Because vocational researchers and practitioners have not been able to reach a consensus concerning criteria for judging excellence in vocational education and have been unable to agree on exactly which factors lead to successful programs, research in vocational education has had limited impact on improving practice. Two sets of research findings…

An evaluation of Oregon's professional technical education and work force programs was conducted through examination of handbooks for high school and community colleges, secondary education enrollment reports, state employment division documents, Workforce 2000 applications, and interim and final reports on professional technical education and…

An experiential learning questionnaire was administered to students in eight experience-based career education programs to determine the characteristics of both good and poor learning experiences in the community. Implications of the study for college staff responsible for designing or improving community-based experiential programs are discussed.…

Although some school districts conduct follow-up studies of their high school graduates, few have systematically used the information to improve their educational programs or to guide policymaking. Weaknesses of typical vocational education follow-up studies include the following: avoidance of comparisons with nonvocational students, failure to…

The 1995-96 evaluation of tech prep in Washington consisted of the following activities: an analysis of survey data collected from all 22 tech prep consortia in the state, case studies of 7 tech prep consortia, and an analysis of student survey data collected from more than 2,000 students in 4 high schools in the 7 consortia. The study found that…

Two sets of research findings are available that may provide a sound base for conducting vocational education research leading to systematic program improvement and to the attainment of excellence in education. The first is effective schooling research and the second concerns principles used by successful businesses in the United States. An…

School-to-work programs (STW) at 10 sites throughout Washington (Bethel, Camas, Central Valley, Columbia River, Goldendale, Grand Coulee Dam, Issaquah, Metlow Valley, Sumner, and Wenatchee) were examined through the following activities: reviewing background documents, interviewing key educators, observing academic and technical classes,…