The Potential of Vocational Education

Abstract

"Vocational education has the potential for making the school experience relevant. Much work must be done if this potential is to be achieved. New types of programs must be de signed and tested. Old styles of administration will have to be replaced. New teachers and ad ministrators will have to be trained and old ones retrained. But these are operational problems that can be overcome. They must be overcome if ways are to be found to make education mean ingful for those students who presently waste their high school years."*

Earnings Prospects of Black and White Working-Class Women

“…Contrary to widespread beliefs concerning vocational students, research indicates that they generally have strong achievement values and career motivations (Purnell and Lesser, 1969) and often fare better in the labor market than graduates of other terminal programs (Kaufman et al, 1967;Kaufman and Morgan, 1968;Eninger, 1967). By studying graduates of a highly-reputed vocational school, we bring data to bear on the assumption of the equalizing effects of preemployment job training.…”

The cost-benefit analysis of selected cooperative and in-school instruction in vocational industrial education at secondary level in Taiwan, R O C

“…Davie (1967) explains three criteria for making benefit-cost decisions in the context of vocational education. Kaufman and Lewis (1968) discuss the logic and meaning, mis conceptions, problems and limitations of cost-benefit methodology in vocational education. Stromsdorfer (1972) explains, among other issues, the computation of opportunity costs, the problems in selecting a dis count rate and the danger of double-counting the benefits of vocational education.…”

“…Few studies investigated the efficiency of vocational educa tion in terms of the marginal and average costs of vocational education and the optimum size of the program (Cohn et al, 1972;Hu et al, 1969;Osburn and Goishi, 1974). Concerning geographic factors, some studies were conducted on a city-wide basis (Corazzini, 1968;Hu et al, 1969;Kaufman and Lewis, 1968;Taussig, 1968). During the recent decade, most studies were conducted on a state-wide basis (Cohn et al, 1972;DeVore and Scott, 1974;Doty et al, 1976;Harris, 1972;Koch, 1972;Ohio State Department of Education, 1975;Webb, 1974).…”