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LSS Sponsors National Invitational
Conference on
Vocational Education |
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| February 10-11, 2003
in Philadelphia, PA |
A national invitational conference entitled “Vocational
Education and School-to-Work: The Emerging Synthesis,” was
held February 10–11, 2003, in Philadelphia, PA. The event
was sponsored by the Laboratory for Student Success (LSS) as
part of its Signature Series of National Invitational
Conferences for Educational Leadership.
This working conference featured lively discussion between
key policymakers, researchers, educators, and other
stakeholders to examine vocational education policy and to
share research-based knowledge on career- and work-based
learning programs. Panelists presented summaries of papers
on a variety of topics, including the school-to-work
movement of the 1990s, the effects of vocational education
on students’ academic success, vocational education and
school reform, and the professional development of
vocational educators. Participants also collaborated on
generating recommendations for future research, practice,
and policy.
Highlights
Highlights of the proceedings included the following.
Evidence shows that participation in vocational education
programs has positive effects on student outcomes, including
high-school completion and labor-market earnings. Some
studies show benefits of participation on academic
performance indicators such as enrollment in higher level
math courses. Programs featuring intensive workplace
experiences often prove most beneficial. Further, because
vocational education embraces so many programs across the
nation, it is difficult to assess its overall success.
Researchers and practitioners agree, however, that work- and
career-based learning experiences can add value to the
secondary education of all students.
Next Steps
Conference participants meeting in small work groups
formulated recommendations for next steps to promote
vocational education. Recommendations emphasized linking
vocational education to the No Child Left Behind
legislation, implementing more rigorous program assessment,
and improving articulation between secondary and
postsecondary programs using proven models like Tech Prep.
Also recommended were promoting business and industry
support of programs and finding innovative ways to
communicate usable research to vocational educators.
A conference digest including these recommendations will be
produced in the near future by LSS. Also to be published is
a book consisting of the conference papers, the next-step
recommendations, and procedural tools for practitioners.
Look for information about these products on the LSS
website. |
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download the agenda |
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view conference images |
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