This paper advocates the community college bachelor's degree (BA). The author presents the Canadian system as a possible model for the emerging United States trend toward community college BA programs. He argues that the U.S. binary educational system is vertical, separating institutions according to levels of learning, while the European and…

The processes of learning about and exploring different vocations should begin in elementary school. Elementary school teachers and administrators planning career education must be careful to develop sequential objectives that are achievable, challenging, and tailored to students' interests. Elementary-level career education may emphasize separate…

Finds progress in the area of curriculum (increasing graduation requirements) since publication of "A Nation at Risk," but argues that some educational interest groups, especially teacher unions, have succeeded in blocking certain "Risk" recommendations requiring real changes, such as extending the school year, while supporting…

This prospectus for an accounting course is one of a series of business education position papers/curriculum guides developed for high schools in Connecticut to demonstrate that business courses can be used as part of an integrated academic and vocational curriculum. The guide is organized into the following six sections: (1) business department…

Examination of almost any university's curricular goals or expectations and the actual courses taken by particular students demonstrates significant discrepancies between the rationale and the actuality and between the intentions of general or specialized education and the knowledge made available in the courses taken. A major reason for the…

Twentieth century science is producing a wonderland of paradoxes, a new scientific literature of subjective, imaginative writing, a validation of all creative expression in the arts, and interaction with the so-called subjective and pseudo sciences from psychiatry to the paranormal. Cartesian dualism and reductionistic thinking have formed the…

This working paper outlines several issues that federal and state policymakers face in implementing the Carl Perkins Amendments of 1990. Each of 11 issues is presented with a brief comment outlining several alternatives, to serve as the basis for discussion. Since it is designed to stimulate discussion, this document does not present any…

Educational reform efforts have thus far excluded vocational education. Recently, there has been a great deal of interest in reevaluating vocational education's role in facilitating academic excellence and economic competitiveness. Inadequate basic skills remain a significant and growing problem. There is a direct relationship between basic skills…

Perspectives on providing general education for college students are presented in three papers. In "General Education in a Contemporary Context" by Jerry G. Gaff, the need for curricular reforms and two common approaches to the process are considered, and changing circumstances that indicate the need for new approaches to general education are…

Feels 1964-1984 was a transitional period in Soviet education when school curriculum vacillated between academic and vocational emphases. Traces individual reforms and their impacts on academic/vocational training at all schooling levels. Focuses on access to post-secondary education, the curriculum available, and its increased politicalization.…

One possible explanation for Australia's technical and further education's (TAFE's) defensiveness in its relationship with higher education is its lack of a secure definition since its foundation by the Kangan committee. Perhaps vocational education could found its identity on another characteristic. Neither an analysis of various definitions of…

Discusses the collegiate role of community colleges, arguing that liberal arts and transferable career education make up the collegiate function. Suggests that access to collegiate education is a stronger form of educational opportunity because of the skills it can provide and the potential for educational and other gains for students. (MAB)

This publication begins with a fact sheet that details how tech prep can and should complement other dropout prevention strategies used by a school district. The rest of the document contains 110 selected quotes, statistics, and statements concerning the need for tech prep programs. References (author, title, source, date) are given in parentheses…

The Joint Task Force on Implementing Occupational Options in Wisconsin undertook a 6-month study to identify issues related to occupational preparation, including the state's proposed tech prep and apprenticeship programs, successful policies and practices of tech prep and apprenticeship models to be modified to meet the state's needs, and…

The topic of this paper is the "new sociology of education" (NSOE) and its origins in the early 1970's. One aim of this paper is to argue that the regressive return to a rigid and ahistorical academic curriculum is not the only alternative. A second theme is the suggestion that the NSOE took a highly unreflective view of the role of…