Describes the new national policy changes in education as: (1) dividing the secondary school into two phases, each lasting three years; (2) creating the junior secondary school composed of pre-vocational and academic courses; and (3) creating the senior secondary school which is comprehensive in its curriculum. (BSR)

Educational reform has not taken place in India because of an unwillingness on the part of the upper social castes to make any changes that would be adverse to their interests. Consequently, ver few members of the lower castes receive any instruction beyond the elementary level. (CK)

Noting potential conflict between the two most-frequently stated goals of independent schools, academic excellence and dedicated concern for the individual, the author discusses ways to achieve both. (SJL)

Interviews with teachers in 13 British schools in which students participated in the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative showed that learning from work experience is not valued in the formal curriculum. Teachers did consider that it enriched the social development of students of average or below average ability. (SK)

Charles Benson's 1992 (posthumous) essay presents a vision of a "new vocationalism" that integrates academic and occupational curricula, combines classroom instruction with work-based learning, and connects secondary with postsecondary education. It explains the rationale, summarizes existing evidence, analyzes obstacles, and discusses…

A Japanese-language course was introduced at Franklin (WI) High School at the request of students who wanted to enhance their employability with multinational corporations. The language courses were joined with a television technology course to share the course with neighboring school districts. (JOW)

Theme articles discuss the need for agriculture teachers to heed research in science education; describe the landscape horticulture program at Anoka (MN) High School; propose a change of curriculum objectives to ones that teach students career readiness; and describe the East Environmental Science and Agri-Business Magnet High School in Kansas…

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III), with increased emphasis on curriculum flexibility and academic/vocational collaboration, has formalized commitment to the school-to-work concept. However, STW implementation issues (whole-school reform, logistics, cost effectiveness, liability, and…

Most current major educational reforms call for extensive, meaningful teacher collaboration. Teachers who have worked together see substantial improvements in student achievement, behavior, and attitude. For teachers, collegiality breaks the isolation of the classroom and brings career rewards and daily satisfactions. Schools benefit for a number…

The Center for Vocational Professional Personnel Development conducted a needs assessment in order to plan and deliver staff development workshops in the 34 vocational schools served in Pennsylvania's central region. Respondents from the 30 participating schools were 30 administrators and 600 teachers (371 vocational and 144 academic teachers and…

This brief suggests that vocational educators may be unclear as to whether they have accomplished integration of vocational and academic education because of the multistage nature of the process. The three stages suggest a continuum of professional growth, as vocational and academic educators first become aware of limitations of the status quo,…

Using cognitive science as the knowledge base for the discussion, this paper reviews why many school learning situations are ineffective and introduces cognitive apprenticeship models that suggest what effective learning situations might look like. Five wrong assumptions about learning are examined: (1) people transfer learning from one situation…

Challenges exist in secondary education, and new developments are being made in the area of integration of academic and vocational education. The first section of this paper focuses on the need for integration and provides a conceptual framework for viewing academic and vocational integration as well as teacher collaboration. Section two…

Vocational education was largely established on the principle of nontransferability. However, vocational education and academic education have many similarities. Indeed, the difference between basic and academic skills has often been defined in terms of rigor. Basic skills are those concrete skills that are generally taught at the elementary…

A study examined the effects of increased academic requirements for high school graduation on enrollment trends in public secondary vocational education programs in Washington since 1983. Vocational directors of 211 school districts that had increased graduation requirements since 1983 were surveyed through questionnaires. Results indicated that…