The traditional model of vocational education has put schools on treadmills, constantly chasing employment predictions that often prove false or that lead, not to challenging educational content, but to task lists that restrict teacher creativity. By expanding the learning goals to include not only technical skills, but also more varied knowledge and experience, AAI reduces this reliance upon economic forecasts of precisely what jobs will be available and what skills they will require. It also relieves the financial demands on schools. If the whole curriculum is built around technical and production skills, then the quality and relevance of the entire program rests on having up-to-date equipment. That places constant pressure on schools to upgrade equipment--an expectation that most school budgets cannot meet. If technical skills are but one part of an AAI-oriented program, then schools have more latitude in balancing equipment needs and financial capacity.
Perhaps most importantly, as the Oakland team discusses, AAI can help reduce goal overload and improve cohesion by tying together the many reforms taking place in schools today.