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This article, reprinted from the May 1990 issue of the ‘Vocational education journal’, v. 65, no. 4, pp. 22-24, looks at the difficulties faced by beginning vocational teachers in schools in the United States. The authors conclude that most of the beginning teacher’s problems come from three sources: the school system itself, the students, and each teacher’s internal struggle. The article briefly outlines these problem areas, and makes suggestions for ways in which vocational administrators can make the life of a beginning vocational teacher easier. Show less

As a response to the needs in schools for career development programs for a growing and diverse student population, the National Centre for Research in Vocational Education (NCRVE) in 1996 conducted a search for exemplary programs. This document highlights the six exemplary career guidance and counselling programs identified. It is organisation in four chapters: background information about the search itself, the criteria used to determine the exemplary programs, a full description of each program including contact details, and practical suggestions from program coordinators for effective program design and implementation. References and abstracts from exemplars are appended. Show less

This listing was compiled by staff from the Technical Assistance for Special Populations Program (TASPP) to assist state and local administrators of vocational special needs programs, special needs educators, counsellors, researchers, policymakers and others in locating resources for developing or improving programs and services for LEP (limited English proficiency) youth and adults. Materials contained in this document include publications, newsletters, journals, agencies, associations, organisations, centres for educational information/services, clearinghouses, computer-based information networks and databases. Show less

This document reports on a body of research that evaluated career magnet high schools in which students are recruited with the offer of college preparation along with an introduction to a particular career. Researchers evaluated school records data to identify effective and problematic strategies, surveyed graduates from both career magnet and comprehensive schools, and analysed life history data gathered from interviews with graduates. The aim was to evaluate program outcomes in comparison with those of comprehensive high schools and address two questions: does the career magnet model contribute towards a more skilled labour force; and does the career magnet model better prepare graduates for college education? The conclusion discusses the successes and failures of career magnet schools. The findings suggest that the career magnet model holds promise but effective implementation is not automatic.

The appendices provide additional information about the methodology and the use of the experimental results to estimate the impact of career magnets on students. In the electronic version of the document there is a link to related readings for this publication. Show less

One of the challenges in vocational education is how to effectively connect school-based and work-based learning. This paper describes the cooperative education programme at LaGuardia Community College in New York City and the series of seminars that integrate school-based and work-based learning. The first section describes the co-op programme. In the second section the co-op seminars structure and purpose is described. In the third section descriptions of a number of co-op seminars are used to illustrate the variety of pedagogical strategies that different instructors use. Finally, the implications of the co-op seminars are examined, and an assessment is made as to how it might be used in other school-to-work programmes. Show less

This note documents a two-year exploratory study of adult immigrant students' English-language instruction and vocational education needs and the response of postsecondary education providers to those needs. It presents case study research of two communities with large immigrant populations. The findings provide insights into how and why educational services differ among schools and progams, and what difference that makes to adult immigrant students pursuing education. Show less

This article is reprinted from the Fall 1990 issue of the ‘Journal of studies in technical careers’, v. XII, no. 4, p. 341-351. Innovative leadership is often the driving force behind successful programs in vocational education. Through a several state-wide nomination and interview process, four case studies were developed which focus on administrators’ success in developing a competent workforce. New programs and institutional advances are described in the case analyses and successful leadership characteristics are identified. Show less

In response to demands for improved performance and efficiency, many secondary and postsecondary schools in the United States of America (USA) are undergoing significant change. This process of change affects the roles and responsibilities of the teachers staffing those schools. This publication presents the outcomes and recommendations of a research project which was funded by the National Center for Research in Vocational Education (NCRVE) as part of a two-part study on ‘Redesigning education of instructional staff for high schools and community colleges’ (the other study is indexed at TD/TNC 62.872). The researchers sought to develop a conceptual framework for the new roles and responsibilities for staff in support of educational change, to devise a list of competencies appropriate to the new roles, and to recommend preservice and inservice staff development programs designed to develop these competencies. Show less

The mini-sabbatical, Designing classrooms that work, was designed to help teachers learn how to make the kinds of curricular and pedagogical changes needed by the reforms to integrate vocational and academic education and to improve the school-to-career transition. It provides teachers with an opportunity to learn about today’s workplace and draw meaningful connections between the workplace and the classroom. The goal is to enable teachers to acquire skills that will 1) increase their knowledge of workplace practice; 2) help them create a high quality, integrated curriculum that incorporates both domain-specific (e.g. academic, technical) and generic (e.g. problem solving, communications) skills; 3) help them design classrooms that promote authentic learning; and 4) help them develop assessments that provide meaningful feedback to the students and teacher. The companion report (see TD/INT 57.233) describes the design, presents findings from the assessment of the pilot study and outlines the lessons learned from the study. Show less

In this paper, the author shares some thoughts of the National Alliance of Business on the current state of public-private partnerships and to discuss how these might be improved. The Alliance believes that a well-designed public-private partnership can be a powerful means of achieving goals that no one group could accomplish alone. The author addresses the following areas: defining a partnership and the steps in building partnerships; partnerships in job training; and opportunities for partnerships in vocational education. In conclusion, the author suggests that the challenge for the Alliance, for the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, and for others, is to develop, understand, and communicate the need for partnerships, the advantages of partnerships, the difficulties and challenges of successful partnerships, and the techniques for making them work. Show less