Vocational Education Essay Example For Students

Vocational Education Essay There are many challenges that a nation must face. One is preparing theyouth for the careers of tomorrow. Vocational Education prepares the young peoplefor successful careers. The contextual learning teaches concepts as they areapplied in real life and the world of work, hands-on problem solving activities/exercises. Linking secondary and post secondary vocational education programs into a seamlesscareer preparation program. Young people used to find it much easier to enter the job market than they do today. We will write a custom essay on Vocational Education specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Most jobs today require a combination of critical thinking and manual capabilities. Employers are dissatisfied with the preparation of entry level workers. The employersfeel the expand and improve the career preparation offered by our nationssecondary schools are a must. WHAT IS WORKINGThe 1994 National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) shows thatparticipation in Vocational Education can have substantial payoffs for students,particularly when students complete a program or coherent sequences of courses. High school graduates who complete a coherent sequence of vocational courses are morelikely to find training related jobs, earn more in those jobs, and are less likely to beunemployed over time than those with a more general background. Post secondarystudents who complete non-baccalaureate degree vocational programs receive moremarket benefits than those who complete the same number of credits, but does notMorris 2complete a degree program. In recent years, Federal support has strengthened state andlocal development of promising new approaches that address the readiness oflarge segments of American youth to take up productive roles in todays workplace. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act broadens the meaning of curriculum by callingfor integrated learning organized into coherent sequences around broadly convergedcareer majors, work experience, as well as academics and occupational study. School-to-work systems is driven by the recognition that neither academics not occupationaleducation alone provides all students with the skills ? problem-solving, reasoning,interactive learning-necessary for further education and for high wage employment. Integrated learning also restores meaning and relevance to the students experience ofschooling. Transforming what in too many high schools is a disjointed series of coursesinto a meaningfully integrated, experientially grounded education that continuallydemonstrates to students how education applied to real life. Integrated learning is also ateaching strategy that more closely matches human cognition than traditional high schoolclass work. The development of integrated curriculum requires collaborative planning amongschool administrators, academics and occupational teachers, employers, and labor unions. School-to-Work partnership meetings also provide opportunities for building theseconnections. This strategy has a long term potential for providing students withvocational education experiences that raises both their motivation and achievements,while also preparing them for employment and post secondary education. Many statesMorris 3across the nation are undertaking these promising directions as the cornerstone for majorreforms to improve workforce preparation in secondary and post secondary education. REFERENCESVocational Education, http://www.ed.gov/updates/Working/voc-educ. 9/5/97Curriculum Integration in School-to-Work Systems, http://www.stw.ed.gov/factsht/bull,9/5/97