The National Institute of Education (NIE) suggests a plan for national leadership and support of more comprehensive research and development (R. & D.) in the field of career education. The draft plan relies heavily upon suggestions from study teams in the development of a conceptual framework for career education, and in outlining strategies for strengthening programmatic efforts. The initial emphasis for the NIE career education R. & D. program will be the responsiveness of career education to the problems people experience in finding the right jobs and advancing within them. In defining career education as the development of knowledge and of special and general abilities to help individuals and groups interact with the economic sector, NIE emphasizes that both economic and psychological incomes from employment comprise the long-term outcomes which will be studied. The limited R. & D. resources available will be directed at two target groups most affected by problems of career entry and progression: youth and mid-career adults, particularly women. The four present career education models are examined for current and projected integration into the overall NIE program, and examples are given of suggested projects for research, policy analyses, program development, experimentation, dissemination, evaluation and/or field studies in career education. (DE)