The purpose of this study was (1) to develop a guideline for cooperative education; (2) to determine the current status of cooperative vocational education in Utah; and (3) to compare current practices with the established guideline. This study was completed in two parts. The first part involved the construction and verification of a guideline for cooperative education in Utah; the second, a survey of the current status of cooperative education. A descriptive survey technique was employed to gather data required for determination of the guideline's validity and relevance, and the current status of cooperative education in Utah. All 13 key administrators in the state office, 75 coordinators representing 84 percent of the initial mailings and 112 cooperating employers or 74 percent of the selected sample participated in this study. Opinions from the 13 key administrators in the Utah State Division of Vocational and Technical Education were largely in agreement with the tentative guideline derived from the two nationally accepted guides in cooperative education. Due to the lack of an official guide for cooperative education in Utah, many of the coordinators' interpretations of federal legislation and state regulations were based on their own convenience. Inconsistencies in programs, standards and requirements were frequently found among cooperative programs in Utah. There appear to be some discrepancies existing between the current practices and the established guideline mainly because in a majority of the programs: (1) students spend insufficient numbers of hours in attending school or receiving on- the-job training; (2) schools provide inadequate in-school instruction; and (3) students receive substandard on-the-job supervision.

AbstractStudents that are absent are one of the major problems that the school system and teachers have to tackle today. This study sets out to investigate why some behind students from vocational programs at two upper secondary schools are absent from English. Furthermore the aim of the study is to investigate what would motivate students to attend more frequently. Five students that attend vocational programs and have or had high degree of absence from English classes were interviewed. The informants described the reasons behind their absence and what would motivate them to attend more often. In addition 60 students answered a questionnaire concerning their absence and attendance.According to the students the reasons behind truancy were unskilled teachers, noisy classrooms, non-supportive teachers and unstructured lessons. Students also said why they play truant is that they are academically behind and can not meet the objectives. Majority of students who were interviewed admitted that they would meet the objectives if they would study more.Key words: absence, attendance, truancy, vocational programs

The purpose of the study is to make a survey of criteria for a general high school vocational program, to evaluate the vocational program of the Waco State Home High School in this respect, and to make recommendations, where thought necessary, for needed changes in the curriculum.

Recent reports have indicated that students’ motivation is declining, and that students in vocational programs show particularly low motivation. However, studies show that motivation and Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) strategies are closely intertwined, where motivation is depicted as an instigating and maintaining force that fuels a learner’s efforts toward a goal, and SRL-strategies are the actions that learners use to solve different tasks and structure their own learning processes. The result of these studies infer that vocational students’ struggle may not only be explained through having low motivation, but perhaps also through having few and/or ineffective learning strategies. To gain insight into this matter, this study  aims to research what vocational- and general academic program students in upper secondary school report on their motivation and use of SRL-strategies when solving individual assignments in English class, and whether there are any tangible differences between the two programs. The study uses a quantitative method, where a questionnaire was used to elicit 22 vocational program students’, and 29 academic program students’ self-perceived positions in regard to different statements related to motivation and SLR-strategy use. The statements were answered through a seven-point Likert scale. The study found that academic program students report higher for all types of motivation and SRL-strategy use, although vocational students only report slightly lower in comparison. The more tangible differences were that vocational program students reported for significantly higher anxiety, less sense of responsibility, and use of fewer socio-affective strategies. This study’s results show that there are some tangible differences between the two groups. The study can therefore be used as a stepping-stone for future studies on how to help students in becoming more capable.

The present study aimed to investigate the variations in students’ motivation and attitudes to learn English. Previous research has shown that attitudes and motivation among students enrolled in vocational study programs have difficulty with the academic subjects, work ethics, and an anti-study culture among them (Lindahl, 2015; Boström, 2013; Smagorinsky, 2010). The present study aimed to investigate the attitudes and motivation of students enrolled in vocational study programs through a questionnaire and semi-structured focus group interviews. The material was analyzed through the theoretical framework of Dörnyei’s (2005;2009) Motivational L2 self-system concepts: the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, and the L2 learning experience. The study showed differences within the different vocational study programs, where the Agricultural Program was mainly motivated by the ought-to L2 self. The Building and Construction Programs were motivated by all three concepts, and the Equestrian and Veterinary Care Programs were motivated by the ideal L2 self. In other words, there was no consensus on what influenced the motivation and attitudes toward English. Therefore, the teachers should invest in relationships with their students to know what motivates them since there is a clear difference between the programs.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka vad som kan ha betydelse för läsundervisningeni engelska på gymnasiets yrkesprogram. Anledningen till att yrkesprogram har valts fördenna studie beror på att det verkar finnas ett stort läsmotstånd på dessa program, och det är svårt att hitta tidigare forskning om just yrkeselever. Hur engelsklärare utformar sin läsundervisning, vilka arbetsmetoder för läsning som anses vara lärorika/mindre lärorika för läsundervisningen i engelska på yrkesprogram, samt vilka faktorer som har betydelse för yrkeselevernas arbete med läsuppgifter i engelskundervisningen kommer att undersökas närmare. Metoden som tillämpas för att undersöka detta är fyra kvalitativa lärarintervjuer samt sex elevintervjuer. Resultatet visar att fria val av texter har en positiv inverkan för elevernas läsmotivation och detta är något som får stöd både från lärare och elever, men i huvudsak från elevperspektivet. Vidare så framkommer det i resultatet att stödet för diskussioner i helklass eller mindre grupper som arbetsmetod i läsundervisningen inte har ett särskilt starkt stöd från varken lärare eller elever, trots att tidigare forskning pekar på att diskussioner är en uppskattad arbetsmetod att använda sig av. Att elevernas intresseområden bör beaktas vid valet av texter är tydligt då denna aspekt lyfts fram av samtliga lärare samt en majoritet av eleverna. Om eleverna får läsa om något som intresserar dem är det större chans att de finner läsningen motiverande. Tydliga lässtrategier i undervisningen är något som förespråkas av hälften av de intervjuade lärarna samt större delen av eleverna. Lässtrategier förenklar för eleverna när de ska läsa en längretext och hjälper dem att förstå och komma ihåg det de läser. / The purpose of this essay is to examine what might be important for the teaching of reading in English in the upper secondary school's vocational program. The reason why vocationalprograms have been chosen for this study is due to the fact that there seems to be a great resistance to reading on these programs, and it is difficult to find previous research on vocational students in particular. How English teachers design their teaching when it comesto reading assignments, which working methods for reading that are considered instructive/less instructive for the teaching of reading in English in vocational programs, as well as important aspects for the vocational students' work with reading assignments in English teaching will be examined in more detail. The method used to examine this is four qualitative teacher interviews and six student interviews. The results show that if the students are allowed to choose texts freely, it will have a positive impact on students'reading motivation and this is something that receives support from both teachers and students, but mainly from the student's perspective. Furthermore, it appears in the results that the support for discussions in class or in small groups as a working method for reading assignments, does not have particularly strong support from either teachers or students,despite previous research indicating that discussions are an appreciated working method to use. That the students' areas of interest should be taken into account when choosing texts is clear as this aspect is highlighted by all the teachers and a majority of the students. If the students get to read about something that interests them, there is a greater chance thatthey will find the reading motivating. Clear reading strategies in teaching are something thatis advocated by half of the interviewed teachers and most of the students. Reading strategies make it easier for students when they have to read a longer text and strategies will help them to understand and remember what they read.

There has been a significant increase in the nation's female incarceration rate. During 2006, the number of women in prison increased by approximately 4.5 %. The increase of female prisoners from 2005 to 2006 was larger than the average growth rate of 2.9% from 2000 through 2005. Women ages 35 to 39 made up the largest percentage of female prisoners. At the end of 2006, females made up 7.2% of the prison population under State or Federal jurisdiction, up from 6.7% in 2000. Oklahoma had the highest female incarceration rate in the nation, approximately 129, 000 inmates; followed by Louisiana, which incarcerated 108, 000 female inmates (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006). The purpose of this study was to describe how college- educated incarcerated females in a state prison perceived their incarceration experiences. The central research question was: how do college-educated incarcerated females perceive their incarceration experience? Data were collected by conducting interviews with nine women who had a minimum of two years of college-level coursework from a regionally accredited college or university and who did not have a history of drug abuse. Findings suggest that while there are negative aspects of college-educated females' incarceration experiences, the totality of the experience was not negatively perceived.

There has been research that suggests that an anti-studying culture is present in vocational programs in Sweden (Högberg 2009), and that teachers need to adapt their teaching to the students’ vocational interests in order to create an interest in learning (Lindahl 2015; Riley & Eriksson 2014; Smagorinsky et al. 2010). This study investigates how three teachers working at a vocational school in a rural area of Sweden teach the English 5 course. This entails investigating how the teachers perceive student attitudes, how they adapt their teaching, and also how they work to raise motivation among the students. The method used for this is semi-structured personal interviews along with a qualitative content analysis. The results of the study showed that attitudes among students are generally good with some exceptions, where lacking proficiency seems to be a factor regarding poor attitudes. It became evident that the main tool for raising motivation among the students is the adaptation of the teaching. The results also showed that some student groups are more interested in learning English than others, likely because of some students seeing English more a useful tool for their future working life. The issue of social structures regarding the Swedish educational system is also brought up. There is an implication for teachers regarding the adaptations – there has to be a balance between making vocational students interested, while still making sure they do not miss out on any content, i.e. that they get equal opportunity to learn as other students.

Denna uppsats behandlar problematiken kring det låga antalet kvinnor i el-, bygg- ochfordonsbranschen. Undersökningen som gjorts vid uppsatsskrivandet sticker ut genom attvisa yrkesnämndernas perspektiv på rekryteringen av kvinnor till och deras förutsättningaratt ta gymnasieexamen på de mansdominerade yrkesprogrammen, el och energi, bygg och anläggning samt fordon och transport. Representanter från yrkesnämnderna har intervjuats.Vi hoppas att under-sökningens resultat ska öka förståelsen kring hur en mansdomineradutbildningsmiljö kan påverka kvinnor samt möjliga rekryteringsinsatser för att öka antaletkvinnor till yrkes-programmen. I undersökningen används Connells genusteori samt Patton och McMahons systemteori om påverkansfaktorer för att analysera resultatet. Forskningen bekräftar yrkes-programmens sneda könsfördelning och visar på att ökade vägledningsinsatser behövs för att förmedla en bättre bild av arbetsmarknaden och vidga vyer för att möjliggöra norm-brytande val.Vår undersökning visar att en stor variation av rekryteringsinsatser används för att ökaantalet kvinnor på yrkesprogrammen, både på ett politiskt, organisatoriskt och individuelltplan. Resultatet visar även på att de förutsättningar som kvinnor ges på de mansdominerade yrkesprogrammen innebär välkomnande, eventuellt särbehandling i form av ett hjälpande tillsammans med ett visst motstånd. Hård jargong är ett exempel på motstånd som påverkar dem på vägen mot en gymnasieexamen. / This thesis deals with the problem of the low number of women in the electricity, construction and automotive industries. It highlights the trade councils perspectives on the recruitment of women to and their prerequisites to take the high school degree on three maledominated vocational programs, electricity and energy, construction and construction(typo) as well as vehicles and transport. Representatives from the trade councils have been interviewed. We hope that the results of the survey will increase the understanding of how a male-dominated education environment can affect women and possible recruitment efforts to increase the number of women in vocational programs. The survey uses Connell's gender theory as well as Patton and McMahon's system theory of influence factors to analyze the results. The research confirms the uneven gender distribution of the vocational programs and shows that increased guidance is needed to convey a better picture of the labor market and broaden views to enable norm-breaking education choices.Our results shows that a large variety of recruitment efforts are used to increase thenumber of women in vocational programs, both at a political, organizational and individuallevel. The result also shows that the conditions that women are subjected to on the maledominated vocational programs vary in welcoming, possibly special treatment in the form of a “helping” along with a certain resistance such as hard jargon affecting them on their way to a high school degree.

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the size of the Saudi Arabian manpower shortage in light of the Second Development Plan, (2) the number of skilled and semi-skilled workers that will be graduated from vocational and technical programs during the plan period, and (3) the factors that explain the major causes of the labor shortage problem. In order to accomplish these objectives, the study has considered two questions: (1) Is there a consistency between the manpower needs of skilled and semi-skilled workers and the vocational and technical training programs' output? (2) What are the major factors that explain the labor shortage in Saudi Arabia?