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Vocational Education. Condensed Final Task Report.Battelle Nemorial Inst., Columbus, Ohio. ColumbusLabs.Ohio State Dept. of Education, Columbus.May 7031p.Ohio Department of Eaucation, Division of Research,Planning, and Development, Columbus, OH 43215

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29DESCRIPTORS Curriculum Development; Educational Objectives;

Employment Opportunities; Legislation; ManpowerNeeds; *State Surveys; *Statewide Planning;*Vocational Education; Vocational EducationTeachers

IDENTIFIERS Ohio

ABSTRACTThe purposes of the research reported were (1) to

determine future needs in Ohio for vocational education and (2) todevelop useful planning information related to vocational education.The first section, Paradoxes in the Educational System, provides thereader with an understanding of the complexity involved in developinguseful planning information. The second section is a description ofvocational education and related legislation in Ohio. The thirdpresents the options open to a high school graduate, emphasizing theimportance of early decision making. The fourth section outlines someof the principal concerns related to the improvement of vocationaleducation curricula. Section five addresses the need for keepingvocational programs in line with _realistic employment expectations.The final section presents conclusions and recommendations forcurriculum development and evaluation, guidance and counseling, staffeducation and training, job placement, communication with the public,institutional organization, and system considerations. (MS)

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

U S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH,EDUCATION & WELFARENATIONAL INSTITUTE OF

EDUCATION, DOCUMENT RAS SEEN REPRO0,,Ct- 0 EXACTLY AS RECEIVED IRON'r41- PERSON OR OROANIZATIONou,GINAT,NC, iT PO,NTS tE0. DR OPINIONSSTATED DO NOT NECESSARILY PF.PRESENT 0; oc,A, NA TONAL NST,TuTE 0;EDuC A TON POS, TiON OR POI CY

0

PREPARED FOR THE

OHIO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONBY

BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTECOLUMBUS LABORATORIES

FILMED FROM BEST AVAILABLE COPY

CONDENSED FINAL TASK REPORT

on

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

to

01110 DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

May, 1970

BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTEColumbus Laboratories

505 King AvenueColumbus, Ohio 43201

FOREWORD

This report is a condensed version of one of a series of reports prepared by thestaff of Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus Laboratories, for the Ohio Departmentof Education under a contract research project entitled PLANNING TO MEETEDUCATIONAL NEEDS IN 01110 SCHOOLS. Funds for the project were madeavailable by the Ohio Department of Education under provisions of Title III, ESEA.

Dissemination of the material contained herei,1 is the responsibility of the OhioDepartment of Education. Requests for copies may be addressed to: Dr. Russell A.Working, Division of Research, Planning, and Development, Ohio Department ofEducation, Columbus, Ohio 43215.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION

Approaches and MethodologiesSpecial Characteristics of AssessmentSpecial Characteristics of PlanningOrganization of the Report

1. PARADOXES IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM 3

11. DESCRIPTION OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN 01;10 5

Introduction 5

Availability of Programs 5

Joint Vocational Schools 5

Vocational Iligh Schools 5

Comprehensive High Schools.Identification of Needs 7

Determining Objectives 7

Stating Objectives 7

Evaluating Activities 7

Teaching Methodology 7

Staff Development 8

Guidance Practices 8

The Special Case of Job Placement 8

Conclusions 8

III. STUDENT OPTIONS 10

Four Options in Ohio 10

The Process of Option Selection 10

St udent Participation in Option Selection 11

Assisting the Student Toward an Option 11

Graduation Requirements in Relation to Options and Student NeedsOptions in Relation to Curricula 13

Options in Relation to Self-Concept 14

Joint-Vocational Schools and Curriculum Flexibility 14

Curriculum Options in Relation to Program Planning and School Finance 15

Student Options in Relation to Achievement of Objectives 15

Beyond the Transition 16

IV. CONCERNS ON CURRICULUM 17

V. CONCERNS ON JOB FUTURES 19

VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 20

Curriculum Development and Evaivation 20

Conclusions 3

Recommendations 20

Guidance and Counseling 21

Conclusions 21

Recommendations 21

Staff Education and TrainingConclusions 22

Recommendations 22

TABLE OF ':ONTENTS(Continued)

Page

Job PlacementConclusionRecommendations

Communication With the PublicConclusionsRecommendations 23

Institutional Organization 23

ConclusionsRecommendations

System ConsiderationsConclusions and Recommendations 23 through 25

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

This report describes Doe of several tasks conducted byBattelle for the Ohio Department of Education. The subjectof this research task is Vocational Education in Ohio.

Vocational Education is an educational program, theprimary purpose of which is to equip persons for usefulemployment. Most of the program offerings are provided atthe secondary level and are designed to serve youth andadults who are preparing to .2.3ter occupations in agriculture,business, homemaking, distribution, trade, technical, andindustrial fields. The program also serves adults who haveentered one of those trades by providing them with oppor-tunities to support and improve their skills.*

The research task began in April, 1968, and continuedthrough October, 1969.

All of the Battelle research tasks for the Ohio Depart-ment of Education were carried out under the provisions ofTitle III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of1965, as amended by PL-90-247. This Act required thatparticular attention be paid to need assessment, and toinnovative and exemplary programs.

Another major requirement of the Title III legislationwas that research results carried out under Title 111 shouldbe widely disseminated. It is clear from this requirement thatthe intent is to give wide publicity to research findings inorder that the entire education community, as well as thepublic. may become informed of the results. This reportmust, therefore, be regarded as more than a documentintended to communicate with the sponsoring agency, theOhio Department of Education. It is intended for, and forthe most part is addressed to, any reader who is active inimproving education for young people m Ohio.

The central purposes of the research effort were

twofold:

Determine future needs in Ohio for vocational education

o Develop useful planning information related to vocationaleducation.

The major emphasis of the research task, however, con-cerns the latter purpose.

*Shoemaker, Byrl R., "A Position Paper on VocationalEducation in the Public Schools", Ohio State Department ofEducation.

Approaches and Methodologies

A variety of approaches and methodologies were usedin ''onducting the research; included were:

A literature survey encompassing more than 200documents

Discussions with consultants

Attendance at conferences on vocational education

Visits to Ohio joint vocational schools*

Visits to Ohio vocational schools*

Visits to Ohio comprehensive schools*

Visits to vocational education schools outside Ohio

Discussions with groups of vocational educators

Discussions with staff of the Ohio Department ofEducation.

Battelle was able to draw upon certain methodologiesthat have been developed for the study of large systems.These included certain systems analysis methods, modernmanagement theory encompassing "management by objec-tives", and the educational theory of curriculum (.1evelop-!milt based upon behavioral objectives. These methodologieshave had widespread application in many fields, yIlough it is

only recently that they have begun to be applied to

education.

Also, Battelle was able to draw upon concurrentresearch tasks (carried out by Battelle and sponsored by theU.S. Office of Education and the Ohio Department ofEducation) in related important areas of need. These con-current research efforts developed valuable informationrelevant to vocational education.

*The visits to the schools were not designed to givestatistically significant data on vocational education inOhio rather, they were intended to help collect, in thefield, ideas on major problems and approaches to solutions.For statistically significant data, it would have been nec-essary to visit many more schools. However, the visitsserved to make the study Jess theoretical and to give the re-search staff a better picture of variation in practices fromschool to school.

Special Characteristics ofNeed Assessment

AR, assessment Or nods presents special difficulties.Important characteristics of most research are that it is

highly objective and that subjective considerations or valuejudgments tend to be played down or to be absent fromreports. On the other hand, a major component of needassessment is the application of subjective judgment to theresults of research studies. What then can be Battelle'sspecial contribution to assessment of needs? The answer hasto do with the sequence of events that takes place in arrivingat subjective judgments.

Though value judgments are necessarily subjective, theycan nevertheless be either snap judgments or judgmentsarrived at after careful and lengthy appraisal, study, andobservation. In making a need assessment in vocationaleducation, Bande believes that it has brought to this task abroad and systematic view of education and that it has

invested in this task a conscientious effort to arrive atreasonable conclusions. Nonetheless, the fact remains thatmany of the conclusions reported here represent value

judgments that will be subject to differences of opinion.

In most aspects of a need study, cost is not givenexplicit attention. While cost is considered implicitly inmuch of the work, the need assessments made in this reportdo not emphasize cost. Many of the recommendations madein this report might already have been implemented if Rindshad been available. On the other hand, viewed from a state-wide perspective, some of the recommendations shouldproduce greater efficiency and lowered cost. The implicationof the foregoing comments is that cost studies would beneeded ti determine the practicability of implementingrecommendations,

Special Characteristics of Planning

Though to a lesser degree than that for need assess-ment, planning also carries with it a certain level of valuejudgment. A plan is like a road map in that it shows one ormore ways to get from where one is to where one wants tobe. In developing an educational plan, one needs to knowthe present state of the system, and one also needs todevelop the desired future state. These two states may havesome things in common, but fundamentally their determina-tions are quite different. The determination of the presentstate of the system can be fairly objective. Data can becollected to describe it. On the other hand, the

determination of what the future ought to be like is

much more difficult and is subjective. The role of theresearcher in developing a desired future state must be oneof a disinterested, but not uninterested, person. He must try

to discover a logical basis in society for posing possiblefutures that appear to be most consistent with the problemsand aspirations of society. This is a challenging task indeed.and it is fraught with difficulties in a field rs basic to societyas education.

Because of the difficulties, it seems essential to presentarguments that tend to substantiate whatever plans are

evolved, in order that the basis for the plans will be clear.These arguments may then impinge upon those who areinterested and cOncerned, Their final evaluation will be foundin sutlsequent actions aimed at educational change, In viewof this consideration, it is also important to recognize thatthe study of vocational education cannot be entirelydivorced from the education system as a whole. Because ofthe close interactions between vocational education and thetotal system, recommendations for some kinds of changes invocational education amount to recommendations forchanges in other aspects of the total educational system.

Orga 'Ization of the Report

Section I, Paradoxes in the Educational System,

attempts to acquaint the reader with certain paradoxes thatrelate to educational planning and implementation. Thepurpose of this section is to provide the reader with anunderstanding of the complexity involved in developing

planning information related to vocational education that

will be acceptable to the large audience involved in

education.

Section II, Description of Vocational Education in

Ohio, includes a brief history of important legislationaffecting vocational education and a presentation of theneeds as they relate to curriculum planning. The purpose ofthis section is to underscore the need for the development ofa detailed guide of action for planning effective curriculumprograms in vocational education.

Section III, Student Options, presents the options avail-able to a high school graduate. The purpose of this section isto emphasize the importance of early decision making by thestudent as related to establishing a basis for his schoolstudies, and the relation to student programs and counseling.

Section IV, Concerns on Curriculum, outlines brieflysome of the principal concerns related to the improvementof vocational education curricula.

Section V, Concerns on Job Futures, addresses thechallenging task of keeping vocational programs in goodharmony with realistic employment expectations forgraduates.

Section VI presents the conclusions andrecommendations.

3

1. PARADOXES IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

A number of paradoxes in the educational systempuzzle researchers and the general public alike. A discussionof the needs and planning methodology defined for thisresearch task on vocational education would hardly be com-plete unless seen in light of some of' these paradoxes.

Education is creating a nation that depends, more thananything else,. upon knowledge for its survival and growth,yet education has not been structured to apply new knowl-edge rapidly to its own problems. Systematic, in-depthstudies are lacking on many aspects of education. While mostgoing institutions in society invest from 2 to 15 percent oftheir gross revenue in research in order to maintain a basis_for progress, traditionally. less than 0.5 percent of the grossrevenue for education has gone into research aimed at

improvement of the educational system. The current expan-sion of research in education has not yet produced anadequate data base in many areas, including vocationaleducation. Having proved its merits in the private sector ofthe economy, as well as in ..certain kinds of government-Supported activities, one can hope that research will come tobe understood better and applied by publicly supportedinstitutions. .

Numerous prior studies have emphasized the need forhaving high schools that are large enough to offer a varietyof options to the student. In spite of .this, Ohio still has over600 school districts, and, in many of these, the high schoolscannot offer a large varietyof options because they are too

. small. However, large size by no means guarantees thatnumerous options will be available. What is important is thatthe school be able to match each student's capabilities andinterest with a school program appropriate to the student.For vocational education, the tax base required to supportan effective high school demands that the support district belarge. In Ohio, this may require districts of county size orlarger.

The 'Federal government has furnished funds to helpinstitute vocational schools, but it clearly desires that suchschools be locally supported. However, many of the popula-tion have had no contact with vocational programs and haveno personal experience upon which to base support of vocational schools. Piesent -Ohio conditions are not such as tocause a rapid increase in the number of the public who havehad any significant vocational experience in the high schools.It could be to. the advantage of vocational education toencourage programs for all students that would give anincreased understanding of the world of work to tomorrow'svoting public:An increase in adult vocational offerings couldalso help to develop a broader base of public knowledgeabout vocational education.

In Ohio, essential and comprehensive planning data thatare available are primarily on a county basis. Yet, the schooldistricts are not structuredelong county lines. Thus, a majorsource of data that could be useful in improving schools is,

in effect, tossed out because of the patchwork arrangementof Ohio school districts. Unless planning is to be only at thelocal level, it seems advisable to divide the state into regions,along county lines, in order to permit more effectiveplanning to be done at the state and regional level.

In many fields of endeavor, experiments are conductedon a small scale to determine whether an innovation will bebeneficial or impractical, or of reasonable cost or overlyexpensive, yet the legislation and regulations that are writtento govern education work against such experimentation andtend to support uniformity rather than innovation. If theState of Ohio can support more planned and controlledexperiments in the school system; much useful data mightresult that could be applied to educational planning.

Money spent on education in the United States is

comparable to that spent on national defense. Although thetotal expenditures for education amount to nearly 50 billiondollars annually, the educational system is continually in asevere financial crisis. The schools have not yet found a wayto account to the public for what they are doing. Failure towin public support of schools, through public understanding,may be considerably more damaging to students than thelack of a particular course. Yet, the financing of educationprovides .little support for the system to educate the publicconcerning what goes on in the educational system. Toomuch of what passes for education of the public amounts tothe furnishing of scattered and undirected data. Transmittalof an understandable annual report to the public at large,addressed to public concern for effectiveness in education,could overcome some of the difficulties. An annual report isnow mailed to alumni by some educational instifptions, e.g.,the University of Missouri.

While job openings have been going unfilled in oursociety for some time, it is estimated that over.half of thoseentering school in Ohio in the first grade leave school unpre-pared for getting a job. Nearly onefifth of those who enterthe ninth grade do not graduate from high school, .manydropping out at ninth and tenth-grade levels. Yet, vocationaleducation in Ohio has largely been for eleventh and twelfthgraders. No evidence has been found in this research studyto. suggest that ninth and tenth graders could not benefitfrom vocational programs. In fact, the vocational programsoffered in Ohio are not limited to eleventh and twelfthgraders. Three specific developments may be cited. First,sixteen-year olds are encouraged to enroll in job trainingwhether they have attained grade eleven or not. Second,occupationalwork-adjustment programs have been started forstudents in ages 14-15. Third, career-orientation programs arebeing tried for students in ages 12-13. Though the last twoprograms are young, initial reports on them are termed"highly favorable" by Dr. Byrl Shoemaker of the OhioDivision of Vocatibnal Education..

4

.The best measure of attainment of-public schools wouldappear to lie in what happens to students who leave theinstitution. Yet, most schools do not conduct comprehensivefollow-up studies of graduates, and often their only successmeasure is the percent of their graduates that go on tocollege.

In the universities, it is fairly common for course mate-rials and knowledge to flow down out of the graduatecurricula into the undergraduate curricula as knowledgedevelops. There is no such easy channel for knowledge toflow down out of the freshman and sophomore years ofcollege or out of the technical institutes into the publicschools. It would be reasonable to expect that manygraduates of vocational curricula would go on to post-highschool technical institutes. In Ohio, vocational programs andtechnical institutes are under different governing boards.*There does not seem to be any available literature showing aninth grader or his parents how he might plan a high schoolprogram that would lead into a career area in a technicalinstitute.

hi many fields where training is conducted, e.g., thespace program or the training of jet pilots, simulators haveproved their worth. Yet, vocational education does not usesimulators to any extent, and industry has not yet seen thedevelopment of such simulators for vocational education as ameaningful business opportunity.

A widely recognized philosophy of management,gradually diffusing through, American industry, is called"management by objectives". In this philosophy, measurableobjectives are formulated to provide direction and purposeto an enterprise and to facilitate communication. Educa-tional leaders, typically, have not mastered this methodology

or applied it to school or to curriculum development. Thereare few written statements of measurable objectives. forvocational education that are being used as a basis forevaluation.

While the educational system has been successful in

providing education to almost the entire population, the

*Recently enacted legislation (Ohio Bill 531) provides for acoordinating commission that may maintain an overview ofvocational education and technical training.

system is under rather severe attack from many quarters forfailure to make this education "relevant". Relevance in

education implies a clearly understood pattern of matchingstudents' interests and abilities to specific academic pro -grains. In spite of this, many student programs are deter-.mined by the "system" rather than by explicit considerationof each student as an individual human being.

The vast majority of parents is reputed to desire thattheir children receive a college-education, yet less than .20percent of the population graduate from college in Ohio. If100 percent of parents expect their children to graduatefrom college and 20 percent do so, does this hot mean thatthe remaining 80 percent have been, in some sense, stampedas failures by their parents? To what extent can schoolscorrect this situation? The function of vocational counselingin schools is underemphasized, and there is reason to believethat the guidance function as a whole is not prepared tohelp students understand the varied choices lacing themduring their school career in relation to the still more variedchoices awaiting them in their post-school careers.

The idea that one works for a living seems to be largelyignored in education from kindergarten through the tenthgrade, yet vocation is basic to .personality, important toself-esteem, and so important to the individual that it shouldnot be left to a hasty, spur-of-the-moment decision on thepart of the student. He should be taught how to plan andmake choices for his own career.

Taken individually, any one of the paradoxes discussedin the foregoing could be systematically attacked, and solu-tions might well be found. With all of these paradoxes. ineffect at the same time, there is a challenging problem ofconsiderable magnitude that is not solely the property of theschools.

Cast against the background just given, where are themost fruitful avenues of approach to planning for improve-ments in the Ohio educational system, especially withrespect to vocational education? That is one of the keyquestions to which the remainder of this report is addressed.

5

II. DESCRIPTION OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN OHIO

Introduction

Vocational education in Ohio and, in particular, thecontent areas that define the curriculum can he traced to thelandmark legislation enacted by the Federal Government.

The first big boost io vocational education in theUnited States was provided by the provisions of the 1917Smith-Hughes At; which lit cessitated a scheme o, diopera-tion between the Federal Government and the individualstates. Provisions were included for the appointment of aFederal Board for Vocational Education to administer theAct. The Smith-Hughes Act provided approximately S7million as an annual permanent appropriation for vocationaleducation in agriculture, home economics, industry, andtrades, and for teacher training.

Twelve years later, in 1929, President Coolidgeapproved the George-Reed Act which authorized anappropriation of SI million annually (expiring in 1934) toexpand vocational education in agriculture and homeeconomics. The 1934 George-Elzey Act replaced the George-Reed Act and added appropriated funds for trades andindustries.

The domain of vocational education was again ex-panded in 1936 when the George-Dean Act, which wouldprovide funds for instructors in distributive education, waspassed. This Act also increased appropriations for all

designated vocational education courses to S14 millionannually, Guidance and research were then added to thevocational education picture by the provisions of the George-Barden Act. Title II of the George-Barden Act establisliedprograms for practical-nurse training, and Title III of the Actestablished programs for technical education under Title Vof the National Defense Education Act.

In the fifties, Ohio had a few vocational high schools,but vocational education was not available to Ohio studentson a large scale. Ohio legislators attempted to remedy thissituation and reach more students by planning for the crea-tion of joint vocational school (JVS) districts. The JVSbecame a possibility for Ohio school districts with the adop-tion of the 1963 Vocational Act, which provided federalfunds for the maintenance, extension, and improvement ofvocational education. The 1963 Act also allowed many com-prehensive high schools to expand their vocationaldepartments.

The more recent 1968 Amendments to the 1963 Voca-tional Education Act may give new direction and momentumto vocational education if the provisions are diligentlycarried through. Some of the Act's provisions include:

Funds specifically allocated for disadvantaged persons

Funds specifically allocated for vocational guidance andcounseling

Authorizations for contracts with priY,te vocational-training institutions

Appointment of a National Advisory Connell andindividual State Advisory Councils

Requirements for each state to submit long-range programplans as well as I-year plans

Funds for consumer education and exemplary programs

Funds for research and training.

Availability of Programs

Because of federal involvement and significant st.mentary participation by the state, vocational ecIty don hasbecome a vital and progressively moving force II. the educa-tion of men and women for the world of work. Forexample, a wide variety of vocational education programs areavailable to the high school student in three different typesof schools: joint vocational schools, vocational high schools,and comprehensive high schools.

Joint Vocational Schools

In some Ohio joint vocational school districts, studentsof age 16 or more may request permission to attend a jointvocational school. Those who enter the JVS usually attendtheir home high school until they reach the eleventh grade,attend the JVS for their last 2 years of high school, andgraduate from their home high school. These schools usuallyoffer approximately 25 programs. The students spend onehalf of the day in State-required general-education coursesand classroom courses related to their shop area. Theremainder of their day is spent co-oping or in vocationalshop. The JVS's usually serve an area of county size orlarger, though they are not structured along county lines.Ohio has 15 operational jointures, as of September 1969,with 19 still in the planning or building stage.

Vocational High Schools

Secondary school students in Ohio may attend a voca-tional high school if they happen to live near enough to such

6

a school. As contrasted with the joint vocational schools, thevocational high schools tend to serve more-limited geographi-cal areas end, typically, are located only in the large cities ofOhio. Most of them have been in existence longer than havethe joint vocational schools and they are more spec011iedwith regard to vocational offerings. Students er:er thesevocational high schools after completing junio: aigh schools.Olios nine vocational high schools are idzinified in Table I.The number of vocational units offered is also presented inthe table.

TABLE I. VOCAT!ONAL HIGH SCHOOLS IN 01110*

S C110 o 1 District Unit,

19.0027.5023.3714.26

25.7614.5022.1516.8010.00

!lower VocationalTimken VocationalCourier TechnicalJane AddamsMax S. HayesPattersonMacomber Vocational TechnicalWhitney Vocational TechnicalChaffin Vocational Center

Akron CityCanton CityCincinnati CityCleveland CityCleveland CityDayton CityToledo CityToledo CityYoungstown City

*prepared by: Evaluation and Planning Section, Divison ofResearch, Planning and Development, Ohio State Departmentof Education, 65 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215.

Comprehensive High Schools

Secondary school students in many areas of Ohio mayelect a vocational course of study or may take sonic voca-tional offerings as part of their academic program. Non-vocational schools in Ohio that offer vocational courses areusually referred to as comprehensive high schools. Compre-hensive high schools sometimes have separate vocationalfacilities. Some comprehensives have separate required classesfor vocational students and academic students. That is, allvocational students may take English and American Historyin classes by themselves, while in other comprehensives.academic and vocational students arc mixed in the requiredCot1rSCS.

Table 2 is arranged to give a view of the approvedvocational education units offered in Ohio school districtsthat arc not offered in JVS or vocational high schools. Eachrow in Table 2 represents about 10 percent of the enroll-ment in Ohio high schools.

As an illustration of what Table 2 shows, there are 38districts having ADM of 1399 or less in which there arc noapproved vocational units offered in nonvocational schools.Considering the first row, approximately 10 percent of highschool students in Ohio. encompassing 208 relatively smalldistricts, lie in a group that offers less than eight approvedvocational units in nonvocational schools. Considering the

TABLE 2. APPROVED VOCATIONAL EDUCATION UNITS(a) IN OHIO SCHOOL DISTRICTS BY ADM(b)*

ADM

Units Offered by Indicated Number of Districts

0 0000

ri(^

C.00

1.399 or less 38 49 109 11 1

1,400 - 2,049 19 23 64 30 4 1

2,050 - 2,799 14 12 32 19 9 2 1

2,800 - 3,549 6 8 18 14 12 4 2 1

3,550 - 4,999 3 8 7 6 17 3 6 1 1

5,000 - 7,199 2 14 5 8 9 2 2 1

7,200- 11,699 2 2 3 5 I 2 .! 2 2

11,700 - 23,999 1 1 1 2 2 I

24,000 - 95,999 2 1

96,000 or higher

1

2

(a) Does not include the vocational education units offered by JVS or vocational schools.(b) Kindergarten membership has been halved in computing district ADM since students attend only a portion of the school day.*See Table 1.

7

first three columns, there are 435 of the 646 districts forwhich there are less than four vocational units offered innonvoca t ional schools.

Members of the research staff of this project visitedschools of each of the three types in Mit... Needs that havebeen identified for these schools are discussed below. (Moredetailed information concerning needs identification, alongwith some alternative solutions, is given in Appendix A ofthe original report.)*

Identification of Needs

Federal legislation in the sixties generally emphasizedthe importance of evaluation and planning. The 1968 amend-ments, for example, included a provision for long-rangeplanning in addition to the year-ahead pl. lining previouslyrequired. This section of the report describes briefly some ofthe needs that specialists in curriculum planning and develop-ment should consider in future planning. It also serves as apoint of departure for an in-depth consideration of thecomponents required for effective decision making in the

development of vocational education programs.

The data base for this discussion consists of informationcollected while visiting Ohio schools, a review of the litera-ture, meetings with consultants, and experiences of Battellestaff .members.

The most dominant finding in the needs study con-cerned the wide variation among schools in the planning andimplementation of objectives of instruction, evaluationactivities, teaching methodology, staff development, and

guidance practices.

Determining Objectives

For example, in the area of objectives, there was noconsistent and systematic process for forming a data base tosupport determination of objectives for instruction. Variationwas found in the extent to which school personnel reliedupon such sources of information as advisory councils,instructors, manpower forecasting, task analysis withemployers, and follow-up studies with former graduates.Many of the programs reviewed were doing commendablejobs in seeking effective use of one or more of the sources.None of those reviewed, however, incorporated all sources ina way that provided a check-and-balance system on theefficacy of what the students were being taught.

*Final Report on Vocational Education to Ohio Departmentof Education from Battelle Memorial Institute, ColumbusLaboratories, October, 1969.

Seating Objectives

Anodic; consistent finding was the wide variation in theway in which the objectives were specified. Some schoolsexcelled in stating objectives which explicitly defined thedesired achievement in terms of actual student behavior,conditions under which it occurs, and acceptable levels ofperformance. Other, however, were less explicit. It shouldbe pointed out ,hat this type of variation in stating objec-tives is not uncommon. Only in recent years, educational-management methods aimed at developing instructional pro-grams via specified objectives have become available linschools to assimilate.

Evaluating Activities

There also is variation among schools in the way iswhich tests are de,eloped and employed in measuring theprogress in the student. There is little consistency, forexample, in measuring the student's "real" performance inthe sense of developing testing conditions that allow thestudent to demonstrate his shills on actual equipment (i.e.,direct performance measures). Variation also is found in theway in which test scores of any type or variety are .tsed as ameans for upgrading and improving the instructionalstrategies and methods.

What appears to be needed is a guide that presents Lithorough and systematic procedure for determiliing objec-tives, selecting appropriate measures of the objectives, andusing the data generated from the administration of measuresin the classroom to upgrade and improve continuously themethods of instruction. If the procedures for identifying theobjectives are thorough, the writing of objectives, selectionof measures, and use of test data for improving instructionwill be greatly facilitated. (Appendix B of the original reportpresents more detailed information.)

Teaching Methodology

Most schools offering vocational education have at leastone co-op program in which a student goes to school half aday and works half a day in a trade for which he is beingtrained. There is wide variation atm.., the schools :a thefrequency and use of this kind of a program, however. Thoseschools that have adopted the co-op plan vary in the way inwhich they oversee and control its implementation. Usuallyno specified levels of achievement are identified by theschool for the student during his on-the-job training. How-ever, all cooperative education programs, except those whichprovide for very early placement from an in-school trainingprogram, are required to have an outline prepared by theemployer of the on-the-job training experience and to main-tain a progress report on the achievement of the matters inthe outline. Also, there is a written agreement betweenschool and industry regarding the nature of the program andservices to be provided by each. Interviews suggest that theco-op programs could be made more effective if the school

8

played a larger leadership role in helping the employerdevelop objectives for each student and helped the employerlearn how to report meaningfully on a student's progress.The intensity of instructor folk,wup of student progress hasbeen found to vary widely among the schools.

A successful program does not rest on the school'sshoulders alone. Employer and union participation also is

required to provide the maximum number of employ-ment opportunities in a given community.

Co-op programs offer advantages if they are effectivelyimplemented. They allow the student to work with equip-ment and become exposed to the reality of the workingworld which, of course, cannot always be made available tohim in the school. They also could benefit the instructor byallowing him to keep abreast of the changing technology ofthe trade via' communication with the student. Thecurriculum specialist also could benefit, since they couldeasily provide him with a source of data from which tojudge the relevance of the curriculum to the world of work.

Staff Development

The approach to staff development in vocational educa-tion varies widely among the schools. The instructor may bea journeyman craftsman (or its equivalent) who is not nec-essarily familiar with the educational technology required tomanage the conditions of learning in the classroom. Uponentering the educational system, he is normally unfamiliarwith the way in which the school operates. The intensityand the frequency of orientation and in-service training pro-grams vary considerably among the schools. Visits fromteacher educators from universities and attendance atseminars sponsored by the State Department of Educationprovide consistent activities which go a long way towardimproving the instructor's teaching skills. Consistentprogramming, however, is needed at the local level,

Another problem facing the instructors is keepingabreast of the trade. The instructors have a good knowledgeof their trade when they enter vocational teaching, but manyof their skills can become obsolete rapidly if they do notkeep in contact with many of the technological changes thatoccur. The State Department of Education providesin-service seminars aimed at filling the purpose. Additionalprogramming at the local level is believed to be desirable.

Guidance Practices

Providing the student-with information concerning hiscareer development options and providing him with the skillsfor making appropriate decisions in the selection of a careerare major functions of guidance. There is a wide variationamong schools concerning the implementation of thesefunctions. Most schools suffer a shortage of counselors, andvocational education may suffer even more because of thecomplex nature of the trades involved.

The Division of Vocational Education of the OhioDepartment of Education has provided the school districtswith many types of in:service training programs for voca-tional counselors, but much effort is still required at thelocal level in orienting the counselor to potential employ-ment opportunities available for graduates with appropriateskills.

Most of the school districts are not structured in a waythat enables the student to be informed systematically aboutthe world of work prior to his entry into schools offeringvocational programs. For example, in most comprehensivehigh schools the student does not receive his first exposureto vocational education until he is in the eighth grade. Thisexposure often consists of the high school counselor.goinginto the junior high for an hour or two to talk and answerquestions. The students sigi up for their courses sometimeduring the following week..

The jointures have a similar need. They often.do nothave the personnel for contacting potential vocationalstudents until they are in the tenth grade. Much of theresponsibility for career or work orientation rests in theelementary and junior high schools, which may be withoutguidance counselors. It is assumed that, if a student is

exposed to vocational thought at an early age, his latercareer decisions probably will be based upon improved judg-ment. But whether or not the student has received voca-tional orientation, he is usually channeled into one of threetracks general, college preparatory, or vocational,

The Special Case of Job Placement

There is much disagreement in the field as to whetheror not the school should be responsible for job placement.Some schools feel that their responsibility ends with gradua-tion, while others feel that it is the school's responsibility toattempt to place all students.

The methods for conducting placement activities varyamong the schools that have decided to take an active partin placement. The procedure is very unsystematic in mostsuch schools, In many of the schools, teachers areresponsible for placement that occurs, because it is generallyfelt that the teachers are closer to industry than are otherschool personnel. Great variance in degree of effort appliedto placement is evident among the vocational teachers, Manymake an effort to get leaders of business and industry intothe schOol to talk to the students and possibly recruitstudents, while other teachers merely act as referral agentsand advise students of possible openings in the field.

Conclusions

It should be noted that the wide variations betweenschools in areas of vocational education that are discussed in

9

this section are not unique to Ohio. Similar findings can beobtained elsewhere in the United States. Ohio, however, doeshave a State Department of Education that has been activelyinvolved in reduLing the inconsistencies. Progress has beenmade and the leadership role provided by the state voca-tional education personnel is responsible for much of theprogress. There is needed, however, a guide that wouldoutline components for further planning in the area of

curriculum a guide that reflects a systematic methodologyfor curriculum development and one that educational per-sonnel could employ as criteria to judge effective planning inthe development and implementation of curricular programSat the local level. Recommendations concerning the use ofthe guide are given in Section Vi "Concerns on Curriculum";Appendix 13 of the original report addresses itself to thedevelopment of such a guide.

10

III. STUDENT OPTIONS

Four Options in Ohio

Statistics on Ohio students indicate that

Almost. a fourth of those who enter the first grade do notgraduate fiom high school

o Over half of those who enter the first grade do not go onto college.

In discussing the students that do not go on to college, theconcept of "next-state" appears useful. As used in thisreport "next-state" means what a student becomes after hehas ceased to be a student. The next-state is arbitrarilychosen to be that in evidence 3 months after the student hasleft school.

Historically, in Ohio, there have been three commonnext-states. These are portrayed in Figure I. Upon leavingschool, the student has three possible transitions, which aredescribed as

A, the transition to being a college student

B, the transition to being employed (including employ-ment by the military)

C, the transition to being unemployed.

High SchoolStudent

CollegeStudent

Employed (includingmilitary service)

Unemployed

FIGURE 1. HISTORICAL "NEXT-STATES" FOR HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS

Though not commonly discussed as such, in effect, thesehave been the three ma;or options that students have beforethem when they enter high school. In recent years, a fourthoption has been added to this list. The newer situationshown in Figure 2 adds D, the transition to being a studentin a technical institute (a 2-year post-high-school program),to the options.

High SchoolStudent

College Student

Employed (includingmilitary service)

Unemployed

Student in TechnicalInstitute

FIGURE 2. NEXT-STATES OF HIGH SCHOOLSTUDENTS AS MODIFIED BYADDITION OF TECHNICALINSTITUTES

Presumably, the technical institutes will derive theirstudents from either of two categories:

Students entering the first grade who eventually entercollege but do not graduate.

Students who enter the first grade and graduate from highschool, but do not go on to college.

One suspects that the majority will come from the secondgroup, those who are not college bound. This latter groupencompasses about two-fifths of the entering students.

If the options open to the student entering high schoolare correctly portrayed in Figure 2, what, then, is theprocess whereby the student makes his way toward the nextstate? To what extent does he participate knowingly in thechoice of one of these options, and to what extent does theeducational "system" assist him toward one of them?

The Process of Option Selection

There, presently, does not appear to be a sound processof option selection whereby the student makes his waytoward next-state decisions. For example, there are insuf-ficient guidance or counseling services available prior toentry into the ninth grade. In addition, there is onlyincidental curriculum content available in the elementaryschools for helping the student acquire the followinrt:

Knowledge a bout career planning and areas ofemployment

Skills with which to make decisions about future options.

There is reason to doubt that the educational systemhas systematically alerted the entering high school student tothe available options. There is no reason to conclude that

11

the system provides the entering high school student, otherthan through incidental means, with the skills for makingcareer decisions responsibly.

At the secondary level, however, next-state options arebeing made. Students do drop out. Students do go on tocollege. Students do become employed. Since the educa-tional system does not formally provide the students withopportunities to ticquire information and skills to participatein a next-stale decision, upon entering high school, a studentmust presume that the decisions are made for him in one oftwo ways: (I) that there are, in the educational system,persons who become so familiar with each student, aresufficiently wisc and dedicated, and most importantly, havethe time to make these important choices for the student, or(2) that there is a "system" that makes the decisions. If it is

the system that "makes" or "forces" a decision, and if thesystem is oriented toward a particular option, it is inevitablethat, in that system, a majority of students cannot possiblyinvolve themselves in making good choices about next -staleoptions. If, in a given high school, time and funds do notmake it possible for staff persons to make wise decisions forthe student (and since the student may not be equipped todo so), the process whereby the student makes his waytoward the next-state is initiated and propagated by a

"system". This does not appear to be a sound processbecause it denies the student, with the assistance of hisfamily and educators, the opportunity to participate fully inthe choices available. No choice during the high school yearsis, for many, equivalent to the choice of unemployment.

A system of guidance and curricular programs needs tobe introduced at the elementary level to equip the studentfor accepting this responsibility no later than the ninthgrade.

As en example 01 the kind of school functions thatmight take place prior to the student's entry into the ninthgrade, a student might receive an explanation of the differ-ence isetween technical institutes and colleges. He ala) mightbe advised concerning the many kinds of employment oppor-tunities available in society and of the relevance ofsecondary educat;on toward acquiring skills for employmentopportunities. Employment also might receive sonic atten-tion in terms of the significance of labor to the maintenanceof the highly industrialized society in which we live. If, asmay be anticipated, this is not adequate to help studentsbegin to formulate next-state objectives, further supplementsshould be added to the curriculum to help put the studentin a position to begin to make choices not irrevocablechoices but choices made partly by him rather thantotally by the system.

Student Participation inOption Selection

The question of a student's knowing participation inone of the optionr, was partially answered in the previousdiscussion. In aLlition to the reasons given earlier, many

educators simply do not believe that the entering high schoolstudent is "ready" to make decisions concerning his futureand, therefore, there are no provisions in the process ofeducation which allow the student to participate"knowingly". To support this R.,0ii:nn, educators quite oftenpoint to the findings of developmental psychologists for datato substantiate the contention that students' interests andexperiences at the point of early adolescence are not matureand broad enough to permit a rational selection of career.Yet one might reasonably ask what the findings would be ifthe experiential background of the student included thetypes of curriculum and guidance programs to which theprevious discussion addressed itself. It is quite possible that,with the introduction of these concepts during theelementary years, developmental psychologists may one dayobtain findings which could conceivably suggest quite theopposite i.e., that students are, in fact, "ready" toparticipate in decisions that affect their career choices.Horrocks*, For example, states that:

It is also important to realize the place of opportunityin interest formation. People with specific interests havethem because they have had an opportunity to developthem. One cannot be expected to be interested in

something one has neither seen nor heard about.

The inter uediary task of the youth worker is to pro-vide his charges with opportunities to develop desirableinterests by helping to make available the necessary rawmaterials and skill. This he must do in a way that willmake the boy or girl want to participate and to enjoyit,

Generally, this is not practiced with reference to careerdevelopment in today's educational system.

In concluding, it should be noted that, aside frominterest in inventory research, most developmentalpsychologists would agree that, as early as the seventh andeighth grade years, most students have the "cognitive" or"intellectual" capabilities to participate in the process ofselecting career options and programs with which to developthe skills for exercising the options upon graduation. Missingis the formal presentation of relevant information and oppor-tunities or the kinds of experiences that allow for thedevelopment of an interest in exercising one's responsibilityfor making choices and planning toward certain careeroptions. As it now stands, the "system" does not generallyencourage or provide the student with the opportunity toparticipate "knowingly" in these matters.

Assisting the Student Toward an Option

In assisting the student toward an option, the extent towhich the educational system explicitly acknowledges to thestudent that every human being has a fundamental task of

*Horrocks, John E., The Psychology of Adolescence,Houghton Mifflin, Boston (1969), pp 507-591.

12

managing his own life is of concern. This management activityconsists largely of a two-step process. The first step is torecognize what options are open to the individual; in a word,to understand what freedom he has. The second step is tomake a wise choice from the available options; in a word, toexercise responsibility.

The schools are a kind of learning laboratory in whichstudents may or may not learn their options and may ormay not learn responsibility that goes along with selectingthem. If they do not learn. to recognize options and are notprivileged to exercise responsibility, in effect. they are beingconditioned to accept the dictates of an imprsonal system,and they may not learn to behave responsibly.

As noted earlier, it appears that relatively little atten-tion is given in the educational syStem to teaching studentsabout the kinds of personal decisions that they will have tomake in life and to help them understand how one goesabout making decisions. Such a chore is often assigned tothe counseling function a function so ,understaffed as tobe effectively denied to many students. Yet, what moregolden opportunity is there in the school system than thisto teach the concept that a student needs to make decisionswhich affect his future and to provide for the developmentof skills to assume that responsibility. Presently, however,schools do not generally provide formally for the develop-ment of such skills and, therefore, do not necessarily assistthe student toward one of the next-state objectives.

OptionSwitchPoints

Graduation Requirements in Relationto Options and Student Needs

The four options open to the high school student arediscussed without regard to whether the student graduates ornot. As he enters the ninth grade, he does have, in effect,the four next-states shown in Figure 2 open to him. Thetime seems at hand when students need to exercise muchmore responsibility in making decisions about the optionsavailable and in the selection of the high school programthat they will pursue. Planning a total high school programas early as the ninth grade seems advisable. Schools shouldencourage students, beginning at this grade level, toparticipate in and formulate alternative objectives with thenext-state in mind. Parents and school representatives mustcollecti;ely assist, but not dictate to, the student in choosinghis program. It is recommended that this type of consulta-tion be arranged during the summer session prior to entryinto the ninth year of school. It also must be noted thatdecisions made at this time are not irrevocable. The studentshould have the freedom to change the program if it doesnot meet with his interests and capabilities. Figure 3

illustrates the envisioned mobility within high school. Toprovide for such a change, review committees should beestablished to examine, during the summer following eachschool year, the student's interest in his program and theprogress he is making toward his next-state option. It is alsorecommended that the student-selected 'objective.; become a

EnteringNinthGrade Entering

TenthGrade

1.1EnteringEleventhGrade Entering

TwelfthGrade

FIGURE 3. PROVIDING FOR ANNUAL CHANGE OF NEXT-STATE OPTION

FOUROPTIONS

CollegeStudent

Employed

Unemployed

Student inTechnicalInstitute

13

formal part of his educational record each year. Then thestudent's program should be keyed to the educational objec-tives of the student, with the next-state in mind. This oughtto establish a powerful motivation for success, if done well.Hopefully, students would thereby be prone to avoid theoption of joining the unemployed and would key both theiraims and their programs to one of three next-states: going tocolloge, going to a technical institute, or becomingemployed. In this way a student may gain a vested interestin his high school program.

Vocational educators, for example, report that studentsoften will change their attitude toward (i.e.. become moreinvolved in learning) an academic subject if they acquiresome vested interest in learning it. The central point here is:

o If a student has established an objective (i.e., has made achoice) that makes sense to hi iii and appeals to him and ifthere is a connection that the student sees between thisobjective and an academic subject, he will apply himselfto learn that subject.

Such decision making and interest in the pursuit of aprogram also affects the student's concept of himself. Whena student "knows" what objectives are important to him,when he has a voice in their selection, when the program heselects in pursuit of the objective provides him with successexperiences, and when the program permits him to developfully his capabilities, the self-concept or self-esteem of thestudent will grow and become stabilized. Sonic programspartially achieve this objective. For example. recent researchby Professor Pugh of Ohio University* dealt with the self-concept. His experimental results indicate that joint voca-tional schools are effective in improving the self-concept ofchildren. Further research on this subject, planned byProfessor Pugh,. may establish, definitely, that this is true. ifso, one imiy suppose that the availability of an educationaloption that more closely relates to student objectives is akey factor. The research does not indicate whether theimprovement in self-concept occurs only in selected voca-tional programs or across the board. If it is a general

occurrence, one might conclude that the specific programoffered is not as important as the fact that the options arethere, and that the programs relate to student interests andcapabilit les.

Options in Relation to Curricula

The argument has been advanced that a "system"should not force, or even allow, a student to select any oneoption; rather, the system should be designed to permit thehigh school student to enjoy the advantages of beingeducated in a way that would allow hint to select any of theoptions available upon graduation. The basis for this argu-ment is two-fold. First, the student is said not to be "ready"

*Pugh, Dwight Allen, A Comparison of Changes Over a Periodof Time in the Self Concepts of Students Enrolled in Voca-tional and Non-Vocational Curricula, Doctoral Dissertation,Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, June, 1969.

for selecting options, and the high schools should not pre-maturely force him into a decision-making role. Second, theassumption is often made that a student's decision is

irrevocable. That is, once made he cannot change it. Thefirst argument has already been disputed, but the seconddoes have sonic merit. The system of education, as presentlystructured in the secondary schools in Ohio, makes it diffi-cult for the student to switch options.

Definite research data relating the next-state options totypes of curricula are not available, due to the lack offollow-up studies. Therefore, in order to clarify the questionconcerning the relations between options and availability ofcurricula, a hypothesized general relation between optionsand availability of curricula has been composed. This relationis exhibited in Table 3. The reader may wish to apply hisown "reasonableness" test to these hypothesized relations.What the table suggests very strongly is that the "relevance"of a curriculum to a student is strongly conditioned uponthe kind of future that a student visualizes for himself.

The table is comparative, rather than absolute. Thus,although the college preparatory curriculum is ranked 1 inrelation to satisfying the option of going to college, it is notimplied that the present college preparatory curricula are thebest that can be devised. Rather, it is indicated that of thethree, the college preparatory curriculum seems best.* For astudent whose next-state will be "employed", the vocationalcurricula are ranked I, and the general curriculum is ranked3, or lowest.

This kind of table also strongly suggests that the kindof curriculum pursued should be made to depend upon thenext-state option applicable to each particular student. Onthe other hand, it is desirable to permit students to changeoptions as they progress through school. The dislocation inprogram occasioned by such a change is, presumably, less

an the dislocation in the life of a student whoseprogram becomes, and remains, inconsistent with hisprojecte future.

severe

Th.; argument leads to the conclusion that, when thestudent ,';ranges his next-state option, he should be per-mitted to adjust his curriculum accordingly e.g., per-mitting transfer to or from :-ocational education, with aslittle red tape as possible. The present state scheme ofreimbursement to schools for students in vocational educa-tion works against this kind of flexibility. So does thepresent scheme*of advising students which does not provideinformed and timely counseling on vocational education tothose students who may be misplaced in their schoolprograms.

*It is important here to recognize that pursuing the "college-preparatory curriculum" is not the only way to prepare forcollege. All students that complete a vocational program andgraduate from high school in Ohio are eligible to enter thestate universities of Ohio. Entering a high-school vocationalprogram, therefore, does not close the option of college entryto a student; it may, for some, represent the most desirableapproach to attaining that option.

14

The highly-structured programs in vocational educationand the physical separation of the jointures from otherschools make change within the system difficult. Although,in principle, the freedom to change is open to the student,in practice, the sy.;:em makes it hard. What appears to beneeded is a system that provides for an easy academic and/orvocational transfer from the pursuit of one option toanother if the student desires surh a transfer.

It is our understanding that the "organic" curriculumrepresents an attempt to provide for a "triple option".Students would not need to ,estimate their next -state in

order to form a program. While the choice of a triple optionperhaps can be made available, it appears that, if instead ofbeing one of several options, the "organic" becomes the onlyoption open to the student, the system again would bedictating curricula, and the powerful motivational forcesassociated with permitting a student to choose the kind ofcurriculum that best meets his next-state plans would still beabsent.

TABLE 3. RELATIONS BETWEEN CURRICULUM TYPESAND STUDENT NEXT-STATE OPTIONS

Student Next-State Options

Curricula Rank(a)General Vocational College Prep

Simple OptionsCollege 2 2Technical Institute 2 1 3

Employed 2 2

Unemployed 1 3 2

Double OptionsCollege or 3 2 1

Technical InstituteCollege or 3 1 2

EmployedCollege or 1 3

UnemployedTechnical Institute

or Employed2 1 2

TripleOptionCollege or 3 2

Technical Instituteor Employed

(a) 1 Ranked highest for orientation toward specifiednext state

2 Ranked intermediate for orientation towardspecified next state

3 Ranked lowest for orientation toward specifiednext state.

*Bushnell, David S., "The Problems of Process in CurriculumChange", paper presented at the 18th Annual Fall Confer-ence of the Pennsylvania Department of Supervision andCurriculum Development, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,November 25, 1968.

Options in Relation to Self-Concept

Tile development of self-esteem is a need which schoolsshould recognize as being vital for all students. As Pugh'sresearch suggests, it is a need that can be satisfied in thevocational schools. The self-concept held by a student maybe the principal factor shaping his view of life and mayaffect his behavior in and out of school. It is even moredominant when a student is faced with a choice point thataffects his future. When he has to make an occupational orcurricular choice and when he has to 'decide whether he isgood enough to do what must be done to succeed in a givenoccupation, the decision he must make rests upon his evalua-tion of himself and of his assumed identify. As Rosenberg*notes:

When an individual is faced with a serious and urgentdecision, and when a major basis for this decision is hisview of what he is like, then the self-image is likely tomove to the forefront of his attention.

The school must consider the importance of the student'sdeveloping self-concept and in planning the program andopportunities for success experiences, should provide theconditio!;,: of choice. These conditions are contingent uponthe availability of a flexible program consistent with thestudent's selection of next-state options. The acquisition of afavorable and accurate self-concept is thus dependent uponcurriculum flexibility, or the capacity to choose curriculummake-up consistent with abilities and future activity.

Joint-Vocational Schools andCurriculum Flexibility

Because they are large, the joint vocational schools havebeen able to provide considerable flexibility in curricula and,thus, have been able to offer unique opportunities to avariety of students. However, their restriction to studentsaged 16 or above means that this flexibility is open only at arather late time in the student's high school career.

It seems appropriate to extend this flexibility down tothe ninth grade level in the joint vocational schools and toexpand it a bit to accommodate further those students whodesire to 'attend college or who are "on the fence" in'choosing between college and a technical institute. Accord-ingly, one recommendation is that at least one jointure beconverted on an experimental basis to a full four:year highschool with diploma-granting authority. Such a schOol wouldoperate in the manner implied earlier in this chapter withregard to the adjustment of each student program to meetthe anticipated next-state of the students. If the experimentis successful, it would seem advisable to expand the otherjointures into full high schools. The joint vocational schools

*Horrocks, John E., The Psychology of Adolescence, 3rd Edi-tion, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1969, pp. 124-145.

15

already have the vocational base from which to branch intoa more comprehensive educational program in a -reasonablyshort time.

Curriculum Options in Relation toProgram Planning and School Finance

One experience reported in the literature attests to thebenefits accruing to a school district from a programdesigned to develop student programs on an individual basisin consultation with parents.

A community can support public schools to the degreethat its citizens who make decisions can understand therole of the schools. The role of the schools is under-stood in terms of . the citizen's experiences with theschools and a citizen's firsthand experience is probablyconsidered most trustworthy by him. As an example,consider the experience of the citizens of Wood CountySchools, West Virginia. Wood County represents one ofthe wealthier counties in West Virginia, yet in 1960, 75percent of its citizens who were over 25 years of agehad not completed high school. If these citizens lookupon school as the place where they failed or wherethey received little help or support, and if theysucceeded in life without a high school education, it iseasy to see how such citizens might not support publicschool programs with conviction.

However,- a public school project which served WoodCounty citizens brought them into a new relationshipwith their schools and developed new understandings ofthe role of the public school system. During thesummer of 1964, each senior high school student andhis parents were offered an opportunity to participatein counseling sessions about each student's future, hishopes and plans. Out of a potential of 3,600, 3,200counseling sessions were held. A new relationship wasestablished between our schools and our citizens, manyof whom had never before talked with a high schoolteacher or counselor. During the following September,the largest bond issue ever voted in Wood Countypassed by an 87 percent majority.

Dr. Grant Venn from"A Report on the Administrator'sConference on Vocational Education",conducted by the Educational ResearchCouncil or Greater Cleveland, May 23,24, 2965. Prepared by Ross E.Hamilton.

The connection of this experience with vocationaleducation in Ohio is found in the need for better public

- understanding of vocational education, in order that they arebetter prepared to vote the support needed to carry outvocational programs.

Student Options in Relation toAchievement of Objectives

For some students, it may well occur that the objec-tives can be met without continuing through grade twelve.As mentioned earlier, the importance of having all studentsgraduate at the end. of the twelfth grade may be over-estimated. The wide diversity among individual students maysuggest that operational changes should be made tWt wouldnot be so damaging to self-esteem. Thus, it might beappropriate to consider presenting a student leaving schoolwith a diploma that indicates not that he has completedtwelve years of school, but, rather, that he has met a certainset of objectives established jointly by him and the school,and showing how those objectives were met. For example,one might leave school at the eleventh grade with qualifica-tions in auto mechanics and with certification to that effectappearing on the diploma. Or one might leave at the twelfthgrade with certification that he has accumulated the array ofCarnegie units required for admission to college hi Ohio. Thesacred concept of "graduation" may be obsolete. Perhaps itis time to take a more individualized approach to the separa-.t: On of a student from high school, aimed at attaining adesired next-state.*

The diploma granted to the student would include thegrade level completed, the student's educational objectives asoriginally prepared in the ninth grade and as later modified,and the courses taken in high school. Any special achieve-ments should also appear. Graduation ceremonies still mightbe held annually, but they would include all students leavingschool who had satisfied their stated objectives, whether Illeyhad completed twelve grades or not. Diplomas could beawarded at that time. The diploma would then serve thestudent as useful documentation in his efforts to make thetransition to the next-state. If a student wlio had graduatedchanged his objectives and desired to return to school withnew objectives, provisions might be made for this to occur.

*The hallowed concept of "individualized instruction" doesnot mean that each student will have a teacher working withhim all the time. What it ought to come to mean is that everystudent understands, and is in harmony with, the educationalprogram that he is pursuing. This latter goal will not beapproached until the student plays a more positive role inthe selection of a program than he has done before. Theplanning has to be related to post-school living, thus, it can-not be done on a piecemeal basis looking only one semesterahead. Rather, it should be an integrated program planned asfar into the future as the student can look (with help) andkeyed to his objectives.

16

Beyond the Transition

Most of this Section has been addressed to the transi-tion from high school to a next-state, the latter beingarbitrarily tied to a point in time 3 months after the studenthas left school. This discussion has rested upon the beliefthat, if a good transition is made, the basis has been laid fora good start in post-school living. Also, in evaluating schoolperformance by follow-up studies, the short-term follow-upclearly provides the most timely information.

Preparation for the transition is more definite than"preparationconstructingrelevance topermanenceleaves morefutures.

for life", is easier to deal with operationally incurricula, and would appear to be of morethe student. Moreover, it has an air of lesSerthan planning for a lifetime career and thusflexibility in thought concerning more distant

Nonetheless, for most students a long life follows thetransition. For most students, this life will involve employ-ment. For females, it may involve homemaking. How canthis longer term aspect be incorporated in the thinkingexpressed earlier in this Section? The four options shown inFigure 2 will become, in later life, more diffuse, less distinct.Thus, persons may find themselves employed but attendingcollege part time for refresher courses. Or, they may findthemselves unemployed but may be attending adult voca-tional courses in order to return to the employed state. Moregenerally, one may desire. or find it necessary to be able tomove about from one state to another. Thus, in later life,the analogy to Figure 2 may appear as shown in Figure 4.

Employed

Unemployed Student

FIGURE 4. STATE CHANGING IN ADULT LIFE

It is certainly in the best interests of the individual thathe be capable of state changing in adult life. This capabilityshould be accompanied by the same kind of freedom toselect options that has been discussed for the high schoolstudent. The Student state in Figure 4 encompasses offeringsin college, technical institutes, and in the high schools.

Private educational facilities also become involved.

It seems important that the schools anticipate the needssuggested by Figure 4 by teaching high school students someof the facts of life concerning how society provides for thisstate changing, and how they as future voters will play a rolein determining the extent to which provision is made forre-treading the individual in order that the inevitable changein society shall not be overwhelming to the individual.

The difficulty faced by individuals t' ho in later liferequire some form of renewal is often one of learning,without tremendous personal effort, what options are thenopen to them. Leadership in this afta can be providedthrough adult vocational programs- where much of the samekind of data gathered in planning high school vocationalprograms, e.g., job availability, can be injected into planningadult vocational programs.

The development of decision-making capacity and

responsibility in high school students should serve these

students well in later life where no benevolent system willexist to make decisions for them as long as a free society ismaintained.

17

IV. CONCERNS ON CURRICULUM

There is a need for local schools to systematize theprocedures of curriculum development around a set of guide-lines made available at the State level. Such guidelines mightwell employ the framework shown in Figure 5, whichrepresents a synthesis of the key elements of moderncurriculum development.

(I)

There is concern that vocational curricula should be:

Responsive to the requirements of the job market.Responsiveness to the job market involves manpowerforecasts, treated in Section V (and in Appendix D ofthe original report).

(2) Responsive to the 'needs and interests of students.Responsiveness to student need implies keying a pro -grain to the student rather than shoe-horning a studentinto a pre-established curriculum.

(3) Efficiently integrated with other educational programs;Efficient integration with other educational programsrequires an ever-continuing struggle to restructure andrevise both curriculum and schedule and to achieve abreadth and depth of each to meet the needs of thestudent.

(4) Designed to provide more vocational flexibility.Vocational flexibility implies the development in thestudent of the capacity to be mobile, both horizontallyand vertically, within the job market.

These four concerns are of long standing in education,having been with educators for many years. They do notyield to instant change or edict. Rather, they give groundgrudgingly as many individuals throughout the educationalsystem persist in working toward the relief of theseconcerns.

The concerns do, however, have some commonality. Allfour require the cooperative efforts of many kinds of people,and all four require some measure of systematic leadership.This commonality makes it imperative that a soundphilosophy and methodology should be available as a basefrom which such leadership can operate. It is not to beexpected that the philosophy and methodology that evolvesat the broad level can work magical solutions at theoperational level. Philosophy and methodology can provideonly a framework or setting that is in harmony with theaims and aspirations of school administrators and teachers.

The easing of concern, then, rests upon the broadunderstanding of philosophy and methodology from whichthe detailed application can spring. Further, the philosophyand methodology, once seen in educational perspective, canhelp show where and how efforts can be most effectivelybrought to bear upon the concerns to cause the necessarysequences of events to occur.

_ (I) Decide on curriculum organizationand select program offerings, based onan assessment of:

Employment opportunities

Student-body desires and needs

Resources and constraints.

(2) Assess employer and job requirements.

(3) Formulate performance objectives forprograms and select/develop measuresof attainment of objectives.

(4) Assess characteristics of targetpopulations.

-o-(5) Design programs:

Courses and other instructional unitswithin programs

Instructional strategies and methods,content, sequencing and materials,equipment, and media.

(6) Implement and conduct programs:

a Assess entry-level skills andknowledges

Assess attainment of objectives.

(7) Conduct follow-up of graduates:

Job placement

Job performance

Employer and job requirements

Mobility.

FIGURE 5. STEPS IN CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT,REVISION, AND UPDATING

it seems reasonably clear that, for vocational education,it is highly inefficient to place the burden of curriculum-materials development upon each and every vocationalschool.* Rather, this responsibility should be placed at thehighest level in the educational hierarchy that is practical toachieve, in order to promote specialization and efficiency.Likewise, the setting of objectives and the development ofmethods of measuring their attainment are tasks forspecialists and are too time consuming and difficult towarrant the carrying out of this activity at each and everyschool.

*The curriculum development methodology is presented inAppendix B.

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If it is desirable to develop curriculum materials andevaluation materials at a high level in the educationalhierarchy, it is equally desirable that local units exercisegreat selectivity in choosing which of those materials andevaluation : :thods shall be perhaps modified and applied inthe local schools, These schools have a primary responsibilityof maintaining programs that arc relevant to their studentsand to local needs,

Thus, the a tacks on the four concerns expressedearlier, while continuing to require participation at all levelsin the educational community, can be made more efficientand expedited by structuring the attacks in a manner con-sistent with what is possible and what is desirable. Specialistsshould do those tasks that yield only to specialization, andthe local school units should be in a position of choice andutilization, rather than one of conception and development,at least in common areas of curriculum development.

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V. CONCERNS ON JOB FUTURES

The investment of substantial public funds to preparepeople now for jobs that will not exist in the future is

clearly neither advisable from the standpoint of public policynor acceptable to the individuals involved. Thus, a questionof great concern to the public, educators, and students isone of how to anticipate or forecast the future availabilityof occupations. This review gives an up-to-date picture ofpresent methodologies. A general review of Manpower Fore-casts for Educational Planning is given in Appendix D.

Forecasting methodology, in general, is well-viewed as aconfrontation between perfection and imperfection, sinceforecasting methodology is always in a state of beingimproved. At any given point in time, the imperfections tendto be apparent. Perfection is held up as a goal toward whichcontinued efforts will be dedicated indefinitely, in an effortto keep diminishing the imperfections.

The central question, at any given point in time, is oneof whether as much use is being made of forecastingmethodology as is warranted by its state at that time. Sincethe slat,: of forecasting methodology keeps changing, thisquestion must continually be raised and answered, Underpresent conditions in Ohio, The State Department of Educa-tion should have this responsibility and should serve localdistricts as a source of up-to-date information as well as acounselor concerning its application. If regional centers areestablished, national and state forecasts may be taken intoaccount in regional forecasting. Such forecasts should be putin a format consistent with the needs of school districts.

Forecasting is not the responsibility of the schools, butthe utilization of forecasting is. As long as this situationpersists (and it appears that there is no reason to change it),it will be necessary for the curriculum planners to be incontact with manpower forecasters. Since these peoplenormally operate in different environments, positive condi-tions for ensuring effective interchange of information arerequired. The Ohio Department of Education has a stake inmaintaining surveillance of such efforts. Some of the stepsbeing taken are discussed in Appendix D of the originalreport.

Changes in the labor market call for a responsive systemof vocational education. If, as some critics contend, voca-tional educators have been slow to react to labor-marketchanges, employment specialists inay be partly responsible.The labor-market data provided may not be adequate in

quantity or quality or in the form heeded for vocationalplanning. A clearer understanding of the specific data needsof the schools should be conveyed to the employmentspecialist, and the schools must be prepared to utilize

trained labor-market experts to interpret the data so that theimplications therefrom can be acted upon. Translatingoccupational requirements into vocational education planning(with estimates of needs for facilities, instructional staff, andcourse content) is not a simple task. Vocational educatorsshould expand the participation of employers, union mem-bers, and the public, knowledgeable in the requirements forthe occupation, in the choice and development of curriculumofferings.

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VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The conclusions and recommendations are presentedunder seven major headings. These arc:

Curriculum Development and Evaluation

Guidance and Counseling

Staff Education and Training

Job Placement

Communication With the Public

Institutional Organization

System Considerations.

Though these seven headings are not independent, thisseparation serves as a means of helping to unify relatedconclusions and recommendations.

Curriculum Developmentand Evaluation

Conclusions

There is a wide variation among the schools in theplanning and implementation of objectives for vocationaleducation, evaluation activities, teaching methodology, staffdevelopment, and guidance practices. There is no consistentand systematic process for forming a data base from whichto determine system objectives; for example, there is widevariation . in obtaining and updating employer and jobrequirements for skills. There is wide variation in the form inwhich instructional objectives are stated. There appears to beneither formal procedures whereby educators specifybehavioral objectives of onthe-job training in a cooperativeprogram nor procedures for measuring student progress inon-the-job training. Rather, these matters are relegated toindustry, which may not be qualified to deal with them.There arc large variations among schools in the methods bywhich they accomplish the functions shown in Figure 5. Amajor reason for this is lack of time, funds, and trainedpersonnel at the local level to accomplish these functionseffectively.

Little evidence has been found of written student per-formance objectives. Lack of performance objectives, in job-training and related areas and in curricular areas outside ofjob training that pertain to vocational education, precludeseffective program evaluation.

There are few comprehensive and systematic guidelinesto help districts design, evaluate, and update their curricula.

Several theoretical, conceptual, and methodological problemsneed solutions before vocational curricula can be developedupon a core-program basis. However, occupational clusterscan be formulated on bases other than common skills,* stillproviding many of the positive features of a common-coretype of cluster program.

In a few older schools, curricula for vocational educa-tion are built around readily obtainable equipment. Clearly,curricula and equipment needs should be generated fromeducational objectives that grow out of student needs andlocal conditions. Similar remarks apply with regard tocurrent and available interests and capabilities of teachingstaff.

There is a clear trend away from the concept that"vocational education equals only specific technical skillsand knowledge". In the job-training areas, general and basicskills and knowledge, e.g., communication skills, will assumeincreasing importance. Thus, curriculum developers in

vocational education must deal with broadened content indeveloping programs. There is also increasing attention toother than job-training areas within vocational education,e.g., citizenship education, avocational education, andeducation on career choices. Because of this, curriculumdevelopers in vocational education will have expandedresponsibilities, and there will be an even greater need toformulate objectives in clear terms.

Vocational education offerings often have notresponded rapidly to changes in the labor market. The resulthas been heavy vocational education emphasis on some fields(e.g., vocational agriculture) where there is little demand andless emphasis upon some fields (e.g., computer-related fields)where there are many unfilled jobs. It is not clear whetherthe fault lies in planning or in inability to implement plans.Probably it is a mixture of both.

Recommendations

Development of Guidelines for Curriculum Developmentand Evaluation. A written guide for Curriculum Developmentand Evaluation should be developed that is more detailedand comprehensive than any documents now existing. Thisguide could serve as a set of standards and criteria for StateDepartment of Education personnel to judge effectiveplanning in the development, evaluation, and implementationof curricular programs at the local level.**

*For those interested in further discussion, Appendix B inthe full report (dated October, 1969) may be consulted.

**This guide should be developed around the methods andapproaches for developing such a guide presented inAppendix B of the original report.

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Training. The Ohio Department of Education shouldencourage the development of a continuing program ofin-service workshops for vocational educators in techniquesof curriculum development and evaluation. These shouldtake advantage of the approaches presented in Appendix Bof the original report. Plans should also be formulated forthe creating of intern programs at the local level in

curriculum development,

Regional E ducation Service Centers. Curriculumdevelopment and evaluation services should be provided tolocal districts through regional education service centers atsuch time as these become a reality. Consulting servicesshould be provided by specialized personnel in these centers,Also, necessary surveys for local districts might be conductedby center staff, e.g., job-opportunity and skill-requirementsurveys for a local district. Consideration should be given tothe establishment of a behavioral objeCtives exchange as apart of regional education service center activities to providea means of implementing performance objectives in localdistricts. This exchange could be coordinated with effortssimilar to those at the University of California* and otherU.S. Office o Education efforts along these lines. Such anexchange would provide for vocational educators to selectobjectives for their programs, based upon local selectioncriteria, thus not requiring extensive objective-writing effortsat the local level. A central aim should be to relate suchactivities to student needs.

Additional Research. Additional research should be con-ducted to develop further core training and cluster programconcepts and methodologies, so as to bring these to a widerlevel of application.

Demonstration Programs. Demonstration and exemplaryprograms in curriculum development and evaluation shouldbe encouraged and implemented at the local level. Regionaleducation service centers could serve as a coordinatingagency and also should coordinate with each other formutual benefit,

Labor-Market Analyses. A major stride forward in

orienting vocational education curriculum to labor-marketneeds can be made through greater use of existing labormarket analysis techniques by those responsible fir planningand administering vocational education. In addition, hibor-market forecasting techniques for small areas must be (andare being) improved. Educators should continue to com-municate their data needs to employment specialists and toinvolve those knowledgeable about local labor markets in thevocational education planning process. Basically, what is

required is a functioning information system. The Depart-ment of Education should develop the system to serve theneeds of education, in cooperation with employmentspecialists.

*Professor W. J, Popham, UCLA Graduate School of Educa-tion, Los Angeles, California, is active in this work.

Guidance and Counseling

Conclusions

Counseling of students in the design of their highschool programs is inadequate. There does not appear to bea sound process of education whereby a student makes hisway toward the three desirable next-state options collegestudent, technical institute student, employed person. Theprocess whereby a student progresses toward a next-stateoption is largely determined by the system rather than bydecisions related to each individual. Guidance now madeavailable to ninth-grade students is not adequate to explainto them the options open to them in their post-high-schoolcareer that will help them to visualize, the relation betweentheir high school programs and their future careers. Uponentering high school, many students have neither knowledgeabout careers nor the skills with which to make decisionsaffecting their future. Some educators support the conten-tion that students are not ready at early adolescence tomake a rational selection of a career or a program thatpermits pursuit of career objectives. Developmental researchindicates, however, that, as early as the seventh and eighthgrades, most students have the cognitive and intellectualcapabilities to make such decisions; therefore, they couldchoose a reasonable next-state option, Although subject-matter germane to decision-making skills exists in consider-able quantity, students are not provided systematically withinformation needed to develop them.

The development of guidance materials for counselorsof entering ninth graders would help. In the absence of avery large complement of counselors, the parent might servea greater counseling function, if such materials could bedeveloped and find their way into homes.

The educational system does not explicitly acknowledgethat the student has some responsibility for choosing anext-state option and a program compatible with thatchoice. Accordingly, there is not enough attention paid inthe system to teaching students the kinds of decisions theywill have to make. Responsibility for this function in theschools is largely relegated to the counseling function, afunction so under-staffed as to he effectively denied to manystudents.

Recommendations

In-service training courses should be developed to teachteachers and counselors how to work together with studentsand parents in planning student programs during the summerfor each student.

When an adequate supply of trained school personnelbecomes available, a program should be instituted whereinschool representatives, the parents, and the student meet totalk over the student's future and to plan a high schonIprogram for each student on the basis of his interests. The

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student should understand his options and should appreciatethat the responsibility for listening to school and parentaladvice and for choice of his program is not one to be takenlightly. It may be necessvry to teach students how to goabout making decisions and plans for their future in orderthat they can participate effectively and substantively in

such choices.

Student programs should be revised, when desirable, toaccommodate increasing maturity and changes of views. Thismay he done annually and should always involve the school,the parents, and the student. Summer seems the logical timefor such program review.

Student programs should be used as an ingredient inplanning for curriculum and staff changes.

The Ohio Department of Education should foster andcuordihate the development of materials suitable forcounseling and make these available to children and parentsat the time the child completes the eighth grade. Included insuch materials would be, for example, an indication as to thekinds of high school programs that would lead into technicalinstitute programs and college programs, as well as intoemployment, following the completion of the high schoolprogram. Such widely used terms as "distributive education"are likely to he novel to parent and student alike; hence,definitions it, simple language should be used to help conveythe meaning and essential aims of vocational programs.

The emphasis on materials rests on the belief that therewill never be enough counselors to do the kind of counselingthat entering ninth graders need. An alternative is to providetimely written information to children and parents. Theavailability of this information would also be beneficial foradult vocational education, at least in areas of overlap withhigh school programs. Another alternative that would beeffective over the long run would be to include vocationalguidance that is distributed throughout the curriculum, i.e.,starting with elementary concepts in the early exposure toformal education and building toward more substantive con-cepts as time goes on.

Staff Education and Training

Conclusions

There is a wide variation among the schools in the wayin which they provide in-service training programs for crafts-men, etc., who enter the educational profession. Thereappears to be no broadly implemented approach that permitsinstructors to keep abreast of technological changes in thecrafts. Nor is there one that permits instructors to keepabreast of changes in educational technology. The programsprovided by the State Department of Education are helpful,but the resources applied are not adequate.

Aside from efforts of the Division of VocationalEducation, there is little evidence of any systematic effort toprovide in-service training for vocational counselorsspecifically aimed at developing current knowledge ofpotential employment opportunities for vocational graduates.

Recommendations

The State Department of Education should developstandards and guidelines for in-service training which wouldinclude an extension of already existing teacher educationservices from universities and seminars, and development ofself-instructional material. In addition, the State Departmentof Education should use Federal funds to carry out activitiesdefined by the guidelines, once they are established.

Job Placement

Conclusion

There is some disagreement among vocational educators,as well as variation in practice, concerning the responsibilityof schools to place a student in a job for which he is

trained. Much of the placement activity conducted byschools is undertaken as a self-assumed responsibility byspecific instructors, and the frequency and intensity of theseefforts varies considerably among schools and within schools.This is true notwithstanding the fact that an annual reportof placement activity is required by the State.

Recommendations

The State Department of Education should establish anad hoc commission consisting of recent graduates from voca-tional education programs, union representatives, employers,representatives of the State Employment Agency, localschool officials, and. others to make recommendations con-cerning the schools' responsibilities for job placement. Thenature of the responsibility should be explicit with regard tohow, when, and under what conditions the school can andshould assist the student in the active pursuit of employmentprior to and after graduation.

Communication With the Public

Conclusions

Communities do not appear to be sufficiently aware ofvocational programs, their purposes, and their impact uponstudents. Since most of the public have not attended avocational school, it is understandable that they are not wellinformed about curriculum. The public also may be puzzled

23

by the division of effort among Federal, state, and localgovernment in supporting and administering vocationaleducation, Further confusion may ensue in Ohio by virtue ofthe way in which joint vocational districts have evolved.While school data evolves along county lines, districting hasnot followed county lines. Most of the voting public, lackingpersonal experience with vocational education, arc

ill-equipped to exercise their franchise wisely in regard to thesupport of vocational education. Vocational educators mayhave been so close to vocational education, and so familiarwith it, that they may not have had occasion to recognizethe implications of these matters.

Recommendations

As .Ohio develops long-range plans for vocationaleducation, as required by recent federal legislation, consider-able attention should be given to developing highly credibleand lucid materials that can be used to involve the public atlarge in discussing and formulating the nature and role ofvocational education in meeting both the needs of individualstudents and the needs of society for a cadre of peoplecapable of sustaining the massive technological complexupon which the continued existence of society depends.Then, these materials should be brought to the publicthrough all appropriate means.

Reporting to the public should also be addressed tothose who want to know how effectively the educationaldollar is being used. Credibility is as important as

enthusiasm.

Assuming the implementation of the recommendationconcerning the involvement of parents in the detailedplanning of their children's vocational education programs,this involvement should bring new attention to the objectivesand scope of the program in any given community, therebyfostering improved understanding of vocational education.

Institutional Organization

Conclusions

Joint vocational schools in Ohio have made a positiveeducational contribution by opening up new kinds of pro-grams that meet needs of students not previously met by theOhio school system.

Continuation of the present rate of school districtconsolidation in Ohio will not permit the rapid developmentof high schools of sufficient size to allow adequate flexibilityin the design of student programs or to provide services thatare vital in the development of children, Because of their.size, the existing joint vocational schools are able to offermore vocational program alternatives to students than mostschools. It appears desirable to expand these schools by

converting them into full 4-year high school status (includingauthority to grant diplomas) and by adding sufficient courseofferings to make them more suitable for students whodesire to attend college or a technical institute after highschool.

Recommendations

Regional education service centers should be institutedto provide vital services that individual schools cannot pro-vide for themselves, and to decrease the costs of someequipment and services that involve substantial duplicationof effort among the school districts (e.g., transportation,scheduling, the purchase and maintenance of school buses,training of school bus drivers, and data-processing services).These centers will impact on vocational education in manyways. One principal impact should lie in the expansion ofvocational offerings in a planned way through assistance pro-vided by the center in the introduction of curriculum ele-ments, new teaching materials, and other assistance requiredto expand vocational offerings. Greater provision of serviceson a regional level can make it possible to provide improvededucational opportunities, especially for those schooldistricts that cannot provide these on their own. However,the recommended regional centers are not an adequatesubstitute for implementation of school district consolida-tion. Many problems in vocational education, as well as inother areas, would be solved, or at least eased, if the Stateof Ohio were to accomplish consolidation of .many of theState's smaller school districts.

At least one joint vocational school should be convertedinto a regular 4-year, diploma-granting high school on anexperimental basis to Determine whether it can becomecomprehensive in the sense that it can provide a program toany student who may wish to attend, whatever his post-highschool plans may be. If this experiment is successful,

conversion of the other jointures should be considered.

Such an experiment would not preclude other kinds ofexperiments that might be considered, such as the conversionof one jointure into a 2-year, diploma-granting educationalcenter that would provide comprehensive programs ofvocational and pre-professional education.

System Considerations

Conclusion

While steailly improving, the administration of voca-tional education has not yet evolved into a rational

thodology.

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Recommendation

As rapidly as feasible, administrators of joint vocationalschools and vocational schools should help develop andadopt a logical plan that incorporates the development ofmeasurable objectives, curriculum development keyed tothese objectives, measurement of satisfaction of theobjectives, and the use of follow-up studies to help modifycurriculum offerings.

Conclusion

The schools at large seem not to be aware of how toimplement the development of self-concept in all students.The development of a good self-conept may be as importantin vocational education as the development of jobrelatedskills. Vocational education seems to be effective in helpingstudents acquire confidence and the belief that they can goon to live a productive life.

Recommendation

The development of goOd self-concept through voca-tional education deserves increased study. Perhaps it shouldbe given comparable emphasis with one's'capacity to get ajob in a field related to his training and should be a primaryfactor in evaluating the effectiveness of vocational educationprograms.

Vocational educators may also wish to make a specialeffort to develop a favorable image of vocational educationwith the public, since the self-concept of students in

vocational education is affected by the public view of. worthiness of vocational education, as expressed to the

students by persons not associated with vocationaleducation.

Conclusion

There is a distinct and urgent need to amend curriculato provide more emphasis upon, and preparation for, work.The predominant option propagated by the school system iscollege-oriented, thus leaving the student with little 'oppor-tunity to exercise other next-state options. Moreover, thegeneral curriculum places too little emphasis upon studentnextstate and does not seem to promote the exercise offreedom and responsibility in the school as a means oflearning the significance of these terms.

For elementary and junior high school children, there isa need to develop a greater appreciation of the world ofwork and an understanding of how the student ultimatelywill play a role in that world.

For high school students, there is a need to increase -vocational offerings, and a need to involve students muchmore in the design of their educational programs toaccommodate to their capabilities and interests.

Recommendations

Since the schools are much more heavily involved inteaching through the use of prepared instructional materialsthan in generating such materials, the Ohio Department ofEducation should press the State and Federal Government togive renewed emphasis to curriculum-materials developmentcenters that will help fill the need for vocational teachingmaterials, as recommended in the Barlow report*.

Plans should be drawn that will permit vocationaleducation in Ohio to offer broadly based exploratory oppor-tunities for many ninth and tenth graders, since many ofthese do 'not have adequate options in these grades. Forexample, a course dealing with the professions might appealto students who plan to attend college. The rate of expan-sit)n should be limited to coincide with the development ofsuitable curriculum materials. As such materials aredeveloped for ninth- and tenth-grade levels, it will becomefeasible to modify offerings in the eleventh and twelfthgrades to allow for somewhat more emphasis on traditionalacademic subjects as well as music, athletics, and otheractivities that would provide a wider range of opportunitiesto the students.

Conclusion

A high proportion of high school students in Ohio enterthe labor market without marketable skills for employment.Technical institutes may provide, for many of these students,a route to employment.

Recommendations

As noted in Section III, technical education is oneoption that the student can exercise following graduationfrom high school. More information concerning the nature oftechnical education should be made available to high schoolstudents. Some dialogue should evolve between the StateDepartment of Education and the Ohio Board of Regents tohelp assure that connections between vocational educationprograms and technical institute programs are clarified forparents and students who need such information as early asthe ninth grade in order to visualize future patterns.Alternatively, this concern might be appropriately resolvedby the Commission on Vocational and Technical Educationunder the terms of the Ohio House Bill No. 531, recentlyenacted by the Ohio legislature.

Conclusion

Vocational education, over the long run, should cometo be viewed not as a separate aspect of education, but as an

*"A Guide 'for the Development of Curriculum in Vocationaland Technical Education", Division of Vocational Education,University of California, Los Angeles, California, June, 1969.

25 and 26

integral part of the total educational array open to the

student. This means that in need-assessment studies and inplanning, vocational education preferably should be studiedas a part of the larger study of how education is conducted.

Recommendation

Study should be given to the long-range possibility ofreplacing the 4-year high se-ool concept with a conceptwhereby each student develops, in consultation with parentsand the school, a set of personal objectives that get trans-lated into a high school program. The satisfaction of theseobjectives as measured by satisfactory program completioncould represent the requirement for graduation from highschool. By this means, the student would not be obligated tospend any set period of time in high school and would begraduated with a diploma showing his objectives and howthese have been satisfied in school.

Such a system, seemingly, could be broad enough toaccommodate all the present educational programs of schoolsbut could eliminate the administrative rigidity that tradi-tionally has characterized the high school. It might eliminatemany of the problems now besetting the schools. It does notappear, however, that it could be carried out only forvocational education; it would require, in the interests ofequity and effectiveness, that the total pattern of highschool education be modified to correspond more closelywith the needs of students as individuals. It also wouldrequire a new value orientation on the part of colleges,technical institutes, and employers as to what constitutessuitable preparation for entry. Such a scheme wouldprobably have been impractical before the invention ofelectronic data-processing equipment, as the keeping ofappropriate records probably would have been financiallyimpractical.

With this arramement, objectives should be modified, asneces:,ary, as the student matures and his capacities becomemore fully developed and clarified,

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