Vocational Education In O

In October of 1976, President Gerald Ford signed into law the Educational Amendments of 1976--P.L. 94-482. This was a historic event in the ramifications for improved vocational education in the United States. Of particular interest for the purposes of this paper is Title II of this act which made state agencies responsible for instituting programs which would end sex discrimination and sex stereotyping in state vocational programs (McClure, 1985, p. 122). It is the purpose of this paper to discuss vocational education as it was viewed in the 1970's and to explore the changes that arose from the shift in attitudes in the area of careers for women.

Prior to the 1970's, vocational education was primarily focused on equipping young men and women for rather stereotyped positions in the industrial economy. There was an emphasis on the trades, and what we know today as vocational education or career education was called "industrial education" (Barlow, 1981, p. 59). Although philosophically, the basic education consisted of spelling, writing, drawing, arithmetic, grammar, history, geography and nature study, machines were installed in school shops so that young people could practice on them in order to be employed in industry. Vocational education officially began in 1917, and its first task was largely focused on the needs of World War I.

Historically, the 1970's brought criticism to the field of vocational education. It is imp

. . .
es, and begin to learn specific job skills during the last two years of school. Upon graduation, the student should have enough experience and self-knowledge to make an appropriate choice. During this time period, career education became a highly popular educational concept. Within a few months after Marland's campaign began, numerous theorists and educators were advocating career education. $10 million of federal money was appropriated in 1975 and 1976 for the establishment of career education programs (McClure, 1985, p. 126). However, the new concept of career education and new funds were no panacea. There still was controversy which was a rerun of the age-old argument between liberal education and vocational training. Should career studies prepare the student in a marketable skill or should it provide a broad education that would give the student an understanding of work? Should it prepare the student for a job, or should it prepare him to make decisions in the world of work? This debate was just the latest phase in on-going differences between those who favored practical training and those who favored training of the mind. Distributive education developed considerably during the 1970's. Enrollment in distributive ed
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Jr United, Title II, Women's Movement, Education Welfare, Vocational Association, Horizons Orleans, Tomlinson DiLeo, Accounting Office, War Historically, Human Potential, vocational education, career education, mcclure 1985, american vocational, distributive education, american vocational association, vocational association, 1981 march, field vocational, vocational educators, careers women, field vocational education, programs mcclure 1985, school vocational graduates, sex role stereotyping,
Approximate Word count = 1583
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Vocational Education In O