Developing Work-Based Learning Pedagogies

The school-to-work movement came together as a major national force for educational reform in the late 1980s and reached its peak in 1994 with the passage of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act. Throughout the 1990s, the movement had a substantial record of creativity and accomplishment.

Among other things, the movement hastened the spread of career development activities for all students, strengthened ties between schools and local employers, and supported the creation of many innovative work-based education programs. By the end of the decade, however, the influence of the movement had begun to decline as other reform movements came to dominate the national educational landscape.

This chapter features a thorough discussion of work-based learning pedagogies.

This chapter was published in The School-to-Work Movement: Origins and Destinations, edited by W. J. Stull and N. M. Sanders (Praeger Publishers).