History and Growth of CTE

Source: Gordon, H. R. D. (2003).

Think About This

• Historically, who did vocational education serve?

• What historical events promoted vocational education?

• Why is vocational education separate from academic education? How did this develop?

Purpose of CTE

• Practical and applied instruction

• Match students with work positions

European Influence

• During 1800s schools divided by social class

• Manual training ~ lower classes

• Germany encouraged apprenticeships

Apprenticeship in America

• Oldest type of CTE in U.S.

• Main form of industrial training

• For poor, only educational opportunity

• Not part of curriculum

Apprenticeship Process

• Formal agreement

• Covers definite period of time

• Binds employer to provide training

• Gains work of apprentice

Apprenticeship Decline

• Industrial revolution

• Training for specific task

• Industries became centralized

• Trades became overcrowded

• Wages kept low

• Free public elementary schools

Apprenticeship Today

• Government credential system– Developing and recognizing specific skills,

competencies, and accomplishments

• Registration is documented

• Progress is recorded– Approved, written training outline describes

functions to be learned, how long, and where

• Earn a certificate of completion

Apprenticeships Today

• Usually high school graduates

• About 2/3 in construction and manufacturing

• Minimum term is one year

• Training with skilled craft worker

• Wages are half of full trained workers

• Different groups must coordinate programs

Industrial Revolution

• Applied technology to manufacturing– Increased accidents– Poor working conditions– Layoffs– Blacklisting protestors– Economic chaos

• Charitable groups and societies of mechanics initiated efforts to establish schools to replace apprenticeships – lack of money to continue

Manual Labor School

• Hampton Institute (1868)

• Work for school to earn tuition

• Theory classes with lab production work

• Project based learning

• Increase availability to all– In favor, stressed general skills and

relationship to academics– Opposed, vocationally oriented, limit to

separate schools

CTE Today

• Prepare students for work and further education

• Combine preparation for both college and careers

• Integrate academic and vocational programs

CTE Leaders

• Booker T. Washington, educator

• David Snedden, administrator

• Charles Prosser, lawyer

• John Dewey, philosopher

Booker T. Washington

• Learning is more than memorization• Defined educated person as one

possessing:– cognitive and problem-solving skills– self-discipline– moral standards– a sense of service

• Emphasized learning by doing

Snedden & Prosser

• Prosser was Snedden’s student• Schools should prepare students for

occupations at which they excel• Successful CTE required two elements:

– Practice & thinking about the practice– Doing & thinking about the doing

• Practice and theory must go hand in hand• Be like actual workplace

John Dewey

• Occupations central to education activity• Vocational education could induce change

to improve education• Best prepare students to:

– Understand science of tools & processes used to work

– Develop appreciation for evolution of industry– Instill favorable group dynamics of shared

discovery and communal problem solving– Plan and reflect on entire process

Factors Influencing Development

• War– Training of inexperienced masses

• Study Panels– Appointed by presidents

• American Vocational Association (ACTE)– Mission – provide educational leadership in

developing a competitive workforce

Legislation

• Smith-Hughes Act (1917)– Contributed to isolation– Required state vocational board– Promoted segregated curriculum

• George-Reed Act (1929)– Expanded vocational education in agriculture

and home economics

Legislation (cont.)

• George-Ellzey Act (1934)– Increased funding for agriculture, home

economics, trade, and industrial education– Replaced temporary George-Reed Act

• George-Deen Act (1936)– Increased funding for agriculture, home

economics, trade, and industrial education– Recognized marketing education– Authorized money for teacher education

Legislation (cont.)

• George-Barden Act (1946)– Increased funding– Provided for veterans of WWII

• George-Barden Amendments (1956)– Added practical nursing– Added fishery occupations

Legislation (cont.)

• National Defense Education Act (1958)– Funded technical occupations necessary to

national defense– Response to Sputnik I

• Manpower Development Training Act (1962)– Eased dislocated workers– Assisted economically disadvantaged

Legislation (cont.)

• Vocational Education Act (1963)– Maintain, extend, and improve programs– Provide part-time employment for youth who

needed earnings to continue school– Funds for particular types and ages of persons

• Vocational Education Amendments (1968)– Emphasized post-secondary schools

Legislation (cont.)

• Comprehensive Employment Training Act (1973)– Replaced Manpower Development Training

Act– Transferred decision making from DC to local

and state governments

• Vocational Education Amendments (1976)– Improve planning by involving agencies– Overcome sex discrimination and stereotyping

Legislation (cont.)

• Job Training Partnership Act (1982)– Establish programs to prepare youth and

unskilled adults for entry into labor force– Afford job training to economically

disadvantaged facing critical barriers to employment

Legislation (cont.)

• Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (1984)– Economic goal – improve skills of labor force

and prepare adults for job opportunities– Social goal – provide equal opportunities for

adults in vocational education– Switched from expanding programs to

improving programs and addressing at-risk populations

Educational Reform

• Two waves of reform since 1980– Academic Reform

• Increased effort from current education system• More academic course requirements for graduation• More stringent college entrance requirements• Longer school days and years• Emphasis on standards and testing for students

and teachers

Educational Reform

– Restructuring• First reform was not thorough enough to improve

education for all students• Impetus was A Nation at Risk

– Reported U.S. was losing ground in international economic competition

– Attributed decline to low standards and poor performance of educational system

Educational Reform

• America’s Choice: High Skills or Low Wages, Workforce 2000, SCANS

– Shifted debate away from narrowly defined set of academic or general competencies, technical and specific job skills, interpersonal abilities and behavioral traits

– Lifted vocational education from relative obscurity to a place of prominence

Legislation (yes, more)

• Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act (1990)– Emphasizes:

• Integration of academic and vocational education• Articulation between segments of education• Closer linkages between school and work• Requires states to develop systems of performance

measures and standards

Legislation (still more)

• School-to-Work Opportunities Act (1994)– Addressed national skills shortage– Emphasized preparing students with

knowledge, skills, abilities and information about occupations and labor market to help make transition from school to employment

– Elements include: collaborative partnerships, integrated curriculum, technological advances, adaptable workers, career guidance, work-based learning

Legislation

• Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (1998)– Strengthen academic, vocational and technical

skills– Provide students with strong experience in

and understanding all aspects of an industry– Develop, expand, or improve use of

technology– New accountability measures - performance

Legislation (last)

• Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act (2006)– Uses CTE rather than vocational education– Programs of study that link academic and

technical content– Strengthened local accountability provisions– Must have valid and reliable measures

Source

Gordon, H. R. D. (2003). The history and growth of vocational education in America. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.