ABSTRACT
The need to aggressively prepare students for the workplace and upgrade current workers' skills has taken a central place among the concerns of practitioners and policy makers alike. At the secondary education level, proponents of reform call for an abandonment of the traditional two-tiered approach characterized by abstract academics for the college bound and general or vocational training for the rest. In its stead are models that link school and work with varying degrees of formality, allowing secondary students (and their teachers) to explore career opportunities and obtain hands-on experience with the skills and behaviors required for success on the job. All students are expected to benefit from this more integrated, experience-based curriculum. The more popular of these models include Cooperative Education, Tech-Prep, Career Majors, and Youth Apprenticeships (Mendel, 1994).
