In the Reform Era, the Chinese Government has placed great emphasis on the role of education in ensuring the economic success of individuals and of the country as a whole. While vocational and academic post-secondary qualifications are officially set at the same level, vocational education is positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy…

High school vocational education has a controversial history in the United States, largely due to a perceived tradeoff between teaching readily deployable occupational skills versus shunting mostly disadvantaged students away from the educational and career flexibility afforded by general academic courses. We study the effects of a nationwide high…

A large body of research, especially from the 1990s, demonstrates the positives of Career and Technical Education (CTE). The research shows that associate degree holders enjoyed average earnings 20-30 percent higher than high school graduates (while baccalaureate degree holders had average earnings 30-40 percent higher than those of high-school…

A study was conducted to determine the effect of participation in vocational education on labor market experience immediately after high school. Data were gathered in March and April of 1980 while the young people were seniors in high school, and again two years later. The first wave of data contained various measures of education and grades in…

National Longitudinal Survey data were used to estimate the effects of specific high school curricula on wages and educational attainment. Return to additional academic courses was small, suggesting that the value of a year of high school cannot be accounted for by estimates of the value of courses taken. (SK)

Discusses how El Paso Community College (Texas) linked welfare-to-work participants to college credit programs that offer realistic pathways to certificates, associate degrees, and bachelor degrees. Stresses training for employment that offers a living wage over immediate employment. (AUTH/NB)

This study examines whether differences in high school curricula lead to differences in labor market opportunities for persons who complete 10 to 12 years of schooling and acquire no postsecondary training. Data were gathered beginning in 1979 from a national longitudinal survey of youth. Researchers studied detailed information on coursework…

A study compared the records of high school graduates in respect to curriculum type and high school education, postsecondary education, and work experience for Lancaster and Lebanon Counties in Pennsylvania. Data were collected through questionnaires mailed to all graduates from the years 1982, 1985, and 1988 and from high school transcripts. The…

A study evaluated the labor market outcomes of individuals with various types of postsecondary educational experiences. In particular, it examined differences among three groups: students who pursued technical education programs; those who pursued academic programs; and those individuals who did not pursue any type of postsecondary education. The…

This study was concerned with the optimum allocation of public resources in education, and involved a comparison between vocational-technical education and an alternative curriculum for non-college attending students. Major steps in the study were: (1) identification of costs and benefits, (2) collection of representative data, (3) determination…

After more than three decades of development and two decades of evaluation, career academies have been found to be effective in improving the performance of students in high school, particularly for students at greatest risk. Career academies have become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy that includes…