A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The Emergence of Tech-Prep at the State and Local Levels - 1995

Development Of Academic And Vocational Curricula

The Perkins legislation generally, and the Tech-Prep Education Act specifically, promote the integration of academic and vocational education and articulation between secondary and postsecondary course sequences to create programs of study around broad career themes. The act acknowledges that consortia may have to develop new curricula or modify existing ones in order to achieve these objectives.

Integrating academic and vocational education and developing course sequences may require fundamental changes to traditional educational approaches. Researchers have identified at least eight models of integration; some involve ambitious reforms in which entire high school curricula are restructured, and some involve only minor changes to existing courses. Evidence suggests that, although most schools have instituted only limited reforms, such as introducing off-the-shelf, commercial applied academic courses, these actions may be the first in a sequence of curriculum development efforts (Grubb et al. 1991).

The national survey explored two areas of curriculum development. First, we asked about the development of academic curricula that emphasize contextual or applied learning, differentiating curricula that were developed through local consortium or state efforts from those that were purchased from vendors. Applied academic courses are the most common approach to integrating academic and vocational education. Second, we collected data on new or substantially revised occupational or technical courses that emphasize new instructional methods or contents--such as competency-based learning, or upgrading to include more advanced skills.

Recent development and implementation of academic curricula for Tech-Prep has been widespread

Virtually all consortia implemented academic curricula that emphasized contextual or applied learning between 1991 and 1993. During that time, 94 percent of consortia (657 of 702) either introduced applied academic curricula that had been developed by local or state staff, or were using commercially acquired applied academic curricula.

Mathematics, science, and English/language arts were the focus of applied academic curriculum development and implementation. Title IIIE of the Perkins legislation emphasizes these three core subjects by stipulating that Tech-Prep programs "build competence in mathematics, science, and communications (including through applied academics)." Almost 75 percent of Tech-Prep consortia introduced some form of locally developed or state-developed applied mathematics in at least some of their schools (Table VII.1). More than half of the consortia established physics and/or English courses that emphasized contextual or applied learning. Applied curricula for other science subjects, such as biology and chemistry, were developed and implemented in more than 43 and 34 percent of all consortia, respectively. Far fewer consortia developed and implemented curricula with an applied approach for courses in economics or history. Use of commercial curricula in these different subject areas follows a similar pattern.

TABLE VII.1
Locally Or State-Developed Applied Academic Curricula
Introduced Within Last Two Years (1991-1993)
Consortia Secondary Schools Postsecondary Schoolsb
Subject Area Number Percentage Number Percentagea Number Percentagea
Biology 305 43 938 12 53 3
Chemistry 237 34 698 9 44 2
Mathematics 517 74 2,825 37 190 10
Physics 360 51 1,217 16 98 5
English and Other Language Arts 439 63 2,121 28 141 7
Economics 53 8 144 2 7 0
History 25 4 77 1 3 0
Other 125 18 255 3 65 3
None 140 20 -- -- -- --
SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, fall 1993.

aThe denominators used in calculating the percentages are the sum of the reported number of secondary schools and postsecondary schools, respectively, in consortia implementing applied curricula in the specified subject area.

bIncludes community and technical colleges, four year colleges and universities, proprietary schools, and registered apprenticeship programs in each reporting consortium.

Consortia rely somewhat more heavily on commercially available curricula than on those developed at the local or state level

Consortia were somewhat more likely (89 percent) to purchase applied academics curricula than to use curricula developed at the state or local level (80 percent).3 Heavier use of commercial curricula probably reflects the time required to develop new curricula or revise existing materials to emphasize contextual or applied learning. Although consortia that received their first Title IIIE grants in FY 1993 and FY 1992 were equally likely to use commercial products, the newer consortia were less likely to have implemented their own applied curricula.

Applied academic curricula are adopted gradually within consortia

Consortia do not generally implement all Tech-Prep program elements in all member schools at the same time. Each school must hire or train staff, purchase new materials or equipment, and modify course schedules. Consequently, consortia may concentrate their early efforts on developing new curricula for implementation in a few schools and subject areas. Even within schools, not all students in the target group initially may have access to all program curricula. We would also expect consortia to focus their efforts on implementing curricula in the grades in which Tech-Prep students are currently enrolled or about to enter. In most consortia this might mean at first devoting less attention to postsecondary curricula than to high school curricula.

The survey data suggest, indeed, that many consortia are implementing new curricula in stages. Although substantial proportions of consortia had established applied academic curricula in several subject areas, they had introduced the new curricula in relatively few member schools (Table VII.1). Applied mathematics, for example, has been implemented in 74 percent of consortia, but in only 37 percent of the schools in those consortia. Consortia that implemented applied curricula in other subject areas have done so in even fewer schools. However, fuller implementation of applied academic curricula may be a matter of time. FY 1992 grantees were not only more likely than more recent grantees to be implementing new applied academic curricula (83 percent compared with 72 percent), but were also implementing these curricula in a higher proportion of their schools. It should be remembered, however, that even within schools, new curricula are likely to be adopted and affect students' classes gradually.

The data also confirm that consortia have focused most of their curriculum development efforts on the secondary level. In fall 1993, relatively few consortia that had developed new academic curricula emphasizing contextual learning had actually implemented those curricula at the postsecondary level (Table VII.1). Proportionally twice as many secondary schools as postsecondary institutions had introduced locally developed or state-developed applied academic curricula.4 The survey also indicates that commercial products, the most popular of which are targeted primarily to secondary students, are being implemented in an even smaller proportion of postsecondary institutions.

However, the lesser emphasis on new curricula at the postsecondary level may reflect program design decisions, rather than a gradual approach to implementation. The stage of student activity does not appear to affect the extent of curriculum implementation at the postsecondary level; consortia that have Tech-Prep students entering postsecondary institutions were introducing new curricula at somewhat lower proportions of these institutions than were other consortia.

Implementation has so far emphasized applied academic curricula more heavily than vocational-technical curricula

Consortia are more likely to have developed and/or implemented new applied academic curricula than updated vocational-technical curricula (Figure VII.2). Between 1991 and 1993, more than 650 of the 702 consortia (94 percent) introduced new academic curricula, compared with 475 consortia (68 percent) that introduced new or revised occupational/technical curricula. The focus on applied academics may reflect a first stage of curriculum activity. The data suggest that developing technical curricula is generally not a priority in the early years of Tech-Prep implementation. Consortia that received their first Title IIIE grant in FY 1992 were more likely than those that received their first grant in FY 1993 to be implementing new or revised curricula of either type--academic or vocational. However, higher proportions of both older and newer grantees implemented academic curricula than vocational curricula. 

                                  FIGURE VII.2         RECENT INTRODUCTION OF NEW APPLIED ACADEMIC AND OCCUPATIONAL-                   TECHNICAL CURRICULA BY YEAR OF FIRST GRANT     YEAR OF FIRST TITLE IIIE GRANT           FY 1992 ================================================>96%                  ------------------------------------->73%           FY 1993 =============================================>90%                  ------------------------->54%               ALL ===============================================>94%                  ----------------------------------->68%                  +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+                  0         20        40        60        80        100                                     PERCENTAGE OF CONSORTIA               ===> Applied Academic    ---> Vocational/Technical  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993

Development of vocational curriculum follows a pattern similar to that of career clusters

Consortia have emphasized technical curriculum activity in the same occupational areas in which they offer career clusters. Consortia that developed and implemented new occupational curricula between 1991 and 1993 focused most of their attention on courses in the business, office skills, and marketing cluster (Figure VII.3). More than 300 consortia (64 percent of those implementing new vocational curricula) introduced new or substantially revised courses related to this broad career cluster. More than 250 consortia (more than 50 percent) developed curricula within each of three other general occupational areas--engineering technology, health/human services, and mechanical/industrial/practical art or trade. Consortia focused their vocational curriculum development efforts least on agriculture. 

                                  FIGURE VII.3       RECENT IMPLEMENTATION OF NEW OCCUPATIONAL-TECHNICAL CURRICULA AT               THE SECONDARY LEVEL, BY BROAD OCCUPATIONAL AREA     OCCUPATIONAL AREA           Agriculture ==============>27%    Bus./Office/Mkting =================================>64%     Engin./Technology ============================>57%  Health/Hum. Services ===========================>55%      Mech./Industrial ==========================>52%                      +---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+                      0         20        40        60        80        100                                         PERCENTAGE OF CONSORTIA  SOURCE: Inventory of Local Tech-Prep Planning and Implementation, Fall 1993

3 The vast majority of consortia--524 out of 702--introduced both commercially available applied academics curricula and curricula developed locally by consortium members or under state auspices.

4 For calculation of the percentages of secondary schools and postsecondary institutions implementing applied academic curricula(reported in Table VI.1), the denominator was the number of institutions in consortia that reported developing applied curricula in the specific subject area. The percentage of all secondary schools or all postsecondary institutions that have developed new curricula is significantly smaller.


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