The 1996 Agenda for the National Center for Research in Vocational Education

MDS-1053

Graduate School of Education
University of California at Berkeley

Consortium Members

The University of California at Berkeley
The University of Illinois
The University of Minnesota
MPR Associates, Inc.
RAND
Teachers College, Columbia University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
The University of Wisconsin

National Center for Research in Vocational Education
University of California at Berkeley
2030 Addison Street, Suite 500
Berkeley, CA 94704

Supported by
The Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S. Department of Education

May, 1996

FUNDING INFORMATION

Project Title:	National Center for Research in Vocational Education
Grant Number:	V051A30003-95A/V051A30004-95A
Act under which Funds Administered:	Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act P.L. 98-524
Source of Grant:	Office of Vocational and Adult Education U.S. Department of Education Washington, DC 20202
Grantee:	The Regents of the University of California c/o National Center for Research in Vocational Education 2030 Addison Street, Suite 500 Berkeley, CA 94704
Director:	David Stern
Percent of Total Grant Financed by Federal Money:	100%
Dollar Amount of Federal Funds for Grant:	$6,000,000
Disclaimer:	This publication was prepared pursuant to a grant with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education. Grantees undertaking such projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgement in professional and technical matters. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official U.S. Department of Education position or policy.
Discrimination:	Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states: "No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." Therefore, the National Center for Research in Vocational Education project, like every program or activity receiving financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Education, must be operated in compliance with these laws.

MISSION STATEMENT

NCRVE's mission is to strengthen education to prepare all individuals for lasting and rewarding employment, and lifelong learning.

NCRVE is the nation's largest center for research, development, dissemination, and outreach in work-related education. Headquartered at the University of California at Berkeley since 1988, NCRVE is presently an eight-member consortium, with Berkeley assisted in its efforts by the University of Illinois; the University of Minnesota; MPR Associates, Inc.; RAND; Teachers College, Columbia University; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and the University of Wisconsin. The presence of the Center or one of its members in nearly every region of the country places NCRVE in contact with the enormous diversity of educational institutions and labor markets in the United States. It also connects the Center with practitioners in each geographic region of the country.

NCRVE has played a key role in developing and disseminating a new concept of vocational education as the Center works towards fulfilling its mission. NCRVE believes such education

Offers every student the option of a high-quality, career-related course of study.
Integrates curricula, maintaining an emphasis on learning through applied problem-solving--a strong feature of traditional vocational education--while including a rigorous course of academic study.
Simultaneously prepares students for immediate employment, further education, and lifelong learning.

We envision the Center as serving the role of a change agent, rather than simply as an analyst of current patterns, a service agency, or an advocate.

Effective change must do more than transfer research knowledge to user communities. It also must do more than transfer working knowledge to other practitioners and back to researchers. Beyond transfer of knowledge is collaborative knowledge creation. Through development, dissemination, and outreach activities, NCRVE serves as a change agent in helping schools to create answers themselves for the dilemmas they face.

The Center strives to integrate its research, development, dissemination, and outreach with practice from the outset, to the extent possible, through a collaborative change process that recognizes that the individuals involved in the production, transfer, and use of new knowledge must participate throughout the entire process of research, development, dissemination, and outreach.

This strategy involves implementing four principles:

Change depends on building and maintaining networks that support and expand the collaborative development and sharing of working knowledge, as well as research knowledge.
Change requires continuous communication among all vocational education actors who produce and use knowledge.
Change is developmental, initially helping people to commit to change and then assisting them to implement policies and practices that accomplish the desired change.
Change uses multiple, simultaneous strategies to reach a wide range of audiences, recognizing persons and the groups to which they belong change at different rates, times, ways, and so on.

Attention to these principles ensures that the Center is not simply dispersing information but is making significant contributions to the improvement of both research and practice.

The Organization of the National Center's Agenda

NCRVE organizes its activities around two functions: (1) Research and Development and (2) Dissemination and Training. Research and Development is comprised of six substantive areas and Dissemination and Training is comprised of three programs.

Research and Development Areas

Area I: The Economic Context of Vocational Education

Area II: Institutions, "System," Governance, and Policy

Area III: Curriculum and Pedagogy: Innovative and Effective Practices in Vocational Education

Area IV: Students in Vocational Education

Area V: Personnel in Vocational Education

Area VI: Accountability and Assessment

Dissemination and Training Programs

Dissemination Program

Professional Outreach Program

Office of Student Services

PART ONE: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Area I: The Economic Context of Vocational Education

The changing economic context in the United States is key to NCRVE fulfilling its mission to strengthen education to prepare all individuals for lasting and rewarding employment, and lifelong learning. The realization of this mission partly depends on the existing nature of employment and the trends in the skills required in the workforce. Thus, this theme encompasses such issues as skill requirements, the nature of labor markets for which occupational programs prepare students, changes in skills and employment, business and industry skill standards, and shifts to flexible organization of work.

Area II: Institutions, "Systems," Governance, and Policy

In a parallel fashion, vocational programs exist in a specific institutional context, a particular configuration of education and training institutions that has been developed over the past thirty years, and that has become more complex (and will continue to do so) as new institutions and new programs are instituted. In such a world, it makes no sense to continue examining vocational education--or indeed any other institution--in isolation from those surrounding it. This second area of research therefore examines the specifics of this evolving education and training "system," including describing the variety of institutions providing vocational education and their funding. Additionally, we will evaluate the effectiveness of these "systems."

Area III: Curriculum and Pedagogy:
Innovative and Effective Practices in Vocational Education

The new vision and meaning of vocational education is now taking shape across the country. An important leadership role for NCRVE is to identify and document effective practices and policies to ensure that we connect these practices and policies with attainment of the desired outcomes for vocational education. We need to develop a deeper and clearer understanding of which outcomes are desirable for which students in which context and the practices and policies that lead to these outcomes. This contribution by NCRVE can greatly advance the adoption of new dimensions of vocational education in the United States. Linked closely to charting effective practice consistent with the new image of vocational education is removing barriers to further diffusion of the overall NCRVE strategy for transforming vocational education in the United States.

Area IV: Students in Vocational Education

Both the students of the nation's schools and their vocational education programs are in a dynamic state of change as we approach the end of the millennium. Due to changing economic and family circumstances and immigration policies, the mix of students coming to school, and ultimately to the workplace, include growing segments of youth and adults who have traditionally encountered considerable difficulties in both settings. While the new vision of vocational education promoted by NCRVE offers considerable promise for many students, the understanding of its effects on the full range of students is far from complete.

Area V: Personnel in Vocational Education

As change has continued to affect the ways educational institutions across the country operate, education professionals have been asked to run their community and technical colleges and secondary schools in new and creative ways. Of these professionals, teachers and administrators are generally recognized as those in the best position to make change really happen. If teachers and administrators embrace an innovation and support its implementation, the potential for success is greatly enhanced. An innovation may never be implemented if teachers and administrators do not support it.

The agenda of this theme area is based on two premises. First, teachers can and should serve as a professional link between the educational institution, including its philosophy, mission, goals, programs, courses, and content, and the students: where students learn, what they learn, and how they learn. Second, administrators, by virtue of their positions, are potential agents of change. Administrators can and should provide leadership in transformational ways that enable education to evolve from what it is to what it should be.

Area VI: Accountability and Assessment

The final theme area focuses on accountability and assessment. Two questions guide NCRVE's research agenda in this area: (1) How well are these systems of accountability and assessment working? and (2) What can be done to improve their usefulness and effectiveness, especially at the local level?

This area of research encompasses methodological concerns about evaluation, performance measures and standards, new forms of assessment, and other mechanisms of accountability. Understanding in all of these arenas is necessary in order to determine whether the system of vocational education has, in fact, been responsive to the changing conditions of work and whether vocational programs have prepared individuals for rewarding employment over the long run and supported the shift to a high-skills equilibrium.

NCRVE Home | Full-Text Documents | Contents | Next Section

NCRVE Home | Site Search | Product Search