ERIC Number: ED409441
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1997-Aug
Pages: 7
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
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EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Comparison of Occupational Programs in Comprehensive High Schools in the U.S.A., Japan and Taiwan.
Lee, Lung-Sheng
American-style comprehensive high school (CHS) systems were started in Japan and Taiwan in 1994 and 1996, respectively. Most CHSs in Taiwan were transformed from senior vocational schools, whereas others were changed from senior high schools or newly founded. To assist these schools in successfully restructuring or designing new programs, a researcher visited 13 educational institutes in the United States and Japan to determine the status and learn about their experiences with the CHS system. Using a four-stage approach (description, interpretation, juxtaposition, comparison), data were collected, collated, interpreted, juxtaposed, and compared. In the United States, CHS occupational programs usually offered occupational skill development in four or five occupational areas due to budget constraints and student numbers. In Japan, the CHS program was obviously an integration of academic and occupational learning; its occupational programs were very career development oriented. In Taiwan, occupational programs in CHSs focus on occupations related to tertiary-level industries. The following recommendations were made: Taiwanese CHSs must help students decide on career pathways in grade 10; Taiwanese students should be enrolled through attendance boundaries and school of choice; Taiwanese CHSs should also serve students who want to pursue higher education; and more efforts should be made to assess community and student needs when occupational programs are developed or redesigned. (YLB)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Japan; Taiwan; United States
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Author Affiliations: N/A