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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 349 404 CE 061 869 AUTHOR Copa, George H.; Bentley, Carol B. TITLE Vocational Educations. Reprint Series. INSTITUTION National Center for Research in Vocational Education, Berkeley, CA. SPONS AGENCY Office of Vocational and Adult Education (ED), Washington, DC. PUB DATE 92 CONTRACT V051A80004-90A NOTE 58p.; Article originally published in the "Handbook of Research on Curriculum" (American Educational Research Association, 1992, pp. 891-944). AVAILABLE FROMNCRVE Materials Distribution Service, Horrabin Hall 46, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455 (order no. MDS-211: $2). PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Agricultural Education; Allied Health Occupations Education; Business Education; Career Education; Curriculum; Curriculum Design; *Curriculum Development; *Curriculum Research; Distributive Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Home Economics; Industrial Education; Marketing; *Public Schools; Research Needs; *Vocational Education ABSTRACT This document presents a historical curricular analysis, reviews current curricular research, and offers suggestions for future curricular research in vocational education. It focuses exclusively on the K-12 public school. The first section, a review of research on the development of vocational education as a curricular category, traces each of the major subfields of vocational education as well as the history of vocational education as a whole from their beginnings to about the mid-1970s. The second section, a review of current curricular research in the field, focuses on the period from the mid-1970s to the present. The review shows a considerable increase in attention to vocational education as an integrated instructional system, side by side with the attention given to specific subfields during the 1980s, and a shift in focus to the relationship of vocational education to the rest of the educational system in purposes and curriculum. Both sections show that, although the curricular research is extensive and disciplined, it is in large part still narrowly focused on technical competence, lacking in an overall conceptual framework, and heavily reliant on a single approach to curriculum development. The final section suggests areas for further research, treating each in one or two paragraphs. The areas include: general versus specific education, higher order thinking, basic skills, integration, keeping up to date, articulation, transition from school to work and family life, vocational education's role as change agent, vocational education and at-risk students, and state versus local curriculum content. A list or re.erences is appenaeo. kluv NGRVE National Center for Research in Vocational Education University of California Berkeley Reprint Series Vocational Education U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Researcn andimprovement EOUCA ONAL RESOURCESINFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) ts document has beenreproduced as George H. Copa reCeneed from the Person orOrgfinalstOn ongrnalIng Carol B. Bentley Minor changes have been madeto improve reproduction duainy 11 thrs (10Cv Poops ot vev. or 00.0ns statedrepresent othc.a. University of Minnesota men) do not necessarny OERI postfion orDOI,CY National Center for Research in VocationalEducation University of California at Berkeley 1995 University Avenue, Suite 375 Berkeley, CA 94704 NCRVE is supported by the Office of Vocational and AdultEducation, U.S. Department of Education. This article originally appeared in the Handbook of Research onCurriculum, 01992 by American Educational Research Association, pp. 891-944. Published by MacmillanPublishing Company, 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permissionof the publisher. 0--- \.9 This document is one in a continuing series of reprints. It has notbeen reviewed by NCRVE: therefore, this article makes these reprints available upon request forinformational purposes. CA) represents the views of the authors. NCRVE MDS-211 \O O )qd 2 BEST COPY AUDIBLE FUNDING INFORMATION Project Title: National Center for Research in Vocational Education Grant Number: V051A80004-90A Act under which Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act Funds Administered: P.L. 98-524 Source of Grant: Office of Vocational and Adult Education U.S. Department of Education Washington, DC 20202 Grantee: The Regents of the University of California National Center for Research in Vocational Education 1995 University Avenue, Suite 375 Berkeley, CA 94704 Director: Charles S. Benson Percent of Total Grant Financed by Federal Money: 100% Dollar Amount of Federal Funds for Grant: $5,675,000 Disclaimer. This publication was prepared pursuant to a grant with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgement in professional and technical matters.Points of view or opinions do not, tnerefore, necessarily represent official U.S. Department of Education position or policy. Discrimination: Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states: "No person in the United States shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."Therefore, the National Center for Research in Vocational Education project, like every program or activity receiving financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education, must be operated in compliance with these laws. 3 Table of Contents Introduction 891 Development of Vocational Education as a Curricular Category 891 Agricultural Education 892 Business Education 894 Home Economics Education 896 Industrial Education 899 Marketing Education 901 Health Occupations Education 903 Career Education 904 Vocational Education 905 Review of Current Curricular Research 910 Agricultural Education 910 Business Education 913 Home Economics Education 915 Industrial Education 918 Marketing Education 920 Health Occupations Education 923 Career Education 925 Vocational Education 926 Studies of the Whole Vocational Education Enterprise 926 Studies of Selected Curricular Topics 928 State-level Curricular Studies. 931 Summary 933 Implications for Further Research 933 General Versus Specific Education 933 Vocational Education and Higher-Order Thinking 933 Vocational Education and Basic Skills 934 Integration Within Vocational Subfields. 934 Keeping Vocational Education Up-to -Date 934 Articulation Among Levels of Vocational Education 934 Coordination Among Providers of Vocational Education 934 Transition from School to Work and Family Life. 935 Attention to Full Range of Work and Family Responsibilities 935 Vocational Education's Role as Change Agent 935 Vocational Education and At-Risk Students 935 Vocational Education and Stratification 935 Mission and Purpose of Vocational Education 935 State Versus Local Curriculum Content and Guides 935 Interaction of Content and methods of Vocational Education 936 Summary 936 Bibliography 936 Note: This table of contents did not appear in the original document. The author has added it as a courtesy to the reader. 4 co,31 VOCATIONAL EDUCATION George H. Copa and Caryl B. Bentley UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA The evolution of the K-12 curriculum in vocational educa- taught, who is taught. how it is taught. and how well it is tion from the 18th century to the present mirrors the dra- taught (Kliebard 1989): however, in this chapter the focus is matic shifts experienced by the larger American society as it primarily on the first of these componentsthe subject moved from agricultural beginnings through the Industrial matter to .taught. Revolution and into the contemporary electronic and global -Information Age." These shifts in socioeconomic condi- tions were accompanied by major changes in the demands of work and family roles and responsibilities. Vocational DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL education's focus on preparation for dealing effectively EDUCATION AS A CURRICULAR with the practical problems of work and family has chal- CATEGORY lenged its subject matter to be under continual development and renewal in order to be relevant to the needs of this changing society and make best use of knowledge de- As a curricular category, vocational education emerged veloped from research and practice. While all of education after the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. encompassing several prepares for work and family responsibilities in some mea- separate and definable areas of subject matter (i.e., agricul- sure. directedness toward learning that enhances effective- ture, business, home economics, industrial, and marketing ness in addressing work and family responsibilities is a education). Many of these subfields of vocational education unique contribution and challenging mission for vocational existed in some form in the secondary school prior to their education in the K-12 school curriculum. recognition as part of vocational education. Often the sub- This chapter presents a historical curricular analysis, re- fields had aims in addition to specific directedness toward views current curricular research, and offers suggestions for preparation