From the Director

A class where the light bulb goes on

What do you do with shop class in a community where all the children are above average? For local advocates of "vocational education" -- high school classes with career-related content -- that question has been a decades-long source of frustration. A history of assumptions about the vocational track -- entirely separate and distinct from the college track -- has been deeply embedded in Palo Alto's college-obsessed culture.

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School reform...second thoughts from a leading scholar?

Diane Ravitch has long been an advocate of these reforms but is now rethinking many of the fundamental assumptions behind current efforts to improve public education. Among the topics on which Dr. Ravitch has reversed her views is the main federal law on public schools, No Child Left Behind, which is up for a rewrite in coming weeks in Congress. She once supported it, but now says its requirements for testing in math and reading have squeezed vital subjects like history and art out of classrooms....
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Vocational education upgrade: Chicago schools roll out 7-year makeover

The Chicago Public Schools system is overhauling its Career and Technical Education program to provide about 25,000 teens the skills they'll need to land well-paying jobs -- such as those in the medical or electrical fields -- right out of high school.

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Want the latest updates about the Center's research and news from the field? Send your name, email address, and/or mailing address to nrccte@louisville.edu.

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Center Research Featured in Techniques

As part of the Center's ongoing Crosswalk Validation project, Deputy Director Pradeep Kotamraju wrote an article entitled A New Direction for CTE Accountability and Evaluation that appears in the March issue of Techniques magazine. You may download the article (PDF document) or read it in Techniques' online version.

Center Director Jim Stone also has a feature in this month's issue entitled It Isn't Easy Being Green, Or Is It? The article addresses the impact of green technologies on CTE. Download the article or read it online.

Latest Center Report - Programs of Study Joint Technical Report

NRCCTE Joint Technical Report on Programs of Study

The principal investigators of the NRCCTE's three field-based longitudinal studies of Programs of Study (POS) recently completed a joint technical report on early observations derived from their on-going research. Joined by Morgan Lewis, co-author of the Lewis and Kosine (2008) Center report on POS, the co-authors of this joint technical report (a) summarize the literature on previous initiatives that share many similarities with the components of POS, specifically Tech Prep, career pathways, and dual/concurrent enrollment, (b) review the evidence on the effects of participation in CTE on engagement in school, academic achievement, and transition to postsecondary education and employment, (c) describe the NRCCTE's three field-based research studies, and (d) offer preliminary observations about the implementation of the four Perkins-mandated core components of POS. Download the full Programs of Study: Year 2 Joint Technical Report (PDF document).

Latest Center Report - Online Occupational Education in Community Colleges

Online Occupational Education in Community Colleges ReportThis report, based on the Center research project of the same name,  examined the current state of online occupational programs in community colleges and explored issues related to institutional, economic, and social indicators that influence (a) the offering of online programs and (b) the programmatic connection to workforce development needs. This project is the first national study that categorizes and inventories specific types of online occupational programs in community colleges. As online education will play an increasingly central role in the nation's workforce development efforts, this study will provide institutions and policymakers with national data to influence future decisions. The study's authors are Rod Githens, Fashaad Crawford, and Timothy Sauer. Download the full report (PDF document).

This report was cited in the Chronicle of Higher Education's online news Ticker on Monday, March 1.

New Center Video on Programs of Study in Brevard Public Schools

How has one district gone about implementing Programs of Study? The NRCCTE visited Viera High School, Brevard Public Schools (BPS), Florida, and talked to faculty, staff, and students from BPS and Brevard Community College (BCC). BPS has worked with its postsecondary and business-and-industry partners on its advisory committees to organize its POS to help students, parents, and counselors plan rigorous and relevant course sequences leading to industry-recognized credentials and postsecondary credit-earning opportunities, particularly through its college credit certificates (CCCs). Read more and watch the video here.

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Upcoming Events

ACTE National Policy Seminar


NRCCTE to Hold Seminar and Webinar on Programs of Study at NPS 2010

Join the conversation about CTE Programs of Study with the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education. Center director James R. Stone III and principal investigators from the Center's four field-based projects on Programs of Study will present early observations, answer questions about their findings, and discuss the evolution of Programs of Study at the ACTE 2010 National Policy Seminar. Read more and register for the live webinar here.

NRCCTE Announces Its 2010 Spring Colloquium with OVAE

The NRCCTE will hold its annual spring colloquium featuring principal investigators and staff of its research, professional development, dissemination, and technical assistance projects jointly with staff of the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, from Monday, April 26th through Wednesday, April 28th. All are welcome to attend. To learn more and RSVP, please visit the Colloquium's page.

New Podcast from the Promising and Practitioner Wisdom Practice Project!

In our latest podcast, Dr. Karen H. Jones, a professor of workforce education at the University of Georgia and ACTE's 2005 National Outstanding Career and Technical Educator, spoke tabout the M.A.T.H. Today (Mathematics and Technology Happen Today) Project, a grant-funded three-year study of whether participation in computer-based mathematics programs would improve work-related math skills of students from special populations. This study was identified by ACTE and the NRCCTE through the Center's Promising and Practitioner Wisdom project, an on-going search for innovative practices that meet the needs of CTE students. Listen to other podcasts and learn more in our new Idea Center.

The Center's latest multimedia content is always available on our Webcasts and Podcasts page. Listen to our researchers'  updates on their on-going projects related to programs of study, curriculum integration, and more, all available for free through the iTunes storefront or direct from the Center's page at Podbean.com.

Featured Report: Systematic Reviews of Research: Postsecondary Transitions - Identifying Effective Models and Practices

This systematic review of the literature on transition programs for youth to postsecondary education sought to identify models or programs of transition, establish a definition of successful transition, discover how models or programs are evaluated, and examine the impact of such transition programs, specifically those that aim to facilitate transition from an educational system to another educational system, to program completion, or to specific career-related employment for disadvantaged youth. 

The study's authors are Jeffrey C. Valentine, Amy S. Hirschy, Christine D. Bremer, Walter Novillo, Marisa Castellano, and Aaron Banister. Download the full report here (PDF document).

 

chat iconThe Idea Center

Join us on the new Promising and Practitioner Wisdom Practices webpage, the Idea Center. We'll be discussing our latest finds, the Texarkana, Arkansas School District's Passport Project, the M.A.T.H. Today study, and the Hot Air Balloon project, the subjects of our latest podcasts.

Want to nominate a potential promising or practitioner wisdom practice for consideration? Email nrccte@louisville.edu and visit the project's overview page for more information.