Scottish initiatives have been directed at improving the vocational relevance of education. Besides attempting to achieve balance in the curriculum between academic and vocational subjects, a new approach also has significant implications for methodology, involving experience-based and student-centered approaches. International developments impinge upon Scottish educational policy. First, the European governments have collaborated on a number of projects for transition from school to working and adult life. Second, governments have identified particular neighboring countries whose circumstances are similar and whose policies are worth imitating. The position of vocational education and training in Scotland today can be surveyed by referring to three particular client groups: full-time secondary students, young workers, and vocational students involved in further education. Among the strands presently apparent in Scottish vocational education research are development of computer-based career guidance systems, the sociology of vocational education and training, and collaborative research to develop better quality vocational education. The government is beginning to recognize that its traditional policy of gradualism is not sufficient to restore economic health and to keep up with changes in education and training. A model based on people's "ownership" of change is likely to move vocational education in a direction that benefits society. (YLB)