Crain, R. L., Allen, A., Thaler, R., Sullivan, D., Zellman, G., Little, J. W., and Quigley, D. D. (1999). The Effects of Academic Career Magnet Education on High Schools and Their Graduates (MDS-779). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.

CHAPTER  4 ... (continued)

Curriculum and Pedagogy

      To what extent does the distinction between the good-fit and poor-fit cases have its roots in programmatic differences, that is, in the degree of program definition supplied by the curriculum? In keeping with our model, we expected the graduates to be able to articulate the meaning of "program focus" and to recall a course-taking pattern consistent with their program's occupational area. Further, the curriculum integration component of our model posited explicit links between academic and occupational coursework and between coursework and student experiences in the workplace. Finally, in keeping with reformers' calls for an "active pedagogy" in career magnet programs, we expected to hear about program coursework emphasizing "hands-on" learning, and program-related work experience providing opportunities for "learning by doing."

      Graduate interviews, adult interviews, and academic transcripts confirm that the good-fit graduates generally experienced a coherent occupational program including a required workplace component. The poor-fit graduates, while looking very different from their good-fit counterparts as a group, presented more internal variation in terms of their courses of study, although none of the eight was required to complete a program-related internship or co-op work placement. Some distinctions between good- and poor-fit cases are further clarified and reinforced by an examination of the curriculum and pedagogy they experienced in program classes. At the same time, the two groups are similar in one respect--neither experienced the range of curriculum integration widely advocated by the new vocational reforms. Table 4.2 summarizes the good-fit and poor-fit cases with regard to four aspects of program definition: (1) curriculum focus, (2) curriculum integration, (3) active pedagogy, and (4) structured work learning experience.

      Academic transcripts of good-fit cases confirm clearly defined sequences of courses linked to an academic career focus. The two nursing program graduates (G1, G5) completed 11 and 15 program-related classes, respectively. (Class counts are recorded in semester equivalents. Thus, yearlong or double-period classes are counted as 2; quarter-long classes are counted as .5.) The graduates of programs specializing in clerical/secretarial procedures (G2, G3) completed 14 and 11 program-related courses, respectively. Another graduate (G4) took ten courses specifically linked to her specialization in travel and tourism during eleventh and twelfth grades. The accounting program graduate (G6) completed 12 program-related classes. (See Appendix 2, this chapter.)

      Unlike the good-fit cases, poor-fit graduates were generally unable to see any meaningful focus in their curriculum or to remember a sequence of courses in which they built a recognizable body of knowledge and skills in a particular occupational area. At first glance, the inability of the poor-fit graduates to articulate a program focus is puzzling given that in six of the eight cases, academic transcripts show that the graduates were enrolled in at least eight classes related to their program's occupational field. However, interview transcripts reveal that while they were enrolled in a number of program classes, these graduates did not, for one reason or another, experience them as a coherent sequence of courses related to their program's occupational field of focus. Two of the six cases (P1, P2) were enrolled in the same law studies program and took a nearly identical schedule of classes over a three-year period, beginning with two years of "Law/Global studies" and ending with courses in constitutional and government law; however, both of these graduates described their law courses as "a lot of social studies." Case P1 was unable to recall any class specifically oriented toward career-related study or planning and observed that the one person who spoke to them about the legal profession during high school described a world that bore no resemblance to anything she experienced through her coursework. Although program classes presented little that she saw as directly related to a career in law, "It kept me in that frame of mind . . . that I'm gonna go to law school." She added,

To tell you the truth, the class that made me want to be a lawyer was my English class. . . . Because my English class made me think. The way [the teacher] taught a class was he would let us read like 10-12 books. . . . [so] it was fun because . . . we had to interpret. We had to find the symbols, find the metaphors. . . . I loved that. You had to do a lot of reasoning. And it wasn't so much [like that in] my law classes or my social studies classes or my history classes `cause that was just memory. . . . It was just a very general thing.
. . . It was a lot of social studies.

While Case P2 passed only three of her eight semesters of law studies classes, and so could conceivably have missed the connection between her program and the legal profession, Case P1 appears to have been a conscientious student who performed well in both program and academic classes.

      Case P8 also failed several of his program classes (and was interested "mostly in girls" during high school); nevertheless, he could describe the computer courses he took and to the extent that he saw school as relevant at all, it was in those classes. Cases P5 and P6 both switched to the same medical business program in twelfth grade, and so cannot be expected to have experienced a coherent sequence of program courses during high school. (P5 had been in an accounting program which he experienced as a series of regular math classes; P6 had bounced from one program to the next during her first three years.) It is interesting to note that both of these graduates were at risk of dropping out before being "captured" by the co-op coordinator (a medical business program teacher) in twelfth grade. Case P5 had failed 17 classes and Case P6 was thinking of dropping out, seeing little value in attaining a high school diploma. These graduates appear to have been offered co-op work placements and a spot in the medical business program as a way of "holding" them in school. Both said the co-op work and medical business program provided them with a "special" opportunity, given their lackluster performance in school.

      P7 and P4 are cases in which a sequence of program classes were completed by the graduates; however, due to a complete lack of interest in their programs' foci and weak attachments to their programs in general, these graduates did not experience their coursework as a coherent program preparing them for postsecondary career options. Among the 14 cases, the academic transcript of Case P7 reveals one of the most focused sequences of program coursework. She was able to recall program classes, including accounting, business math, business law, but reported that the sequence of classes was useful mostly in showing her that "accounting wasn't for me." Case P7 recalled choosing her accounting program, not because she had any interest in the field (indeed she "didn't really know what accounting was"), but because she thought it had "something to do with math," which she was "good at." She performed fairly well in her program classes, but never warmed up to the idea of a career in accounting.

      Case P4 confessed that he chose his high school because it was known to attract "lots of girls" for its nursing programs. He chose the dental tech program over nursing or medical business but never felt connected to his program or expected to continue in the dental field. Cases P7 and P4 both confessed that their abiding interest in high school was basketball. Both nominated influential adults who were directly (P7's coach) or indirectly (a dean who shared P4's enthusiasm for basketball and attended his games) connected to their sports programs.

      In the remaining two cases (P3, P6), we are unable to detect in the graduates' records any pattern of course-taking consistent with their career magnet program assignments. In the more extreme of the two instances (P3), the student, enrolled in a computer technology program, described futile efforts to secure any computer class beyond basic keyboarding. His transcript confirms that over a four-year period, he took one course in keyboarding but no other computer-related courses. His explanation for this difficulty centered on the weakness of the program itself. He cited differences in the relative political and material strength of programs--other career magnet programs received attention and resources that the computer program apparently did not: "They get field trips [and] equipment." Access to the "interesting" components of a career program may in some instances have been reserved for students who were doing well academically and socially. Some program administrators and counselors informed us that internships were reserved for a small number of "good" students. One graduate (P2) expressed disappointment in being closed out of electives that involved the most interesting field trips and activities because she was not "advanced" and did not "pass tests."

      Both nursing teachers (G1, G5) believed that the content of their classes was "naturally" linked to biology and math but, as one put it, "They have to come to us having already taken math." Neither of the two had ever talked with math or biology teachers to do "anything specifically interdisciplinary." The secretarial studies teacher (G2) described how her medical stenography class ties into genetic biology, "You have to know about the body, how it functions . . . that's part of what you learn in biology." She also noted that program students "go over taxes . . . do rates for FICA . . . learn bank checks, all of that ties to math." But when asked if she ever gets together with math or science teachers to discuss specific curriculum links, she replied, "I really, no, I never thought of it before." The clerical procedures program teacher (G3) said that sometimes what the students were doing in English or keyboarding classes might "tie into what I was doing with the students" but this was "coincidental."

      The limited, and only, examples of links between academic and occupational coursework come from a travel and tourism program (G4) and from an accounting program (G6). Two of the four teachers assigned to the travel and tourism program also teach academic courses (English and social studies). As a consequence of their dual teaching assignments, and because program students take all of their courses as a cohort, curriculum integration in these two subjects is permitted; however, the occasional links described do not amount to the type of curriculum integration envisioned by reformers. One teacher contended that, "There's an English side of travel and tourism as well as . . . the geography part." So if students were studying tourism in a particular region of the world during social studies, "their English counterpart would have them read something dealing with that particular group of people or culture." The accounting program teacher (G6) said she and a math teacher got together during their common prep period "once every two or three weeks" to discuss some "very simple" linking: "If she wanted to do equations for the kids who had accounting she would be able to say `look at this accounting equation.' Although some of the other kids may have been a little confused." The graduate in this case recalled these limited links and said she started liking math in high school "being that I had accounting and math together and saw that it mixed. It was like a turn on."

She taught us a few things but it was nothing we really needed to know. Like we learned how to do blood pressure and how to check your pulse . . . but it was not something that we ever applied in the hospital . . . because we weren't certified to do anything.

      Both nursing program students recalled writing reports based on their experiences in their internships positions. However, again, the experiences of the two graduates differed markedly. Case G1 was required to write a series of five-page reports after shadowing various hospital employees. The reports focused on the person's background and on the treatment they gave a particular patient over a period of time. The graduate reported that in "every different area we went into in the hospital we had to do it." She specifically mentioned a report about an "AIDS baby" that "stands out the most." The other health program graduate (G5) described a single report that she was asked to write about someone in the hospital where she interned: "I interviewed a social worker . . . sat with him maybe a half hour, that's it . . . I thought social workers made a lot of money, but they don't . . . . [T]hat's basically what I remember from this interview, that's it."

      Good-fit graduates appear to have experienced a higher frequency of active pedagogy due largely to classwork requiring the use of technology, equipment, and materials like those found in the workplace. In an LPN program (G1), for example, teachers focused classroom instruction on the "nursing process"--identifying and prioritizing patient needs, deciding on a course of action, and taking action: "Then they must evaluate to find out if it worked. If it didn't, then they have to start all over again." Applying the "nursing process" in class often entailed the use of hospital equipment, which the graduate described as "exactly what we encountered on the job." According to the teacher interviewed in the other health careers program (G5), coursework involved frequent laboratory activity linked to course topics: "We'd go through the structure of the circulatory system, we'd dissect a heart . . . do activities like . . . taking their pulse and activities to see how the pulse is affected. We had stethoscopes; we would do EKGs." The graduate agreed that her "bio-med" course involved "lab work . . . blood tests . . . dissection . . . , working with hands-on contact." She added, "I liked it a lot that year." However, she reported that only "some" of the equipment used in program classes was like what she saw at the hospital, and that they were not allowed to touch hospital equipment anyway.

      Both the secretarial studies and clerical procedures graduates (G2, G3) recalled using the same type of equipment during program classes as they encountered during their co-op job or internship. Case G2 specifically mentioned typewriters, steno machines, math computers, and a switchboard set up for classwork. The teacher confirmed frequent use of "up-to-date" equipment like the ten new computers and CD ROMs recently purchased for the program "because I feel that we have to compete with what's happening out there." The travel and tourism graduate (G4) mentioned employing computer skills and reservations software knowledge gained in program classes during her travel agency internship. Our accounting program graduate (G6) mentioned using accounting equipment and software during both accounting and computer math classes. She described group projects requiring students to create "accounting ledgers for the year" based on sets of books her teacher acquired from "actual companies."

      Other good-fit graduates and adults spoke of projects and reports that required students to wrestle with "real-world" problems or to seek out information in the workplace. A secretarial studies teacher (G2) described a group project that asked students to "create their own business . . . make a presentation to the class and explain the logo, what type of business, who was the target audience . . . and give us a product." In the travel and tourism program (G4), students completed research papers on hotels and airlines as part of their investigation of career opportunities in the field. Their research frequently included field trips. For example, a visit to an airline enabled students "to see if the airline . . . fulfilled everything we talked about in class." Two other good-fit graduates reported a fairly extensive series of program-related field trips intended to allow them to observe and report on various occupations within the program's field of focus. A business program graduate (G6), for instance, said they went on "a lot of field trips . . . to get an idea of what it's like to work for an insurance company . . . (and we went) into courts for court stenographers." In one of the nursing programs (G1), students experienced a series of field trips during eleventh grade. Two mornings each week they visited pediatric care units, day care centers, rehabilitation clinics, and nursing homes as part of their "Life Cycles" class.

      To the poor-fit graduates, program coursework was hard to distinguish from school-as-usual. These graduates were hard pressed to recall classroom experiences that departed from conventional classroom practice. Asked if she had completed any projects or encountered any "real world" problem-solving in her classes, Case P2 at first maintained that she "had no assignments like that. I just had like book assignments. Do a book report." She recalled that her math class involved "adding and subtracting as you have to do it in the real world. But other than that, no." She then reconsidered:

In one law class, we'd look in the newspaper, looking for articles, and maybe have to try to understand it as a lawyer would. To figure out what they are talking about: What this means, what is going to happen. You had to read the case. And then . . . we had this little mini courtroom. You go in there and probably try to act out. Who's the bad guy? Who's the judge, attorney, the suspect, the defendant, and stuff like that.

      Other poor-fit graduates recalled only infrequent instances of "active learning"--occasional group work, a project, or a simulation. Such instances stand out only dimly in a general sea of "just classwork," and one graduate (P3) could not recall a single such event.

      The good-fit cases typically completed required internships, supervised practice, or program-related co-op work placements. Case G1 offered the best example: During alternating two-week periods throughout the twelfth grade, nursing program students participated in a hospital internship. Their nursing program teacher supervised the work placements and instructed students in the classroom when they were not in the hospital. The graduate reported that they got into "every area of the hospital" during that year and that they were directly responsible for patient care. By contrast, the other health program graduate (G5) described her largely unsupervised internship (three afternoons each week during twelfth grade) as "more clerical than anything else." Sometimes she was "like a candy striper. If the patients needed water, we would get them water . . . we would go down to the cafeteria and get them their food . . . we'd go to the supply room . . . or sometimes I would help the therapist . . . like putting (a patient's) sneakers on." Two other good-fit graduates described program internships. An accounting program graduate (G6) recalled using skills she learned in her business classes and acquiring new marketing, accounting, and data entry skills during her internship at the Drama League. She stayed at the Drama League as a part-time employee after graduation until she found a full-time job. Case G4 reported that during her summer internship at the American Express travel office she "learned a lot" about computers and software specifically designed for the travel industry.

      After completing the required semester of co-op work, in a clerical position with the Secret Service, the secretarial studies graduate (G2) remained on the job for an extra semester. A program teacher recommended her for the position. The graduate said the job required her to use the typing, phone, and clerical skills she had learned in her program classes. Case G3 was not assigned to a required co-op placement in the clerical procedures program because he had participated in an internship placement with a brokerage firm through the accounting program he was in prior to transferring to clerical procedures.

      The poor-fit graduates appear to have inhabited a different world in which programs nominally organized around career themes were not really about work in any recognizable way. In no case was structured work experience a required element of the program for poor-fit cases. Two poor-fit cases held co-op jobs during twelfth grade when they joined the medical business program, but neither was fulfilling a program requirement. In three cases, program adults said internship opportunities were sometimes available to program students, but none of the graduates reported having participated in them.

      While the Magnet Model's predictions of curriculum focus, active pedagogy, and structured work learning experiences differentiated the good- and poor-fit cases, our assumptions about curriculum integration did not. Based on the graduates' reported experience with integration of academic and vocational coursework and workplace learning, the benefits of curriculum integration remain untested. The good-fit cases appear to have enjoyed a well-defined, coherent program of work preparation balanced by, but not integrated with, standard coursework in the core academic areas. The poor-fit cases lack even this strong parallelism. Important differences remain, however, between good-fit and poor-fit cases, and these differences are in some important measure the result of differences in program design and operation.

Crain, R. L., Allen, A., Thaler, R., Sullivan, D., Zellman, G., Little, J. W., and Quigley, D. D. (1999). The Effects of Academic Career Magnet Education on High Schools and Their Graduates (MDS-779). Berkeley: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, University of California.