Young people are entering college at increasingly higher rates, yet many are under-prepared for the academic challenges they encounter. Educators and policy makers are calling for increased educational opportunities that prepare all students for the rigors of postsecondary education. Accelerated learning opportunities foster smoother and more…

Creates awareness of the need for more research related to the planning, development, and implementation of tech prep programs and explains why it is needed. (Contains 27 references.) (JOW)

Describes a program in Virginia in which academics and career and technical education work together and the state's Standards of Learning are being integrated. (JOW)

The next generation of Tech Prep is about pedagogy, integrated academic and technical courses, standards, and provision of student directions and alternatives. The vision has four elements: providing a new curricular structure, breaking the teaching/learning mold, establishing a new educational role for employers, and creating family and community…

A group of leaders in vocational education answer questions about the future of vocational education, tech prep, applied academics, and school-to-work. (JOW)

A study examined two traditional, comprehensive high schools, both of which had been involved with the school restructuring efforts advocated by the Coalition of Essential Schools. Shortly after their commitment to essential school changes, the schools became involved in a series of vocational education reforms referred to as Tech Prep. Case…

This newsletter attempts to clarify the importance of academic and vocational integration in relation to emerging pedagogy, teaching and learning practices, and school-to-work efforts. One misconception about academic-vocational integration is that new theories overshadow its value. However, current research on teaching and learning supports a…

Springfield Technical Community College was the first college in Western Massachusetts to establish formal 2 + 2 articulation agreements with area high schools. As of September 1994, the college had signed a total of 65 individual agreements with 19 schools relating to 18 different associate degree programs. There are many benefits of curriculum…

Junior colleges, which began to expand in size and importance in the 1960s, have had a profound impact on the economy and social structure of Taiwan. The junior colleges of Taiwan resemble tech prep programs in the United States. Today, 74 junior colleges in Taiwan enroll 200,000 students in grades 10-14 and almost another 200,000 in 2-year…

This report is in three sections. The first section, "Design Options for an Integrated Curriculum," includes a short discussion of integration of academic and vocational education, references to some curriculum integration models, and nine examples of local Nebraska efforts in incorporating curriculum integration models. The second and…

Tech-prep programs are built on the premise that youth must become involved in the development of a technological society. Several models for integrating tech prep with academic education hold promise. (JOW)

The new visions for the American high school have profound implications for vocational education research. Almost all basic premises underlying what high school vocational education should be and do are in question. The new criteria for the American high school make clear that vocational programs focused on broad career preparation are essential…

This study looks at all students who participated in a Tech Prep program at Sinclair Community College, Ohio, and who first enrolled in the program between fall 1997 and spring 2001. The comparison group consisted of all non-Tech Prep students who started at Sinclair between fall 1997 and fall 2000, and who had not transferred credits from any…

This document contains a brief report and project materials from the Tech Prep Initiative, which forged a partnership of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Technical College System, and the University of Wisconsin System to provide an articulated avenue of study that moves a student through high school and into a…

In the face of growing sentiment against career and technical education, the author asks readers to take a hard look at the advisability of limiting high school students' options. The viability of high school vocational education--now called Career and Technical Education (CTE)--is once again being questioned. The current federal Administration…