Vocational Teacher Education Reform
The reform movements of the 1980s triggered numerous demands to reexamine and reform the way students and their teachers are educated. This Digest examines the implications for vocational teacher education emerging from general teacher education reform movements. It discusses how excellence in vocational education teaching can be achieved and proposes 21st century models for vocational teacher education.
Impacts of Reform Movements on Vocational Teacher Education
Several of the major reform initiatives of the 1980s and early 1990s argued that improving education requires improving teacher quality and, accordingly, teacher education. Numerous changes in teacher recruitment, preparation, and certification were proposed. (For a detailed list, see Hartley, Mantle-Bromley, and Cobb 1996.) In response to the calls for reform, general teacher education programs raised admission standards/exit requirements; revised curricula to reflect multiculturalism and new K-12 standards; paid more attention to pedagogy, teaching practice, and relevance; included clinical experiences in public schools and other learning environments; and proposed new model standards/principles for licensing beginning teachers (Lynch 1997).
As of 1989, the only major impacts of national education reform movements on vocational teacher education at the macro (national) level were stiffer requirements for entry into teacher education programs and, to a lesser extent, more credit hours/time devoted to student teaching/clinical-type experiences with public schools (Lynch 1991). Until 1993, the discussion of reform of teacher education in the vocational education literature was limited to individual authors' suggestions f...
... middle of paper ...
... R.E., and Venable, W. "Implications of Increasing Numbers of Nontraditional Students for Vocational Teacher Education Reform." In Beyond the Debate, pp. 95-102. University Council for Vocational Education, 1988. (ED 303 639)
Rudolph, J.; Fry, B.; and Barr, L. "Factors Affecting the High School Curricula and Their Implications upon Vocational Teacher Education." In Beyond the Debate, pp. 82-94. University Council for Vocational Education, 1988. (ED 303 639)
Sharp, G. "Post-Fordism, the Vocational Curriculum and the Challenge to Teacher Preparation." Journal of Vocational Education and Training48, no. 1 (1996): 25-39.
Tozer, S., and Nelson, R.E. "Vocational Teacher Education: Emerging Patterns for General Studies, Academic Majors, and Professional Education." In Beyond the Debate, pp. 18-37. University Council for Vocational Education, 1988. (ED 303 639)
The university-statehouse-industrial complex has grown such that the traditional models of primary and secondary education have survived two or three decades beyond their practical use. With a public school system that segregates and discriminates based on, “college material or not?” (Brolin & Loyd, 1989) and a university system that places only one in five graduates in work in their field of major (cite), our educational system has passed its prime and is still training and educating for 20th century job markets that no longer exist. The way that we educate and what we educate for and why needs rethinking from the top down and needs to be more practical and pragmatic. Career and technical education (CTE) consisting of specialized, targeted, and focused vocational programs at all levels do more than just prepare a student for a real job – these programs have practical education and socialization value that conventional classrooms centered around a teacher’s monologue for many do not. Nowhere is the added value of such targeted programs more useful and valuable than in special classes, courses, and CTE training aimed at students with disabilities.
In the United States, the history of Career and Technical Education evolved within four major periods. First, the Awakening period which began in 1776-1826, when the right to a free public education was expressed. During this era, educational opportunities in labor and industrial education were being demanded. The rising working class began to press for an education that were more appropriate for their labor and industry’s needs (Awakening 1776-1826, 1976). Even Benjamin Franklin who represented the Awakening middle class was on board with the rise of technical and vocational education which were taught primarily by private masters or contracted apprenticeships (Cohen, 1976).
Gorbachev’s parents were peasants. His father, Sergei, operated a combine harvester for a living. Sergei was drafted into the Russian Army when the Nazis invaded the USSR in 1941. Three years later, he was wounded in action and returned home to resume operating farm machinery. Sergei passed on his experience with a combine harvester to his young son, Mikhail. Mikhail Gorbachev was a quick learner and showed an aptitude for mechanics.
... to rigidity of the upper secondary school in the form of vocational education and training schools. The objective of vocational education is to foster students' development into good and balanced individuals and members of society and therefore provide them with the skills relevant to a specific career path (Sarjala, 2001) and thus relevant to the demands of the Finnish modern society.
There is much controversy surrounding the idea of patriotism and the iconography of the American flag in today’s society. Some believe patriotism is simply the act of supporting the decisions of the leaders of the country. Others say, to be patriotic, people should be outspoken and voice their oppositions to what is going on in the government. Opinions also differ on the idea of what the American flag represents. One opinion of the flags representation is that the flag represents our history, and the formerly mentioned idea of patriotism. Others believe the flag also represents our history as a nation, but these beliefs focus much more heavily on the negative aspects of our history; such as slavery and other injustices carried out by our nation. These people often believe we should find a new iconography for our country’s ideas of patriotism. As Barbara Kingsolver states in “And Our Flag Was Still There,” “Patriotism seems to be falling to whoever claims it loudest, and we’re left struggling to find a definition in a clamor of reaction” (Pg. 1). Therefore, every American’s duty is to define patriotism amongst the clamor of reaction, recapture the American flag’s representation, and create a new icon for the flag.
...ag and mine is that I will always look up to our flag and never disrespect a single thing about it. There is a lot of respect for the flag in all kinds of ways. Whether it’s at a funeral, on the battlefield, in museums, on postage stamps, on uniforms, or even on vehicles. No one disrespects the United States Flag or ever has. I think this showing of respect just shows how far we have come as a country. The United States Flag is a shows that we are in fact “one nation, under god”. We have many things to look forward to just because of the protection of our flag. I will always look up to our flag with pride and joy at how far we have come today because of it. The flag brings man people peace at heart, joy of the next day, and pride in our country. One thing I can say is that all americans have one thing in common and that is the respect for our nations flag.
First I would like to include some information about our american flag and how it came about. In the British colonies of North America before the Revolution, each of the 13 colonies had its flag. On Jan. 2, 1776, the first flag of the United States was raised at Cambridge, Mass., by George Washington. Known as the Grand Union flag, it consisted of 13 stripes, alternate red and white, with a blue canton bearing the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Congress, on June 14, 1777, enacted a resolution “that the Flag of the United States be 13 stripes alternate red and white, that the Union be 13 stars white in a blue field representing a new constellation.” On Jan. 13, 1794, Vermont and Kentucky having been admitted to the Union, Congress added a stripe and a star for each state. Congress in 1818 enacted that the 13 stripes, denoting the 13 original colonies, be restored and a star added to the blue canton for each state after its admission to the Union. All of the states and territories of the United States also have their own flags. Betsy Ross created the first flag. Betsy would often tell her children, grandchildren, relatives, and friends of the fateful day when three members of a secret committee from the Continental Congress came to call upon her. Those representatives, George Washington, Robert Morris, and George Ross, asked her to sew the first flag. This meeting occurred in her home some time late in May 1776. George Washington was then the head of the Continen...
The United States flag bears three different unique and patriotic colors significant to the United States of America. These colors include; red, blue, and white. The stripes alternating between red and white. There are 13 stripes in total symbolizing the 13 British colonies that became free from the Kingdom of Great Britain. The red stripes also represent the 7 continents of the world. Moving onto the upper left side of the flag, you will see a blue square which symbolized the Union. Inside, there are 50 stars which exemplify the 50 states in the United States. The flag is used to show the patriotism shown in the United States of America. Recognizing the independence we had gained and the freedom and liberty we have created. Usually many American citizens will fly their flags year round inside their private homes, but its most widespread during holidays like Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, and President’s Day.
In John Gatto’s essay “Against Schools” he states from experience as a school teacher that are current educational system is at fault (148). He claims that classrooms are often filled with boredom manufactured by repetitive class work and unenthusiastic teachings. Students are not actively engaged and challenged by their work and more often than not they have either already covered the concepts taught in class or they just do not understand what is being taught to them. The children contained in classrooms have come to believe that their teachers are not all that knowledgeable about the subjects that they are teaching and this advances their apathy towards education. The teachers also feel disadvantaged while fulfilling their roles as teachers because the students often bring rude and careless attitudes to class. Teachers often wish to change the curriculums that are set for students in order to create a more effective lesson plan, but they are restricted by strict regulations and consequences that bind them to their compulsory teachings (148-149). An active illustration of John Gatto’s perspective on our educational system can be found in Mike Rose’s essay “I Just Wanna Be Average” (157). Throughout this piece of literature the author Mike Rose describes the kind of education he received while undergoing teachings in the vocational track. During Mike’s vocational experiences he was taught by teachers that were inexperienced and poorly trained in the subjects they taught. As a result, their lesson plan and the assignments they prepared for class were not designed to proficiently teach students anything practical. For example, the curriculum of Mike Rose’s English class for the entire semester consisted of the repeated reading of ...
Strauss’s piece, “Is this any way to train teachers?”, challenges the teaching styles of the current education system by examining the RGSE teacher program. She claims that this program only takes the ineffective opinion of charter schools into account, and does not diversify or create a beneficial learning environment. Strauss’s piece can be observed through the lens of a pragmatic progressive educator, as well as someone that adamantly opposes the essentialist view of teaching during the modern historical context.
Gorbachev graduated from Moscow State University and received a degree in law. He joined a Communist party while he was still in university and played an important role within it. With his position in the Communist Party, Gorbachev was able to help his people with better working and living conditions, and simply helping better the lives of the Soviets. In 1985, following the deaths of thr...
Blomfield, A., Roughton, L., Scott, A. (1997) Becoming a Secondary School Teacher. London: Hodder Arnold
Lenin was born in the backwater town of Simbirsk in 1870. He grew up in a well educated family in provincial Russia. He excelled at school and went on to study law. At university, he was exposed to radical thinking, and his views were also influenced by the execution of his elder brother, a member of a revolutionary group.
The state’s new evaluation system was in response to administrators who produced, “superficial and capricious teacher evaluation systems that often don't even directly address the quality of instruction, much less measure students' learning” (Toch, 2008). Too often, the “good-ol-boy” attitude would insure mediocre educators would remain employed. Realizing this was often more the rule then the exception, the governor created educational mandates to focus, “on supporting and training effective teachers to drive student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013). Initially, they expected the school districts and the teachers would have issues and experience growing pains, but in the end the goal was, “to improve teacher performance, year by year, with a corresponding rise in student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013).
Many people have an issue with the ending because of the fate of Mr. Rochester. They feel him being disfigured and blind is extremely overdone and unnecessarily dramatic. The people that believe this do not understand the deeper meanings behind it; because there are several. During the Victorian age, many were highly religious and believed in the term an eye for an eye. In can be inferred that Bronte added in Rochester’s devastating injuries in the fire because she knew many of the readers would have wanted Mr. Rochester to be punished for his many indiscretions. Victorian readers would not have been happy if he had a full happy ending after all he did to Bertha. It also was able to give the character some redemption. He was shown to be a hero by attempting to save Bertha.