Collected in the document are eight presentations which were made before a national invitational conference of Chief State School officers at Pinehurst, North Carolina, in April, 1974, taken directly from tapes of the conference. In his introduction, "The Quest for Unity and Understanding," John K. Coster enumerates conference goals: (1) to achieve fuller understanding of the great issues which confront vocational education; (2) to examine the system of education's goals, curriculum, personnel, and personnel development delivery system in light of the system's mission; and (3) to ask questions from which an indigenous philosophy of American education will eventually emerge. The speakers and the titles of their presentations are: Sidney P. Marland, "The Problem"; Albert Quie,"Governance, Legislation, and Budget"; Eugene B. Sydnor, Jr., "National Exceptations"; Willard Wirtz, "Alternatives for Action"; Terry Sanford, "Leadership for Education"; and John R. Ottina, "Implementation Steps: Where Do the Chiefs Go From Here?" A summary of the conference by John K. Coster concludes the document. Coster cites four points of concern emerging from the conference: a re-examination of American educational philosophy, and concerns for legislation, for bringing vocational education into the system's mainstream, and for developing State and Federal governments' partnership. Participant lists are appended. (Author/AJ)