This is the sixth in a series of six practitioner training modules developed as part of the Career & Technical Education (CTE) Research Network Lead. Designed for CTE practitioners and state agency staff, these modules are designed to strengthen the capacity to access, understand, and use CTE data and research as well as conduct one's own…

This study investigates the possibilities of estimating value added as a performance indicator in senior secondary vocational education. Value added is interesting in this context because it is considered as a reliable tool for comparing the effectiveness of educational institutions. Although value added indicators have been developed since the…

Local government in Portugal had a good opportunity to modernise through the Programa de Formacao para as Autarquias Locais (Foral) [Training programme for local authorities], implemented between 2000 and 2005. Substantial financial resources were made available through the programme to retrain local government human resources in order to improve…

In the future, businesses will demand workers with higher-level skills and more education. Community colleges are key providers of career and technical training as well as traditional academic education. These colleges can also play important roles in the one-stop system created by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), through which a variety of…

The question "How should one decide which jobs are related to a training program?" must be answered directly and consistently before specialized training can be planned or evaluated. A conceptual framework is needed to provide a useful structure for thinking about the concept of training-related jobs, and certain issues must be resolved…

Military training parallels vocational education in that both systems are preparing students for specific jobs, and both systems are concerned with the productivity of that training, i.e., how effective training is. A private human resource contractor provided training help to the Army for two programs: TRAINFIRE, in which the contractor provided…

In 1990, Australia implemented an employer training levy, the Training Guarantee Scheme. The Training Guarantee was abolished by the incoming Coalition federal government in 1996 after much negative publicity about its impact, particularly on small business. Recently, there have been calls to revive the notion of an employer training levy as a…

A study examined attitudes of Irish employers toward vocational training (VT) activities, state agencies responsible for administering VT, and the skills that employees would need in the future. Of a sample of 500 firms that were selected as being representative from the standpoints of size, sector, location, and form of ownership, 219 were…

Based on the working papers and the results of seminar discussions on the evaluation of vocational education in various European countries, this volume summarizes current European thinking on the evaluation of training programs. Chapter 1 describes and defines the different levels of analysis which can be used in evaluation: analysis in the…

Recommendations, conclusions, and position papers based on the results of a diagnostic survey conducted six states and 11 communities are reported. They concern: (1) identification of the objectives and goals of occupational education; (2) structuring of alternative programs to achieve them; (3) cost-benefit analysis; and, (4) projections of…

A project was designed to produce a broad description of current mining training programs and to evaluate their effectiveness with respect to reducing mine injuries. The research strategy was built on the ranking of mines according to the effectiveness of their training with an effective training effort being defined as that training which is…

A U.S. Office of Education conference in Washington, D.C., examined the success of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). Report summarizes findings on four issues concerning the relationship between career education and FFA. Issues involve career education and FFA goals/activities, advisors, alumni, and in-service career education trainining. (LRA)

A project was designed to produce a broad description of current mining training programs and to evaluate their effectiveness with respect to reducing mine injuries. Aggregate training and injury data were used to evaluate the overall training effort at 300 mines as well as specific efforts in 12 categories of training course objectives. From such…

The Crystal City Independent School District Bilingual Vocational Training Program was designed to provide business/printing education, auto mechanics, and industrial construction competencies to trainees exhibiting interest in these training areas. The participants were adults who were underemployed or unemployed in the community of Crystal City,…

If it is to play a key role in the reindustrialization of the United States, vocational education must be improved. Although vocational education has grown substantially in size in recent years, its quality is spotty, characterized by excellent programs in some communities and poor programs in others. In order to contribute to reindustrialization,…