Chris A. Roegge
Ahmed Ferej
University of Illinois
National Center for Research in Vocational Education
University of
California at Berkeley
2030 Addison Street, Suite 500
Berkeley, CA
94704-1058
Supported by
The Office of Vocational and Adult Education
U.S.
Department of Education
August, 1995
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. |
The authors gratefully acknowledge the many persons who contributed to the completion of this report. These include Illinois State Board of Education managers and consultants who nominated exemplary teachers in each vocational subject area, school administrators who allowed us access to their faculty and programs, and especially the teachers themselves who submitted to interviews and opened their programs up to us. Several faculty, staff, and graduate students in the Department of Vocational and Technical Education, College of Education, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also provided input into the study and the report.
This pilot study represents the first phase of a two-year study of individual teachers who provide integrated instruction for their students, with the goal of uncovering genuinely innovative tips and techniques which may be emulated by others. The pilot study sought to identify individual teachers who recognized the advantages of integrating the vocational and academic aspects of their instruction prior to the influence of state or national initiatives such as Tech Prep. By examining these "early innovators," the project is seeking to locate and describe strategies that truly work and that lie outside of (or augment) the current body of knowledge on the subject. The instruments and procedures developed and refined in this pilot study will be used to collect data from a larger sample of teachers in several midwestern states during the second phase of the study.
The pilot study concentrated on the process of identifying the right subjects to study. A multiple-stage procedure was developed which involved (1) having state-level staff nominate exemplary vocational teachers and/or programs, (2) conducting telephone interviews with nominees to determine if they were "early" integrators along with their current level of integration, and (3) selecting a small number of subjects for further study based on telephone interview results. This identification procedure yielded three detailed interviews.
Data collection, analysis, and reporting procedures were piloted by conducting intensive on-site interviews with the three subjects in the late fall of 1993. The interview guides were developed by project staff and focused primarily on teaching methods used to achieve integration. Interviews were audiotaped, and the tapes were transcribed and content analyzed. Narrative reports were developed around the following organizers: (1) teacher background (with integration); (2) their overall view of integration (e.g., why it should be done, what its function is, perceived benefits); (3) how integration is achieved in their classrooms (and labs), (4) the level of support they have received and how they garnered support, and (5) their perceived evidence of the success of their efforts.
Two themes emerged via the analysis of interview data. One focuses on the adaptation of supervisory techniques used by a teacher through over twenty years of industry experience, the other on the ability and willingness to ferret out existing information from a variety of sources and adapt it for instructional use.