In the UK there has historically been a clear demarcation between the academic and vocational routes through education post-16. Generally vocational study is taken either on a part time basis or full time at Further Education (FE) colleges. Students who want to take academic qualifications such as A levels have the option to enrol in a school…

This study emanates from an assumption that the skill of evaluating sources is placed in a complicated field, where an old academic tradition is paired with a contemporary emphasis on the possibilities and risks with modern sources. The aims of the study is to contribute with a description and analysis of these views as they are expressed in…

Thirty-six per cent of 18-19-year-old sixth-form and further education college leavers in the UK currently go on to university. A majority of the remaining 64 percent apparently go into work or work-related training. Yet, for this latter group, as with the former, 16-19 education was supposed by the Department for Education and Employment to equip…

This study assessed the perceptions of high school students with learning disabilities about the suitability or preference of an academic or vocational curriculum. Students were administered the Vocational Academic Choice Survey (VACS), designed to measure students' perceptions of which curriculum is more suitable for them. Results revealed that a…

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"…

The dilemma of providing effective education particularly in developing countries with limited resources and ambiguous calculations of rates of return due to unstable economies and labour market fluctuations makes it an absolute necessity to consider costs and benefits associated both with academic and vocational education. Through argumentation…

A review of the literature for the approximate decade from the late sixties to the early seventies shows that the division between academic and vocational education is not considered an advisable one. A need for interdisciplinary integration is expressed together with brief examinations of such attempts. There is a pattern revealed in the…

Study was conducted to resolve contradiction between dropout estimates presented in federal reports and research results cited through reanalysis of High School and Beyond survey. Results suggest (1) dropout rate for students in general education is greater than for vocational students and (2) vocational education is serving students with…

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)

Approaches to integration include tandem/cluster courses, general education requirements, cross-curricular efforts, applied academics, academic modules in occupational courses, multidisciplinary courses, colleges within colleges, and remediation or English as a Second Language with an occupational focus. (SK)

A study examined vocational/academic integration (VAI) in four Illinois secondary sites, assuming that why schools or teachers choose to integrate will affect how they go about it. The case studies revealed the process of VAI in two different lights: as a highly formalized, documented, and administered procedure; and as an informal collection of…

Contextual learning and applied academics may be the answer to reaching all students and helping them excel in school and in their careers. Career and technical educators already use the techniques of this exemplary practice. (JOW)