1999 Reports

Edging Toward Effectiveness: Examining Postsecondary Occupational Education

Grubb, W. Norton

In secondary vocational education, a vision has emerged in the “new vocationalism” (or “education through occupations”), in which academic and occupational competencies are integrated, school- and work-based learning are linked, high schools are restructured into smaller units (academies, clusters, or pathways), and broader forms of occupationally oriented education lead to further education and employment.

A comparable vision has not yet emerged for postsecondary occupational education, aside from the vision underlying most federal postsecondary policy—which has been simply to expand access through student aid and, more recently, tax credits. A compelling complement (not alternative) to the vision of access is a vision of effectiveness—and this idea underlies much of the research proposed in this paper.