The driving force of California's growing innovation economy is talent. However, there is also a growing mismatch between the type of talent in demand and the type of talent in supply. This paper describes why one of California's best options for closing this talent gap is to expand and modernize the State's apprenticeship system. [Additional…

Educational reform in the United States is perpetually evolving. Much of the recent reforms have concentrated on high-stakes testing and assessment, but a parallel effort has been emerging in the field of vocational and career education. Prompted partly by federal legislation--most recently by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act…

This article examines how the states plan to implement the Programs of Study (POS) that were mandated by the 2006 reauthorization of the federal legislation for career and technical education. A coding system was developed for summarizing the methods described in the plans of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.…

Looks at the history of the outcome-based education (OBE) movement and offers opinions from a variety of federal and state officials and Christian organizations. Discusses the fit between OBE and vocational-technical education. (JOW)

Pennsylvania's education reforms seek to accomplish many aims of outcome-based education--namely less reliance on time as the primary organizational component and greater focus on what students must know and be able to do to graduate from high school. The point is to raise academic achievement by establishing high standards. (Author)

Idaho has improved its historically poor career and technical education programs by changing priorities and increasing state support. A large grant from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation is being used to develop professional-technical academies and to train career and technical teachers. (JOW)

"Schoolyard Bullies" deals with the Sullivan Royal Commission on Education in British Columbia (Canada), the school reform it initiated, usually called "Year 2000," and what has happened in the province's schools since that reform effort was abandoned. New emphases in reform efforts in British Columbia stress vocationalism.…

The harmonizing of occupational development with academic learning is not a passing fad. A primary aim of early 17th-18th century colleges was to supply regions with knowledgeable professional workers. The functional role of education continued to remain strong, as evidenced by the Morrill Act in 1862. The Smith-Hughes Act (1916), however, was an…

Discusses the provisions of the Education Amendments of 1976 related to the overcoming of sex discrimination and sex stereotyping in vocational education, lists five major administrative requirements for state programs, and notes specifications for national programs. Includes information on some secondary and postsecondary programs and other…

This report describes the third year of Wisconsin's Integrated and Applied Curricula project. The mission was to provide information, technical assistance, and a summer conference to help expand team members' competencies in developing integrated and applied curricula, training of high school and technical college educators. The cadre of teachers…

In spring 1996, a statewide public poll was conducted to establish baseline measures of public attitudes toward school to work (STW) prior to its widespread implementation in Arizona schools. A total of 2,788 Arizonans participated in this initial STW poll representing 750 parents, 750 businesses, and 1.288 educators (557 teachers, 549 principals,…

A leadership development seminar for State Directors of Vocational Education was held in Columbus, Ohio on August 6-9, 1968 to provide inservice training for stronger and more effective vocational programs in each state. Each State Director was asked to contribute a one-page report of some special program activity or new innovation to share with…

The authors describe the state-sponsored Illinois Vocational Instructor Practicum. This program provides financial support for teachers to spend up to eight weeks in a private sector position, allowing them to update their work when they return to the vocational education classroom. (CH)

The task of matching people to jobs is made difficult by the cumulative effects of change. Flexibility of the labor force has decreased because of the lack of low skill jobs and the increased employment of women and minority groups. Oregon's research efforts, prompted by need for data by public and private sectors, was directed at ways of…

The document includes tables and graphs showing trends in enrollments (Section 1), expenditures (Section 2), and teachers (Section 3) for the United States and outlying areas. Statistical information was derived from annual reports published by the Division of Vocational and Technical Education and unpublished data compiled by the Program Support…