Career education: an evolving field

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

The pendulum is swinging back toward more opportunities in career/technical education. However, much has changed. These days, with the advent of new computer-driven technologies in every employment sector, it's not one's father's--or grandfather's--vocational education anymore.

Colorado State University Education professor Brian Cobb, a former high school teacher in the building trades, provided this brief overview of career/technical education history in the United States.

Vocational education began in this country in the late 1800s, as the workforce was shifting from agriculture to industry. There was an expansion in the types of work needed, and high schools built training programs to fit these jobs. This type of voc ed flourished through the 1950s.

The 1960s decade is called the post-Sputnik era, when Americans, fearing being overshadowed by Soviet bloc technology, put more emphasis on science and technical skills. During this period, the federal government pumped money into building secondary-level training programs at "vocational centers." These centers taught trades such as auto mechanics, business, construction and manufacturing, and youth were bussed from their hometowns to the centers.

It was the beginning of the three-track system: academic, vocational and general education. It was also the heyday of technical and vocational education in this country, and it would last until about 1980.

From the early 1980s until the present, the focus in high schools has shifted to academic subjects. Again, the impetus was competition in the global marketplace and the belief that American education was not keeping up. At the same time, however, there was a burst of community college building. These schools often had vocational training as their major focus.

Vocational programs at high schools and community colleges began competing, and the high schools lost out. One reason was that these programs are expensive to run, and it was easy to shift the responsibility to colleges, where students pay tuition.

With the high school focus now on academics, the standards and assessment movement that is so evident today started gaining momentum. The primary goal was not to prepare young people for jobs but to make them better educated in terms of literacy, math and science.

One result of this change in focus was that students in the middle and lower ranges, who are not as interested in academics, were left out.

Cobb said it's difficult politically to maintain an emphasis on training for students not college bound. He pointed to a study in the late 1980s called "The Forgotten Half," by the W.T. Grant Foundation, that accused the American educational system of leaving half the students behind. A follow-up study done recently indicated that these students still struggle, and many are not getting the preparation they need for the world of work.

As to the future of career education, Cobb said, the country "should not diminish our focus on academic training. We can keep that and allow options for kids where advanced academics is not useful."