The purpose of this study was to ascertain reasons why high school students who did or did not participate in cooperative education work part time during the school year. The research was based on two questions: (1) the opinions of Tennessee high school students about working part time during the school year; and (2) differences in the two groups…

Within a climate characterized by increasingly diverse and nontraditional student populations and by general student disinterest in learning, the liberal arts have declined precipitously in community colleges. Rather than serving primarily as stepping stones to higher education, community colleges now serve mainly as sources of occupational and…

Problems, issues, and options related to the design and implementation phase of an academic program review process are considered. Directed toward administrators and other nonexpert participants in program review, the analysis is intended to assist in the decision of what kind of review is needed, how it might be carried out, and how results might…

As American society has changed from the industrial age to the information age to the knowledge/imagination age, the notion of a comprehensive high school in its originally envisioned form has again become a high priority. If all students are required to obtain a rigorous academic education and an applied education related to a life or work…

This paper describes the development and dissemination of microteaching methods in Europe and some African countries, with emphasis on the United Kingdom and Germany. A tool for teacher preparation, microteaching trains teaching behaviors and skills in small group settings aided by video-recordings. Consistent with education reform efforts, the…

In 1991, the state of Arkansas passed state requirements for the establishment of a tech prep core curriculum for high school programs. The Arkansas program will be developed around the 2+4+2+2 theory, but will mostly focus on the 2+2 plan integrating academic and vocational education. The goal will be to advance the competencies of academic and…

Recent studies showing the need for improvements in the educational system in the United States have resulted in strengthening of academic requirements, upgrading of standards for promotion, and increased course loads in high schools throughout the country. Pennsylvania is no exception to this trend; the passage of Chapter 5 legislation, which…

The paper states that the fragmentary character of knowledge makes unified study of a subject such as American Studies an illusion. Two aspects of the interdisciplinary approach are discussed: (1) the failure of subject fields such as American Studies to accept the predicament in which modern scholarship finds itself; and (2) the homogenizing of…

Integration of academic and vocational curricula is just one of an arsenal of processes that school leaders can use to improve delivery of curriculum and instruction. It holds great promise in enhancing acquisition of basic skills necessary in an increasingly technological and socially complex workplace. The variations in which integration can…

This paper presents an overview of 15 years of international study designed to determine the nature of motivational beliefs, values and goals held by students from different cultural groups, the comparability of these beliefs, values, and goals with those promoted by classrooms and schools, and the impact individual, cultural/social, peer, family,…

An alternative curriculum program, a School-to-Work Transition Academy, has the potential to assist secondary special education students in developing workplace skills, knowledge, and competencies. Major elements are as follows: a collaborative team of special, regular, and career/technology teachers; advisory committee; transition-specific,…

The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) Career Academy was initiated at Worthing High School (WHS) in the Houston (Texas) Independent School District at the beginning of the 1994-95 school year. The career-oriented program operated as a "school-within-a-school" program and was designed to meet the needs of students at risk of…

Perspectives on federal regulation and academic freedom at U.S. colleges and universities are considered. It is claimed that under Title IX of the Higher Education Amendments of 1972, universities have by and large forfeited their right to decide for themselves who shall be admitted to the student body. The federal government has essentially…

The growing emphasis on accountability and the demand for better prepared students is pressing institutions of higher education to examine restructuring. Student experiences represent an important arena for school restructuring, and a useful approach to changing student experiences is the Tech Prep Mapping (TPM) process. The TPM process requires…

Contrary to expectations a decade ago, the United States has not buried the dichotomy between vocational education and academic education. Instead, as shown by the publication of the report, "A Nation at Risk," the academic community is again declaring war on the vocational education establishment. This report, which stresses the need…