Career and technical education (CTE) can benefit students directly by providing earning advantages before and after graduation. It can benefit them indirectly by increasing engagement, retention, and persistence and by directing them to postsecondary education and pursuit of lifelong learning. CTE programs motivate students to get involved in…

Vocational Education (VE) has long been recognized for its "hands-on" approach to education and ability to demonstrate a connection between school and employment. The consensus of the literature is that VE facilitates student skill development, retention in school, and employment. According to the research, reducing the dropout rate is the most…

Changes in the economy and declining profit margins are prompting many businesses to question the value of their training investments. Companies that had been operating under the assumption that they were reaping positive benefits from their training efforts are asking their human resource managers to provide proof that their training programs are…

This digest analyzes information from two recently completed national surveys to determine the extent to which various vocational education programs improve employment opportunities in the United States. The impact of a General Educational Development (GED) certificate on workers' wages is also analyzed. Data are from the 1992 National Adult…

Perhaps the most enduring belief about vocational education (VE) is that it is only for the noncollege bound, potential dropouts, or other special needs students. In reality, 80% of high school students take at least one occupationally specific vocational course, and one in eight academic students actually takes more vocational courses than…

Many studies have verified that education beyond high school results in higher earnings. The highest earnings benefits depend upon certification or degree achievement. Not obtaining a degree results in some penalty: individuals who have some college credit but no degree earn less than associate degree holders. Professional and vocational…

An enormous body of literature illuminates various facets of the relationship between education and employment. Views of the proper role of education have ranged from cultural transmission to societal transformation and individual development, to the current belief that it prepares for transition to adulthood, i.e., the movement from school to…

In 1970, 55 percent of the US population over age 25 had completed high school or some college and 11 percent had completed 4 or more years of college; by 1999, those figures had reached 83 percent and 25 percent, respectively. A comparison between 1982 and 1992 high school seniors found more completing some postsecondary credits (from 53 percent…

The career and technical education (CTE) system before Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 has been characterized as traditionally dominated by gender segregation and discrimination. The most damaging consequence of such gender bias is to limit females' access to the benefits of CTE--the living wage that provides females the same economic…