Universities offering aviation degree courses face a dilemma when integrating flying training, which is vocational skills training, into an academic degree programme. Whilst flying training for a pilot's licence is provided by flying schools regulated by a country's Civil Aviation Authority, the HE sector is responsible for the academic standards…

This qualitative study examined the integration of arts and academic curricula at a performing arts school by focusing on the curriculum as it is understood and perceived by the students. The study centered on five students at a performing arts magnet school who were chosen based upon contrasts in their arts classes in order to represent a range…

Policymakers and educators are paying increased attention to determining how best to prepare those in adult education programs not only for immediate employment, but also for career advancement and further training or postsecondary education. This focus echoes current efforts among secondary educators, particularly those in career and technical…

High literacy and numeracy demands in career and technical education (CTE) compared to low skill levels among many students prompted calls for academic infusion into training curricula. Research on CTE academic curriculum integration implicitly assumes that students' reading and math skills are like those described by models of typical academic…

Throughout the United States, administrators and teachers in American high schools face mounting pressure to increase the academic rigor of their curriculum in an effort to prepare students for postsecondary education and workforce success. Career and technical education (CTE) courses have often been overlooked in the public debate about making…

Students preparing for college and careers need access to career-focused programs of study that combine challenging academic content and intellectually demanding career/technical (CT) studies. Schools wanting to raise student achievement can create career-focused programs of study that connect a solid academic core with a sequence of CT courses.…

One shortcoming of the academic curriculum is its tendency to emphasize the integrity of the separate subjects and to neglect, even ignore, connections between and among subjects as well as between students' academic experiences and those beyond school. Unfortunately, evidence indicates that recent high school students, who have completed more…

Some philosophers of education have recently argued that educators can more or less ignore children's global self-esteem without failing them educationally in any important way. This paper draws on an attachment theoretic account of self-esteem to argue that this view is mistaken. I argue that understanding self-esteem's origins in attachment…

Teachers who work together to blend academic and career/technical (CT) instruction have found a key to motivating students to complete high school and prepare for college, advanced training and careers. This newsletter highlights key strategies schools are using to join academic and technical studies to advance student motivation and achievement.…

This newsletter includes vignettes about schools that are effectively integrating academic and career/technical (CT) studies to help more students find meaning in their learning and to motivate students to make great effort to achieve. This is part of a series of newsletters describing best practices for implementing the "High Schools That Work"…

Describes how incorporating technology education into the existing elementary curriculum is placing education in the context of the real world. Suggests how to integrate technology education into the primary classroom most effectively. (JOW)

Revisits high schools that were pioneers in curriculum integration in the early 1990s to see where they are now. Profiled are Woodland High School (California), Polytech High School (Woodside, Delaware), and Dauphin County Technical School (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). (JOW)

The "Curriculum Integrator" designed to give teachers a framework for integrating vocational and academic curricula. Steps include: (1) establish a design team, (2) identify career clusters, (3) identify standards, (4) apply standards, (5) apply assessment strategies, (6) use standards for redesign, (7) develop an implementation plan, and (8)…

Interviews with 109 individuals gathered data about specific events teachers experienced as they implemented integration projects. Findings indicated that teachers experience three stages of growth: (1) learning about each other; (2) curriculum strategies; and (3) instructional strategies. (JOW)

The Polytechnic High School of Kent County (Delaware) is organized in five clusters, each of which has five academic teachers. The teaming of academic and vocational teachers demonstrates the importance of group dynamics and team process in teacher preparation. (SK)