The basic functional relationships between vocational education and other institutions and the sociological implications of these relationships were investigated. The analysis was organized into three section": (1) The Social Setting of Vocational Education. Vocational education is a formalized institutional vehicle which has been introduced into modern industrial societies to facilitate youth's assumption of occupational roles. It is a formal adjunct, as are the schools themselves, to those social mechanisms which differentiate persons within the community and prescribe the type of status which they are expected to assume; (2) Contemporary Vocational Education in the United States. The vocational education program should be designed to prepare youth for a continuing program of adult education throughout life; (3) A Conceptual Approach to the Sociological Analysis of Vocational Education. To understand the social processes related to vocational education, one must understand the social functions which vocational education performs--that is, at any time it reflects the needs of the community and the needs of the individual. (CH)