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Background

The paper supplements the one prepared in September of 1993, entitled "Vocational Teacher Education in U. S. Colleges and Universities and Its Responsiveness to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education of Act of 1990." Both papers were commissioned in response to Public Law 101-392 (1990), Section 403, National Assessment of Vocational Education Programs. In this section of the Law, Congress requested that the national assessment of vocational education include "descriptions and evaluations" of the "preparation and qualifications of teachers of vocational education programs, as well as shortages of such teachers" (p. 809). This paper attempts to add information and data to that already submitted about the preparation and qualifications of vocational education teachers.

The information and data provided in this paper are focused primarily on the occupational experiences of vocational education teachers. A special effort has been made to review studies of and about trade and industrial, technical, and health occupations teachers who are "alternatively certified." For these teachers, traditional state teacher certification requirements, such as college degrees and preparation in liberal arts and pedagogy, are waived in lieu of considerable occupational experience.

Answers were sought to questions, such as: "What occupational experiences do vocational education teachers bring to their jobs?" "Does trade or occupational experience result in more effective teaching or greater student achievement?" "Is there a correlation between occupational experience, occupational competency, and teaching effectiveness in vocational education programs?" "Can years of occupational experience supplant college-level education and pedagogical training?"

The extant literature is the primary basis for the information, data, and conclusions presented in this paper. Sources used to identify studies included (a) an ERIC search of the literature; (b) scanning of journals typically read by vocational educators; (c) solicitation of studies through UNIVOC and ADVOCNET, the two national e-mail discussion groups targeted to the vocational education profession; (d) personal interviews with some authors known to have conducted research on the topic; and (e) solicitation of assistance in identifying relevant studies at the annual meetings of the National Association of Trade, Technical, and Industrial Teacher Educators and the University Council of Vocational Education.

[Abstract ]

[Introduction ]