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Research literature, perceptions of best practices, and the wisdom of practitioners and leaders in the field were examined in order to focus on career development issues affecting secondary schools, including: (1) clarification of career development terms; (2) delivery of career development programs; (3) resources that support program development and improvement; and (4) evidence of program effectiveness, including model programs. Evidence is mounting that an effective means of addressing all these issues may be a comprehensive guidance program that includes a strong career development component. Practical research-based programs have begun to produce information that educators can use to understand and adopt such programs. The literature suggests that emphasis on career development may strengthen in the future and that multiple useful resources are available to implement and improve career development programs. (The paper contains 25 references.) (KC)

This publication provides information about the 1998 exemplary career guidance and counseling programs named by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Research in Vocational Education. An introduction describes the search for excellent career development programs and lists components of exemplary programs. The next section summarizes the main program features of the four recipients of the 1998 Exemplary Career Guidance and Counseling Program Award. Each exemplary program profile includes the program contact information, number and educational level of students served, list of curriculum materials (when available), a brief description, and program evaluation. The career development activities are listed according to grade level, if applicable, followed by a short explanation. The programs are as follows: Dorchester (South Carolina) District Two Career Development Initiatives; La Crosse (Wisconsin) Central High School Guidance/Career Center; Lewis and Clark Community College Career and Employment Services (Illinois); and Rich South High School: Horizon Program (Illinois). Appendixes contain the following: sample copy of the application form for the exemplary career guidance and counseling program search; description of the three 1998 Honorable Mention programs identified through the search; and a directory of 19 past winners of the search. Contains 13 references. (YLB)

A purposeful sample of four comprehensive urban high schools involved in educational restructuring initiatives was analyzed to determine how each site has implemented educational restructuring efforts and how vocational education fits into those restructuring efforts. The four sites studied were as follows: Bryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska; Humboldt Secondary Complex in St. Paul, Minnesota; Mayfield High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico; and West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. The sites were selected on the basis of four criteria: membership in the Urban Schools Network; presence of regular and vocational offerings; presence of school-restructuring activities; and interest in participation. Data were collected through the following methods: onsite observations; interviews with key stakeholders (teachers, students, parents, administrators, employers, and others); and review of pertinent documents and records. At three sites, economic viability appeared to be the primary motive for restructuring. Societal equality appeared to be the primary motive for restructuring at the fourth site. No school had addressed the need to evaluate the impact and outcomes associated with restructuring. Vocational education's involvement was related to the following: infusion of Perkins funding, development of integrated courses, tech prep, school-to-work activities, career academies, and the implementation of a career planning portfolio program for all students. (Contains 10 references.) (MN)

This handbook highlights six exemplary career guidance and counseling programs identified through a nationwide search in 1996. The programs can serve as models for schools in responding to the career development needs of the growing diverse student population. The handbook is organized into four chapters. Chapter 1 provides background information about the search for outstanding programs. The criteria used in determining the exemplary programs are explained in chapter 2. A description of each recognized program, with the name, phone number, and address of a contact person are presented in chapter 3. The following programs are described: (1) Area Vocational Guidance and Counseling Program (Elgin, North Dakota); (2) Career and Technology Education Guidance and Counseling Program (Haltom City, Texas); (3) Flambeau Career Guidance and Counseling Program (Tony, Wisconsin); (4) School-Wide Counseling Program to Support Tech Prep (Elk Grove, Illinois); (5) Shared Counselor Partnership Program (Houston, Texas); and (6) Van Buren Intermediate School District's Comprehensive Career Guidance Program (Lawrence, Michigan). The concluding chapter contains practical suggestions from program coordinators for effective program design and implementation. Abstracts of the 1995 and 1996 exemplary programs are appended. The handbook also contains a program rating form and a list of eight references. (KC)

This document presents nine exemplary career guidance and counseling programs identified by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education's Office of Student Services. Chapter 1 presents a synthesis of the nationally recognized career guidance programs successful in assisting students in their career development. It provides a background of the search process and a synthesis of these three clusters of program components: career guidance and counseling program plan; collaboration, articulation, and communication efforts; and institutional support, leadership, and program evaluation. Chapters 2 and 3 provide a description of each program and gives the name, phone number, and address of a contact person. Chapter 2 describes these secondary programs: Career and Technology Education Guidance and Counseling Program, Garland Independent School District, Texas; Career and Technology Education Career Guidance and Counseling Program, Katy Independent School District, Texas; Career Guidance and Counseling Program, Caddo-Kiowa Vocational-Technical Center, Oklahoma; Project Soar, Metro Tech, Oklahoma; and Springdale High School's Career Guidance and Counseling Program, Springdale Public Schools, Arkansas. Chapter 3 describes these postsecondary programs: Career Development Center, California; JOBS Program--OWLS (Older, Wiser, Learning Students), Oklahoma; The Pathway Program, Florida; and Student Services/Counseling Program, Washington. The bulk of the document contains the programs' applications for recognition. Each application describes the following: program abstract, program operation, typical day, and the three clusters of components of exemplary programs. (YLB)

This document, which is intended for high school student services personnel, administrators, and teachers, presents information that can be used to develop an efficient, coordinated, and comprehensive student services system to address the needs of diverse student populations. Chapter 1 contains background information on the following topics: definition of the term "student services"; nature, scope, and objectives of student services at the postsecondary level; and need for and models of student services programs at the secondary level. Described in chapter 2 are the following types of services considered essential to facilitating student success: basic services (counseling, food services, child care, transportation, special accommodations, safety and security, medical/nursing services, social work/social services, psychological services); preenrollment (recruitment/outreach, student assessment, orientation, career awareness/exploration); enrollment (student assessment, academic advising, career awareness/exploration, career planning, tutoring, mentoring; job placement/referral); and postenrollment (job placement, job referral, follow-up/evaluation). The components of a comprehensive student services system are detailed in chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents guidelines for developing a student services team to coordinate service development/delivery. Concluding the document is a summary in which the National Center for Research in Vocational Education's student services model is outlined. Sixty-five references are included. Appended is a sample individualized career plan. (MN)

No single comprehensive student services delivery model exists, and "student services" terminology remains problematic. The Office of Student Services has defined student services as those services provided by educational institutions to facilitate learning and the successful transition from school to work, military, or more education. To be effective, services must be drawn from all the resources of the school and community, available to all students, provided on an individual basis as needed, and coordinated to ensure that all students receive the necessary services. In addition to the basic services that have been deemed essential to facilitating student success (including counseling, food, child care, transportation, special accommodations, safety/security, medical/nursing, social work/social, and psychological services), various services are essential to facilitating students' success at the following stages of their secondary school lives: before enrollment (recruitment/outreach, assessment, orientation, career exploration/awareness); during enrollment (assessment, academic advising, career awareness/exploration/planning, tutoring, mentoring, job placement/referral); and post enrollment (job placement/referral, follow-up/evaluation). Although there is no single "best" approach to providing essential student services effectively, professionals specializing in providing the various types of services can form teams and observe eight basic guidelines for building a student services system. (MN)

This monograph synthesizes information gathered during pilot tests and presents material relevant to developing and implementing a comprehensive career development program. It provides valuable information for those wishing to improve their career guidance and counseling programs. Discussed in chapter 1 are the following topics: the role of continuous and sequential career awareness, exploration, and placement/follow-through adjustment activities in development of students' career identities; school counselors' role in helping students develop career identities and the need to free counselors from administrative support duties; and challenges posed by increasingly diverse student populations. Chapter 2 outlines a framework using clusters of components pertaining to the following aspects of program delivery/support to identify exemplary guidance programs serving diverse populations: delivery of career guidance programs, collaboration and articulation efforts, and institutional leadership and support given to the career guidance and counseling program. Described in chapter 3 are efforts at the following schools to build comprehensive, integrated career guidance and counseling programs: Springdale High School in Springdale, Arkansas; Metro Tech, a vocational school in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Bryan High School in Omaha, Nebraska. Chapter 4 discusses the national Career Development Guidelines, which served as a catalyst for improving career guidance programs at the three schools. Chapters 1 and 2 contain a total of 23 references. Appended is a schematic depicting a school-to-work model for tech prep. (MN)

This document is designed to help local and state educators improve their vocational education accountability systems, as mandated by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. The handbook is organized in three parts. Part I focuses on measuring the success of programs serving students who are members of special populations and improving programs that do not meet the established standards. It offers guidelines on how to enact a single, comprehensive accountability system that satisfies the requirements of the Perkins Act. Part I also contains a discussion of incentives within accountability systems that are designed to encourage service to targeted groups or students with special needs. In addition, Part I provides examples of how a secondary and postsecondary accountability system are implemented and presents activities prescribed under the Perkins Act for improving the education of all students including those from special populations. Part II provides examples of performance measures and standards that were adapted from selected states' accountability systems. Part III presents definitions of relevant terms taken from the Perkins Act Final Regulations and suggested operational definitions gleaned from some statewide accountability systems. Selected sections from a high school performance evaluation system and from the Minnesota State Board of Technical Colleges Accountability System are appended. Contains 19 references. (KC)

The National Center for Research in Vocational Education has developed a framework for identifying exemplary career guidance and counseling programs. The framework, which is to be tested at selected pilot sites during 1994, is designed for use in evaluating secondary- and postsecondary-level guidance and counseling programs targeting one or more of the following populations: educationally or economically disadvantaged individuals, disabled individuals, students with limited English proficiency, participants in programs designed to eliminate sex bias, and persons in correctional institutions. The proposed framework consists of the following clusters of program components: (1) institutional support, leadership, and program evaluation (facilities, financial support, guidance personnel qualifications, professional development, program evaluation, and follow-up of program completers and noncompleters); (2) career guidance and counseling program plan (assisting students/clients in self-assessment, educational/occupational exploration, and lifelong career planning; addressing needs of diverse student populations; program support services; and career information delivery systems); and (3) collaboration, articulation, and communication (family/parental, faculty/staff, and student involvement; agency collaboration; and collaboration with business). (MN)

This brief describes new requirements for vocational education program improvement and evaluation mandated by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990. Recommendations to enhance the impact of program improvement and evaluation activities are included. The first two sections discuss developing new state accountability systems and improving programs through annual evaluation, local program improvement plans, and joint program improvement plans. The third section addresses ensuring increased achievement for special populations through the following methods: encouraging efforts to serve special populations; using more than the minimum number of measures; evaluating access, learning, and labor market outcomes; selecting measures that assess change over time; and selecting measures that allow for fair comparisons. A discussion of supplementary services necessary to program improvement and eight references complete the document. (KC)