Project Director:
The nature and extent of vocational reform, its goals, and their "fit" with
other educational purposes, remain topics of debate among policymakers,
educators, and the public. This project offers a timely opportunity to inform
those debates by examining the intersection of the various reform currents, the
ways in which they play out in schools, and the ways in which they are shaped
by policy at multiple levels.
The project is organized in two components. First, a review of policy
initiatives and strategies in selected states (the "state reviews") will help
us to trace the specific ways in which states are positioned to foster
improvements in the transition from school to work. Second, selected local
case studies (the "local contexts of reform") represent contrast cases with
respect to local and state policy environments, and permit investigation of the
possibilities for work education that reside in the most widely publicized of
the various secondary reform models.
Two publications will be produced to support the development of policy and
program alternatives at the local and state levels. The first will report the
first stage of "state reviews," and will be prepared in a format intended for
use by state policymakers and program developers. The second material will
incorporate two independent case study reports--one on state-supported reform
initiatives and one on local reform driven by the principles of the Coalition
of Essential Schools. It is intended for use by local and state policymakers
and educators.
Project reports will be distributed through NCRVE's distribution network and
appropriate conference presentations. Papers based on project findings will be
prepared for appropriate journals or for inclusion in books. In addition, we
anticipate preparing short summaries of the larger project reports for
audiences of practitioners and policymakers, as well as participating in a
small number of large-scale conferences (e.g., AVA pre-sessions).
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