The National Commission on Teaching and America's Future noted in their recent report, "Good teaching is more important than ever before in our nation's history. Due to sweeping economic changes, today's world has little room for workers who cannot read, write, and compute proficiently; find and use resources; frame and solve problems with other people; and continually learn new technologies and occupations." President Clinton's second term agenda will move America's schools deeper toward educational reform by ensuring that ". . . a talented and dedicated teacher is in every classroom." Commissions and reform advocates alike have argued for the "re-invention" of initial teacher preparation, professional development for practicing educators, and leadership development.
Fortunately, in the 1990 Perkins Amendments the Congress framed a broad professional development agenda for the National Center. Over the past decade, the Center's various projects and professional development programs have produced new, strategically important directions for improving professional learning for all educators, including vocational-technical educators. In our 1996 summary of key principles for future reforms in vocational education, the NCRVE Board envisioned the development of ". . . teaching based on current conceptions of learning, more student-centered instruction, small-group and cooperative instruction, project-and experience-based learning, and other practices that have been more common in the best vocational education (and also in the most elite academic education)."
While the major portion of our work has examined teaching in reformed(ing) secondary school settings, studies of instruction have also explored teaching in community colleges, business and industry settings including workplace literacy programs, and area vocational-technical centers. Across these studies, NCRVE has documented the diverse and changing contexts in which teachers are challenged to affect high quality learning outcomes that are aligned with the new economy.
More recently, NCRVE investments have centered on improving the policies and practices that surround continuing professional development for educators involved in education for work. Several projects have produced significant and systemic approaches to professional development and curriculum improvement.
Additionally, the NCRVE investments in studies of professional development and teacher education have: examined the status and critical components of induction programs for beginning vocational educators, analyzed professional development programs in community colleges, developed case studies of effective efforts in integrating academic and vocational content, and generated guidelines to secondary school principals as they lead reforms focused on integrating academic and vocational education. These "hands-on" resources were generated by the Center's extensive use of case studies, teacher focus groups, and action research--all of which produces "well grounded" examples of what is possible if educators are committed to reformed approaches to vocational education.
The Center's impact on professional development policy and practice has been substantial over the past decade. NCRVE staff and researchers were commissioned by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards to frame the specifications for the Vocational Education credential, which will be available to interested teachers in 1998. Through collaborative planning, the leadership development projects have expanded the research and development capacities of the University Council on Vocational Education institutions and the National Association of State Directors of Vocational Education. Perhaps the broadest impact of NCRVE work can be found in the various dissemination and training efforts that strengthen the continuous learning processes for professionals in vocational education. The Office of Student Services uses the results of research on career development and support strategies for special students to offer workshops and technical assistance services to a wide range of state and local professionals. For the past five years the 30 high schools and postsecondary partners comprising NCRVE's Urban Schools Network have made extensive use of the research on integration models and other forms of vocational education. These are two powerful examples of how the results of applied research can be directly translated to new curricula, enhanced instructional approaches, and integrated support services that affect student learning, as well as help educators develop a capacity for reflection, evaluation, and continuous improvement.
With the rapid deployment of new information and learning technologies, the 21st century will witness the development of new forms and systems for professional development. Virtual universities, on-line databases, websites, and videoconferencing will be common points of access to new knowledge in the daily professional life of educators and their collaborators from business, industry, government, and the non-profit sector. Collectively, they will have access to the intellectual and operational capacity to ensure that each learner is well-prepared to pursue both postsecondary education and a pathway that leads to a meaningful and productive career.
L. Allen Phelps is NCRVE's site director at the University of Wisconsin site. Curtis Finch is the site director at NCRVE's Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.