Educating a Working Society


Book Description

Partitioning schools : federal vocational policy, tracking, and the rise of twentieth-century dogmas / Michael Thier, Joshua Fitzgerald, and Paul Beach -- Fitted to serve their community : race and power at penn school and the transition to vocational education / Mary-Lou Breitborde -- A school of their own : movements to provide industrial education in Columbus, Georgia for marginalized students on both sides of the color line / Lauren Yarnell Bradshaw -- Disentangling the triumph of vocationalism from the institutionalization of vocational education : a reexamination of the Douglas Commission report, social efficiency, and the Cooley controversy / Stephen Provasnik -- More than mere "book-learning" : democracy and vocational -- Education in the territory of Hawai'i, 1900-1959 / Michelle M.K. Morgan -- The give and take of vocationalism at the local level : administrative and student perspectives on Milwaukee's interwar high schools / Kyle P. Steele -- Striving for a unity of opposites : the general education movement, vocationalism, and secondary education / Kevin S. Zayed -- Trending toward "new vocationalism" in college and career readiness definitions / Matthew J. Benus and Catherine L. Livesay -- Cutting-edge (and dull) paths forward : accountability and career and technical education under the Every Student Succeeds Act / Paul Beach, Michael Thier, Joshua Fitzgerald, and Christine M.T. Pitts




Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce


Book Description

Skilled technical occupationsâ€"defined as occupations that require a high level of knowledge in a technical domain but do not require a bachelor's degree for entryâ€"are a key component of the U.S. economy. In response to globalization and advances in science and technology, American firms are demanding workers with greater proficiency in literacy and numeracy, as well as strong interpersonal, technical, and problem-solving skills. However, employer surveys and industry and government reports have raised concerns that the nation may not have an adequate supply of skilled technical workers to achieve its competitiveness and economic growth objectives. In response to the broader need for policy information and advice, Building America's Skilled Technical Workforce examines the coverage, effectiveness, flexibility, and coordination of the policies and various programs that prepare Americans for skilled technical jobs. This report provides action-oriented recommendations for improving the American system of technical education, training, and certification.




OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training Learning for Jobs


Book Description

An OECD study of vocational education and training designed to help countries make their systems more responsive to labour market needs. It expands the evidence base, identifies a set of policy options and develops tools to appraise VET policy initiatives.







Prison Vocational Education and Policy in the United States


Book Description

This book explores California’s prison system in the context of vocational education reform. For prisons in the early twenty-first century, ideologies of evidence-based management meant that reform efforts to change the purpose of prisons from punishment to rehabilitation through vocational education required “evidence” to justify policy prescriptions. Yet who determines what constitutes evidence? In political environments, solutions are typically pre-conceived, which means that the nature of the evidence collected is also preconceived. As a result, key assumptions about outcomes are often wished away to show improvement and be accountable. Through a detailed analysis interspersed with stories from the authors’ experiences “behind the wall” among California’s prison population, the authors challenge the nature of evidence-based research as used in the prison environment. In the process they describe the thorny problems facing reformers.




The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training


Book Description

A collection of the theories, practices, and policies of vocational education and training written by international experts The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training offers an in-depth guide to the theories, practices, and policies of vocational education and training (VET). With contributions from a panel of leading international scholars, the Handbook contains 27 authoritative essays from a wide range of disciplines. The contributors present an integrated analysis of the complex and dynamic field of VET. Drawing on the most recent research, thinking, and practice in the field, the book explores the key debates about the role of VET in the education and training systems of various nations. The Handbook reveals how expertise is developed in an age of considerable transformation in work processes, work organization, and occupational identities. The authors also examine many of the challenges of vocational education and training such as the impact of digital technologies on employment, the demand for (re)training in the context of extended working lives, the emergence of learning regions and skill ecosystems, and the professional development of vocational teachers and trainers. This important text: Offers an original view of VET’s role in both the initial and continuing development of expertise Examines the theories and concepts that underpin international perspectives and explores the differences about the purposes of VET Presents various models of learning used in VET, including apprenticeship, and their relationship with general education Explores how VET is shaped in different ways by the political economy of different countries Reviews how developments in digital technologies are changing VET practice Discusses the challenges for universities offering higher vocational education programs Draws on both recent research as well as historical accounts Written for students, researchers, and scholars in the fields of educational studies, human resource development, social policy, political economy, labor market economics, industrial relations, sociology, The Wiley Handbook of Vocational Education and Training offers an international perspective on the topic of VET.