No description available.

The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of change in corporate colleges between 1985 and 1989 and to examine the evolution of these institutions to structures and programs which more closely resemble traditional institutions of higher education. A random sample of three institutions was selected for analysis from the first of corporate colleges identified in the Carnegie Study, Corporate Classrooms: The Learning Business, conducted in 1985.;Data collection instruments were sent to 17 of the institutions identified in the Carnegie Study. of the institutions contacted, 11 responded which represented a return rate of 64.7 percent. All of the institutions, including non-respondents, were contacted by phone for the information or to clarify and refine data. A case study approach was applied as a methodology to analyze and compare the institutions. In order to determine if these institutions were becoming more like traditional institutions, a degree from one of the 18 institutions was compared with one offered in a traditional postsecondary institution.

The purpose of this study is to determine if vocational/business education has an influence on a student's ultimate academic achievement--high school graduation. This study consists of comparing students with no vocational/business education experiences to students with some degree of vocational/business education. The cohort group started high school during the 1999-2000 school year, had earned a GPA of 2.5 or lower at the end of the freshman year (May 2000) and finished high school prior to the start of the 2003-2004 school year. There were 322 students identified in the initial cohort group. In completing this study, the following procedures were implemented: related literature was reviewed to provide a background of the role vocational/business education plays and the effect vocational/business education has on a student's achievement, data were collected and a survey was taken. The data collected included grade point average, standardized test scores, attendance, discipline and whether or not the student withdrew prior to graduation. The data were analyzed using ANOVA to determine a significant difference. Significance was tested at the .05 level. Data related to withdraws were analyzed using the Chi-Square Test of Independence. The researcher developed and implemented a survey instrument. The survey was offered to all Lyman graduates in the class of 2003 over the age of 18 who had completed at least two courses in one vocational/business program. These students were asked to describe the significance and relevance of their vocational/business education training to their high school experience and career choice (which may include college education). The survey asked students to list advantages and disadvantages of their vocational/business education training and their participation in co-curricular organizations. Students were asked to state their perception of the effect that the vocational/business classes had upon their academic achievement. The following results were obtained from this research. There was not a statistically significant difference in grade point averages, standardized test scores, absences and out-of-school suspensions. There was a statistically significant difference in in-school suspensions and withdraws prior to graduation. There were 227 students who withdrew prior to graduation. Of the 227 students, 91 had no vocational/business education and 96 had taken some amount of vocational/business education training (one course in one or more vocational/business education programs). Of the 95 students who remained throughout the four years of high school, 84 of the students graduated. Of the 84 students who graduated, 56 of the students completed a vocational/business education program. All graduates who responded to the survey strongly agreed that vocational/business education had a positive effect on their academic achievement.

No description available.

The purpose of the study was to address the issues regarding professionalization of teachers in regional vocational-technical schools in southeastern Massachusetts. Professionalization was defined as the degree to which teachers participate in organizational decisions. The study was intended to determine the perceptions of vocational teachers, academic teachers, and administrators toward professionalization. The extent to which teachers in eight regional vocational-technical high schools were empowered was also explored. A review of the literature was incorporated into the design of the study. A survey was conducted at the eight schools. Five hundred two teachers and administrators responded (86 percent). The questionnaire measured six dimensions which included: horizontal and vertical communication, teaching behavior, leadership, centralization of influence, empowerment, and satisfaction. The findings indicate that there are many differences between the three groups with regard to the role of teachers in school decisions. Administrators tended to overestimate teacher influence. They rated nine of the fourteen areas higher than teachers. Vocational and academic teacher ratings were similar in nine of fourteen dimensions and categories. Vocational teachers rated four areas higher including teaching behavior and willingness. There is evidence of professionalization in the eight schools. Empowered schools show evidence of strong administrative influence, facilitative leadership, vertical communication and satisfied respondents.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of selected support services on new vocational technical teachers throughout Massachusetts. These services included aspects of preservice and inservice professional development activities. The research studied the manner in which support services were provided, the service providers, and the extent and impact of support services. A Massachusetts Department of Education initiative, called the New Instructor's Tool Kit Project, served as a vehicle of inquiry. The participants in the tool kit project for the past three years constituted one subset of the sample of subjects for the study while the second subset was made up of nonparticipants hired within the same period of time. Both quantitative and qualitative data gathering techniques were employed by the study. A questionnaire was mailed to 184 subjects and 116 (64%) responded. A structured interview was conducted on a selected group of 6 subjects. Data findings indicated that there is little structured support provided for new vocational technical teachers by local school systems in Massachusetts. In addition, there was little evidence to support the notion that the New Instructor's Tool Kit Project made an appreciable difference in the professional lives of new teachers. Significant findings were: (1) only 5 percent of new vocational technical teachers start teaching with full approval; (2) almost half of all new teachers start teaching without an orientation at their school; (3) many new teachers identified informal support teacher relationships, but few a formally structured program; (4) the subjects identified topics that related to teaching skills as being most important to new teachers; (5) perceived negative experiences during the first year were frustration, student behavior, discipline, professionalism of other teachers, the amount of work required by teaching and parental support; (6) perceived positive experiences were student progress, positive evaluations, satisfaction with working conditions and acceptance as a professional. The results of the study were used to develop recommendations for teacher training institutions, vocational technical school administrators, and the Division of Occupational Education. If implemented they should improve the pedagogical preparation and professional lives of new vocational technical teachers.

American employers are concerned that our schools are continuing to produce an increasing number of graduates who are undereducated, unskilled, and unable to cope with the needs of business in this technological age. Schools are struggling to become accountable and must recognize the problems that affect the performance and success of students in and out of school. This study focuses on the perceptions that secondary school students have of the training they receive for entry-level positions, how it affects their performance, and its relationship to the perceptions/expectations and level of satisfaction of employers in the workplace. A Likert-style rating scale was used to measure the students' and businesses' perceptions of the secondary school training. One hundred eighty-students and twenty-eight businesses participated in the surveys. Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics--frequency distributions, measures of central tendency and dispersion, Pearson correlations, cross-tabulations, and chi-squares. Four specific research questions guided the study. The analysis of the data indicated that the majority of students show positive perceptions toward their school training for entry-level positions. However, variables such as gender, grade level, ethnic background, academic achievement, and employment status influenced the perceptions held by students. There was a significant and positive relationship between students' academic achievement and their overall perceptions of their school academic training. A large proportion of the participating businesses showed negative perceptions toward the secondary school training for entry-level positions in the workplace. Variable factors such as in-service training and type of product produced influenced the businesses' perceptions. While businesses were satisfied with some aspects of the school training, the overall majority expressed dissatisfaction with such training and complained about spending thousands of dollars annually for in-service training. Data from the study indicate that indeed there is a mismatch between the training students receive in school and the skills needed for successful entry-level employment. The researcher supports the recommendation offered by both students and businesses that School-Business partnerships are needed for improvement of student training and their success in the workplace.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of vocational education as a process for social control in the United States and Portugal, emphasizing the contributions of industry and the corporate world through educational partnerships. Specifically, the study examines how vocational education is perceived by educators and corporate leaders, and role of industry in either promoting social mobility for students or perpetuating social control. The study also analyzes the 1990 Carl D. Perkins Act and the 1986 Portuguese educational reform. This study uses a comparative/qualitative case study research methodology that includes historical research in vocational/technical education in the two countries, and analysis of data collected in interviews that reflect the perceptions of the interviewees in vocational education.

Inner-city economic development as well as educational reform is essential for empowering poor urban residents to compete in the economy and polity. Increasingly, the notion of local control over economic development, and education to that end, has arisen as a critical concern among theoreticians and practitioners. A model that inextricably entertwines economic control with education is worker-controlled and -owned enterprise. Such enterprises can provide jobs and income for often-unemployed urban residents who have been particularly hard-hit by economic restructuring, recession, and racism. Within such enterprises, poor and low-skilled workers are challenged by and imparted dignity through participation in policy decision-making and work design. A focus on economic development moves the civil rights agenda of the 1960's and '70's to confrontation with contemporary economic and racial realities, while collective (albeit private) control of enterprise challenges conservative, traditional approaches to community economic development. A highly successful home-health care enterprise in New York City which has created a substantial number of high-quality, low-skilled jobs for inner-city residents utilizing the worker-controlled and -owned model was studied. A case-study approach to determine the historical sequence of events was employed. A qualitative methodology involving interviews with individual workers and managers as well as statistically-compiled responses from virtually all workers to determine worker participation and satisfaction was utilized. The enterprise was compared with other traditionally-structured New York City home health care agencies as well as with another worker-controlled and -owned enterprise which was not a home health care agency. The study concluded that the worker-controlled and -owned model can be effective in addressing both urban poverty and poor education. Six essential elements for achieving democratic urban economic development are: (1) job creation; (2) service to local low-to-moderate income constituency; (3) design of challenging, full-time, tenured work; (4) democratization of workplace decision-making and profit; (5) payment of reasonable wages and benefits; and (6) contribution to further community economic development. The model studied introduced worker-ownership only after the enterprise had stabilized out of consideration for poor workers' financial limitations as well as a need for managerial control in establishing a viable enterprise. A nonformal educational method proved highly effective with low-skilled workers.

The concept of a school-business partnership offered education a tool to forge linkages with business organizations to smooth the transition from school to work for noncollege-bound students. Massachusetts became the first state to charter student branch banks under the sponsorship of a school-bank partnership. The purpose of the descriptive study was to document the initiation process that promotes the implementation of a public high school student branch bank with a collaborating financial partner. Using two dimensional samples of secondary administrators and financial executives, perceptions were obtained for clarification of four basic research questions: (1) How does the high school student-bank innovation become a component of the school curriculum? (2) What are the perceptions of educators and financial executives concerning their roles and responsibilities in the evolvement of a school-bank collaboration? (3) How does the school structure affect the learning environment of student branch bank (SBB) students? (4) How does the student-bank partnership contribute to the learning experience? Qualitative research methodology--including in-depth, semi-structured interviews; a survey questionnaire; field observations; and analysis of related documents--was used to collect data from 37 educators and 34 financial executives. Data gathered in the study indicated the catalysts of school-bank partnerships were mainly educators seeking to offer noncollege-bound students experiences to aid them in their transition from school to work. The research also showed that financial institutions used the student-branch-bank innovation as an investment in the youth of the community and as a future pool of trained, qualified teller-employees. The findings of the study revealed the success of welding the relationship between education and bank organizations rested heavily on leadership efforts to provide solutions to difficult problems, particularly those identified with scheduling and interorganizational communication. A review of literature covered the theoretical parameters of partnership, change, interorganizational relations, and leadership that were associated with innovation. Research design; data presentation and analysis; summary, conclusions, and recommendations; and further research implications are included in final chapters.