. A section describing the National Career Development Guidelines is also presented.