A study investigated the influence of information technology (IT) industry-sponsored credentials commonly called IT certifications (ITCs) from both organizational and individual perspectives. Findings indicated that there was increasing acceptance, prevalence, and benefits of ITCs in business and industry. Both executives and employees reported…

With its definitions of individuals' and employers' rights and obligations, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a mandate and a statement of our moral and ethical values as a culture. Persons with disabilities and employers must apply ADA's "triple standard" of reasonable accommodations for performing essential job functions…

In 1970, 55 percent of the US population over age 25 had completed high school or some college and 11 percent had completed 4 or more years of college; by 1999, those figures had reached 83 percent and 25 percent, respectively. A comparison between 1982 and 1992 high school seniors found more completing some postsecondary credits (from 53 percent…

Reauthorization of welfare reform legislation has focused attention on the effectiveness of short-term training as a means for welfare recipients to attain self-sufficiency. Its effects on employment and earnings have been one focus of recent evaluations of federal programs. Although some Job Opportunities and Basic Skills programs produced…

The purpose of this compilation is to sketch the evolution of the field from vocational education to career-technical education throughout the 20th century in the United States. It includes information and excerpts from a variety of sources, including both original and foundational documents from the early 20th century and more recent histories…

Vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies are required partners in the one-stop system mandated by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). The following features have long characterized VR: the primary goal of integrated competitive employment for persons with disabilities; state flexibility in VR systems, approaches, and structures; case…

A study examined the outcomes of taking different balances of career and technical education (CTE) and academic courses. The study sample consisted of members of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) who were eighth-graders in 1988. The study sample members were divided into four groups as follows: (1) academic concentrators…

Teaching is a very difficult field to master, and the challenges faced by beginning career and technical education (CTE) teachers are especially great. Teacher induction, which usually takes 5-6 years, is the total of all the teacher's experiences from the moment the first teaching contract is signed until the teacher is comfortably established as…

Career clusters are part of a response to changing work and a changing workplace, a way of broadening the focus of secondary career and technical education (CTE). The following are some of the changes in work and the workplace: the nature and structure of work; leadership styles and organizational structures; the knowledge and skills needed;…

How to attract and retain adult students remains an enduring question for adult education providers. Recent research sheds light on adult learners' unique learning goals, needs, and aspirations and offers guidance on recruiting and retaining adult learners. Adult students' participation and persistence in educational activities is a complex…

Many states and local districts use career clusters as a means of broadening the focus of secondary education, particularly career and technical education, as preparation for both further education and work. One continuing trend in career clusters is sheer variety. Cluster frameworks vary in the number, nomenclature, and organization of clusters.…

Both face-to-face and distance learning methods are currently being used in adult education and career and technical education. In theory, the advantages of face-to-face and distance learning methods complement each other. In practice, however, both face-to-face and information and communications technology (ICT)-based distance programs often rely…

The gold-collar worker has problem-solving abilities, creativity, talent, and intelligence; performs non-repetitive and complex work difficult to evaluate; and prefers self management. Gold-collar information technology workers learn continually from experience; recognize the synergy of teams; can demonstrate leadership; and are strategic thinkers…

Secondary educators are using ways other than the traditional high school diploma and transcript to communicate students' new and different sets of knowledge and skills to employers. A career passport may be characterized as a formal product or document in which students present the many marketable skills they have developed through their life…

Proprietary and career schools have long provided postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) as private, for-profit institutions. In recent years, they have been joined at the secondary level by charter schools providing CTE. These issues affect proprietary, career, and charter schools as providers of secondary or postsecondary CTE: the…