Discusses development, training, and coordination practices for teams consisting of vocational counselors, vocational teachers, and special needs support services providers. Presents eight models for integrating postsecondary academic and vocational programs. (JOW)

Strategies for integrating academic and vocational skill have been the focus of increasing attention in recent years. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 mandates that state and local education agencies integrate these programs so students achieve both academic and vocational competencies. Implementation of…

Three critical areas in academic planning are discussed. These areas are: (1) Modal Learning Programs; (2) Accountability Learning Systems; and (3) Non-Campus Degree Programs. Included in advantages of modal learning programs are: (1) an individualized, prescriptive approach to learning; (2) the breakdown of the wall between school and life; (3) a…

A study examined some of the ways in which vocational education has sought to ensure students a higher degree of preparation in the basic academic subjects at both the secondary and postsecondary levels. Various Ohio programs as well as programs in New York, Virginia, and Michigan were examined. Special attention was paid to Ohio's Program Options…

Using cognitive science as the knowledge base for the discussion, this paper reviews why many school learning situations are ineffective and introduces cognitive apprenticeship models that suggest what effective learning situations might look like. Five wrong assumptions about learning are examined: (1) people transfer learning from one situation…

Because tech prep has the twin goals of preparing students for entry into postsecondary/continuing education or the work force after high school, tech prep programs require significant modification of conventional curricula and teaching methodologies. Both research and experience have demonstrated that the ability to transfer learning from one…

The conference and the papers presented in this volume grew out of the conviction of a random group of persons who discovered, quite by chance, a shared concern: that serious consequences are falling to higher education as a result of financial procedures intended to meet the crisis of survival. It is obvious that survival and solvency are not…

Tech-prep programs are built on the premise that youth must become involved in the development of a technological society. Several models for integrating tech prep with academic education hold promise. (JOW)

This handbook, which is one in a series of handbooks designed to help tech prep practitioners replicate successful materials, projects, or programs that have been developed by Partnership for Academic and Career Education (PACE) consortium members, explains the process of integrating a tech prep curriculum. The introduction briefly describes the…

In light of the increasing emphasis on "vocationalism"--preparing students for work--in education and the media today, a model is proposed through which the major components of this "new vocationalism" could be operationalized. The model integrates academic and vocational education. It involves a total system change in education that describes the…

This module, which is one in a series of 29 competency-based administrator education learning packages and related supportive materials focusing upon specific professional competencies of vocational administrators, deals with integrating academic and vocational-technical education. The first section discusses the need to integrate academic and…

Comprehensive high schools have developed into systems serving the high-achieving, college-bound students and the students who need remediation in basic skills, with little attention being paid to the large number of students who fall between these two levels. Little attention is paid to educating students for midlevel jobs that require more…

As schools attempt to foster smoother transitions for youth into the workplace, differing realities must be considered. A school-to-work opportunities system cannot be restricted to those occupations meeting an elusive definition of "high wage." Three possible workplace learning opportunities are as follows: the high-skill, high-wage workplace;…

This paper describes the rationale, direction, and progress of the Integrated System for Workforce Education Curricula (ISWEC), a project sponsored by a 25-state consortium that is designed to accomplish two primary objectives: (1) integration of academic and vocational education in a curriculum framework for grades 9-14 and (2) development of a…

The objectives and development of the skill standards movement were examined along with 22 pilot projects that were undertaken as part of an effort to promote the development of a national system of voluntary industry-based skill standards. First, the past and present of the skill standards movement and certification practices were analyzed along…