Vocational Education

This report addresses the issue of vocational education as one of our major forms of occupational and technical training. The author stats first that there is a problem with terminology in that vocational education is taken to mean some form of instruction related to work, which is a broad definition that is narrowed by the federal legal definition of federally-aided vocational education as preparation for kinds of work that require less than the baccalaureate. This definition is also seen as out of date.

The author surveys the contemporary scene and details the figures on vocational education in its different forms and different subject areas. He considers the patterns of student course-taking showing the demographics of vocational education. Nearly all students take some vocational courses, and vocational education is not fading away as some have predicted.

The author considers the characteristics of the teachers in these types of courses based on the 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey and finds that in certain important respects, vocational teachers are very much like academic teachers. Nearly half hold bachelor's degrees, and 39.3 percent have master's degrees. One important difference is also noted, rel

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hat it would mean if HSCs work better than conventional schools and finds that there are three reasons: equity in terms of access of students to learning; cost-effectiveness, and meeting the needs of the economy. The author also offers two modest proposals: 1) we should establish a "national skills strategy" so we can reach agreement on national economic goals, and so we can determine which kinds of work skills are essential to meet these goals; and 2) the skills strategy should be complemented by a "training strategy" that would try to evaluate alternative processes for developing the skills identified for priority treatment in the given planning periods. The training strategy might include innovative and experimental practices in training as well as tried-and-true methods. The author also makes suggestions for the innovative and experimental side, hoping that each state would establish at least one high school with character. He feels that a national network of sites could provide a lot of information about these specialized schools and that such information is sorely needed. CRITIQUE Benson makes a strong case for the importance of the issue he addresses, and he is right that vocational education holds a vital place in t
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Abstract United, CRITIQUE Benson, HSC Bensons, Berkeley October, Staffing Survey, vocational education, academic vocational, business industrial community, integration academic vocational, academic vocational studies, occupational technical training, effort benson, vocational teachers, educational experience, innovative experimental, training strategy, educational system, vocational studies, secondary school,
Approximate Word count = 1491
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)