<p> The onset of the 21st century brought a new dynamic in the workforce fueled by societal changes and technological advancements. These forces helped to create the conditions that transformed the economy from the industrial age of routine labor to a knowledge age where creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking are now needed for success. In addition, the forecasts for this new global economy of the 21st century project that students will need not only new skillsets but also increased levels of education to succeed in the workplace. To prepare all students for postsecondary education and foster the growth of these new skillsets, education has to integrate reform efforts that address these changes. Yet, a challenge to transforming the education system of the industrial age to one that meets the needs of the 21st century is the two-track system that was created to align with an industrial age economy: one track for those who were to attend higher education and one for those who were to enter the workforce directly from high school. Linked Learning is an evidence-based reform effort that addresses these changes. It includes four elements: academic and technical coursework, student support systems, and work-based learning opportunities. Linked Learning prepares all students for postsecondary education options. Coaches&rsquo; training has been identified as a strategy to aid in the implementation of the elements of Linked Learning and change instructional practice.</p><p> This quantitative dissertation research study examined the impact of the coaches&rsquo; training on the implementation of Linked Learning approach. The study used a web-based survey to collect data from educators who had participated in the coaches&rsquo; training to assess if the training was of value in implementing the core elements and beliefs of Linked Learning with their districts after they had completed the sessions and supporting assignments. Twenty-one educators from northern, central and southern California who had participated in the training responded to 35 Likert items that were aligned to the seven intended coaches&rsquo; outcomes. Participants were given the opportunity to add comments to each section. The results allowed for an assessment of the impact.</p>

<p> Challenges encountered by young adults with intellectual disabilities (ID) during the transition from high school to employment have great potential to limit an individual&rsquo;s opportunity and/or capacity for self-determination regarding employment. This mixed-method study is focused on defining the characteristics of self-determined people and examining the challenges to self-determination experienced by a group of nine Project SEARCH interns with ID. Through field observations as well as initial and final interviews, photographs, goal-reporting, and administration of the <i>AIR Self-Determination Scale,</i> the challenges discovered among the Project SEARCH interns included those related to communication; social interaction and awareness; work skill development; emotional control; disposition, positive attitude, and work ethic; and seeing oneself outside of the current work experience. It further examined how intern experiences, interactions, and individualized supports available during the Project SEARCH year contributed to an intern&rsquo;s positive growth and change in the self-determination characteristics directly related to his/her identified challenges.</p>

This study explores the effect of policy and funding changes in the further education (FE) sector on the nature of teacher professionalism and the general vocational curriculum. In the last decade there has been tremendous change in the FE sector. It has been argued that this has been the result of fundamental alterations in the organization and distribution of work. The consequence has been that much governmental attention has been paid to the post-school sector. The recent White Paper Learning to Succeed (DfEE, 1999b) has been one of a number of attempts to redress the perceived failure of the sector to provide a skilled workforce for the needs of industry. My thesis seeks to reflect upon the effects of policy and funding changes in one further education college. It concentrates on changes in general vocational education and training. It reflects on the impact of those changes upon teacher professionalism in further education. The research took place in a college of further education using case study methods. The data for my findings are derived from participant observation techniques and semi-structured interviews with teaching staff. It utilized a qualitative critical ethnographic methodology with the aim of giving a voice to those most affected by the changes. Lecturers believe that significant changes to the sector were initiated by the Incorporation of colleges (April, 1993) and have accelerated since. The fieldwork took place in the academic year 1998-99. The literature review part of my research found that, in order to advance the government's vision for a 'learning society', it opined that alterations in the general vocational curriculum were necessary. I believe that changes to the professional lives of college lecturers were required in order to implement that end. It is my conviction that the changes are instrumental. They are about preparing young people for the needs of industry alone. The lecturers in my study believe such changes have had a negative effect on their definitions of the concept of professionalism. Further to this, they feel that the new qualifications and the way they had to be taught, to the backdrop of, for example, cuts in class contact hours, have had a detrimental effect on the education and training of students. These developments, they maintain, will militate against any evolution of a true 'learning society', if such a society would have the aim of producing a future citizenry (not just workers) in a 'reflective participatory democracy'.

<p> All students should leave high school equipped with the academic and technical skills necessary to pursue higher education and/or a career. In a changing world, this now means that workforce readiness now demands the same high level of knowledge and skills needed for those who plan to pursue a post-secondary education. While Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays a critical role in accomplishing this goal, it is not always included in the college and career ready conversation. The purpose of this study was to determine what educational outcomes influence student placement in college, career, or both at 12 and 24 months after graduation and what can be learned by examining patterns of those outcomes that will advance current knowledge relative to placement in college or career.</p><p> The research study used ex post facto data in a quantitative non-experimental correlational research design to retrospectively examine placement at 12 and 24 months after high school graduation to determine which educational variables (independent variables) most significantly influenced placement (dependent) in college and career or both. The sample included 6,145 graduates from a Maryland school system. Data analysis included Chi-Square with Cramer&rsquo;s V and Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID).</p><p> The key finding indicated that participation in Advanced Placement (AP) college level courses while in high school, was the most significant predictor of placement at 12 and 24 months after graduation indicating that continued exposure to college level courses throughout a student&rsquo;s high school experience can overcome performance on standardized tests intended to determine college and career readiness. The study also confirmed that a significant number of students who selected traditional career pathways also pursued college. This speaks to the importance of preparation for both college and career no matter what industry the student intends to pursue.</p>

The present study was concerned with differences between four groups of college students with various vocational goals. The impetus for this study stems from the development of a new instrument designed to scientifically measure the underlying factors of basic goals in life.

The problem of this study is to determine if certain factors which may be associated with quality of programs of work are significantly different in the most successful departments of vocational agriculture in selected areas of Texas from those in the least successful departments in the same areas. A consideration of the following sub-problems is involved in solving the main problem. 1. Evolution of the objectives of vocational education in agriculture. 2. Identification of activities denoting success in departments of vocational agriculture. 3. Selecting the most successful and the least successful departments of vocational agriculture. 4. Determining the relationship of certain factors to the success of departments of vocational agriculture.

No description available.

<p> The debate over the effective preparation of pre-service teachers is not new. Often this debate concerns what might be considered successful methods for all pre-service teachers. However, preparation for career and technical education (CTE) teachers could look quite different than that of academic teachers, whether they are prepared through traditional or alternative routes to education. In this qualitative study, the researcher examined two iterations of the alternative-route program designed to prepare new CTE teachers in Mississippi and considered the level of self-efficacy of the teacher participants, the perceived effectiveness of the specific elements of each program, and the perceived significance of teacher/administrator and teacher/mentor relationships. The results of this study indicate that participants in the most recent iteration of the alternative-route program have a higher level of self-efficacy in teaching. The study also found that the specific elements of the newer version of the program are perceived as more relevant than those of the older version of the program and that teacher/administrator and teacher/mentor relationships play a key role in self-efficacy and job satisfaction among new CTE teachers. The results of this study also revealed that new CTE teachers desire opportunities to grow their pedagogical content knowledge by interacting and learning from veteran teachers in their respective content areas. Additionally, some of the more effective teachers who participated in this study rated themselves lower than their less effective colleagues on a self-efficacy survey and vice versa, indicating the presence of the Dunning-Kruger effect, which posits that, when an individual is unskilled in a certain task, they not only make poor choices in that area but also lack the metacognitive ability to realize it.</p>

<p> This study focused on the development of specific aspect of beginning teacher Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in an Alternative Certification Program (ACP). Data was collected over a period of over two years and included lesson plans, interviews with the participants and their mentors as well as classroom observations and participant reflections. Four participants were purposefully selected to represent one cohort in the ACP. Individual profiles constructed for each case and the subsequent cross-case analysis revealed that the participants shifted their beliefs about students as learners and assessment based on the influence of the context under which they were developing at each point in time. These shifts, while dependent on their views of the context, were strongly influenced by their initial views as they relate to these aspects of PCK. Participants would resolve any conflict arising with new views presented to them in a subjective manner, prioritizing coherence with their prior knowledge on the specific aspect of PCK and with the other aspects of their PCK. These findings provide an alternative perspective on the nature of the shift in knowledge that occurs during teacher preparation and the initial years of teaching. It allows us to provide a different angle on the dynamics among PCK components based on the interaction among them as they develop over time. Moreover they allow us to see that this development is neither linear nor unidirectional. Additionally it shows us that teachers constantly revalue their views of students as learners and assessment based on the experiences provided by both their academic and professional context. </p>

For twenty-five years, development in Thailand has been guided by five-year National Economic and Social Development plans, each of which has contained an educational component. During these years, educational policy, including policy vocational education, has been changed. The purpose of this study was to examine why and how vocational education policy shifted over time. / A comprehensive review was made of vocational education as part of the larger education and social enterprise. The review of literature examined education, especially vocational education in the broad context. Four areas were explored: (a) the meaning of vocational education; (b) global education expansion and reform trends over the past 25 years; (c) persistent educational problems, such as illiteracy, the "diploma disease," continuing inequality, and class reproduction; and (d) enduring controversies related to vocational education, such as the relationship between vocational and academic education and the implications for vocational education in the changing world of work. / Historical and qualitative methods were used in the investigation. Interviews were held with key people involved in the developement of Thai vocational education policy. Documents and research literature related to Thai vocational education policy were also examined. The policy analysis literature that deals with the forces shaping policy development and the review of global trends in educational expansion and reform served as a contextual framework within which to analyze and interpret Thai vocational education policy over the past 25 years. / The study found that Thai vocational education policy has shifted in order to guide related government agencies in meeting the needs of national economic development. Policy shifts and Ministry of Education programs were shaped by domestic, economic, social, and political pressures. There was also some influence from external forces. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-07, Section: A, page: 1633. / Major Professor: Steven J. Klees. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1987.