Modernizing Career and Technical Education Programs

Autor/in	Drage, Karen
Titel	Modernizing Career and Technical Education Programs
Quelle	In: Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers, 84 (2009) 5, S.32-34 (3 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1527-1803
Schlagwörter	Educational Change; Vocational Education; Educational Methods; Emerging Occupations; Education Work Relationship; Alignment (Education); Academic Standards; Educational Improvement; Educational Innovation + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bildungsreform; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; Educational method; Erziehungsmethode; Teaching improvement; Unterrichtsentwicklung; Instructional innovation; Bildungsinnovation
Abstract	High-quality career and technical education (CTE) programs can launch America's future competitiveness through increased student engagement, the innovative integration of traditional academic courses, and by meeting the needs of both employers and the economy as a whole. American students failing to keep pace with their international counterparts have given serious cause for concern as the gap continues to widen despite myriad education reform movements. Recent reform efforts have focused on increasing graduation requirements--which in turn led to the elimination of elective courses such as CTE in the secondary curriculum; the results of reforms are "epidemic level" dropout rates across the country. While increased graduation requirements have limited the number of CTE courses offered at the secondary level, statistics show that participation in CTE programs increases earnings and improves employment outcomes, reduces dropout and absentee rates, and improves postsecondary outcomes. In an effort to get the American education system aligned with the technological advances, a partnership involving states, schools, educators, employers, industry groups and other stakeholders was created and new curriculum guidelines, academic and technical standards, assessments, and professional development materials for 16 career clusters were developed. The 16 career clusters were developed to link what students learn in school with the knowledge and skills they need for success in college and future careers. In this article, the author contends that it is time for CTE to move beyond promoting the teaching of soft skills. Indeed, critical thinking, communication and teamwork skills are needed to prepare students for the world of work in an internationally competitive economy. But CTE needs an updated focus--one that will convince administrators to support CTE in the secondary curriculum. Modern CTE programs, geared to technology and industrial standards, can provide the same level of rigor and relevance to which the other traditional academic courses aspire, and at the same time sustain the unique identity of CTE. The future of CTE lies in promoting high standards--both in academic and occupational areas--and developing curriculum in emerging fields such as biometrics. As the country moves into an era of change, it is time that CTE embraces this change and opens its eyes to the new realities of work and education. (ERIC).
Anmerkungen	Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). 1410 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. Tel: 800-826-9972; Tel: 703-683-3111; Fax: 703-683-7424; Web site: http://www.acteonline.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10