What Will Be the Impact of Programs of Study?

LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE), funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education, recently published a report that focuses on the question: What Will Be the Impact of Programs of Study?

The report is a summary of research that centered on three questions:

1. To what degree can secondary and postsecondary instruction be articulated?
2. To what degree can rigorous and relevant technical content be aligned with challenging academic standards?
3. What are appropriate measures of the effectiveness of Programs of Study?

According to study authors Morgan Lewis and Natalie Kosine, “Our overall conclusion is that Programs of Study can enhance the effectiveness of career and technical education, especially by aligning technical instruction with rigorous academic standards.”

The authors go on to say that they don’t expect high percentages of high school graduates to continue in the same Program of Study when they transition to a postsecondary environment. “But this does not mean that the Programs of Study have failed,” they said. “Programs of Study that increase student engagement, improve academic skills, and deepen student understanding of occupations have succeeded even if graduates decide not to continue in the Program of Study at the postsecondary level.”

A copy of the full report, as well as a one-page Snapshot, is available for free download at www.nrccte.org. For more information about this study, please visit the Web site, e-mail nrccte@louisville.edu or call 877-372-2283.

About the NRCCTE

The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education is the primary agent for generating scientifically based knowledge, dissemination, professional development, and technical assistance to improve career and technical education (CTE) in the United States. The NRCCTE works to improve the engagement, achievement, and transition of high school and postsecondary CTE students through technical assistance to states, professional development for CTE practitioners, and dissemination of knowledge derived from scientifically based research. The NRCCTE is funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education.

SOURCE National Research Center for Career and Technical Education