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Making
Skill Standards Work
Planning
and Operating Programs
Program
development and operation is the engine of any education-to-employment
effort. It creates the framework for concepts, policies, and
relationships, developed by the system members, to be implemented
in classrooms, and at work and community-based learning sites.
It coordinates all of the participants, structures, and operations
required to make teaching and learning possible.
Programs
must be designed to meet the needs of various student populations-high
and low achievers, at-risk young people, inexperienced adults,
adults changing careers, and other groups. They also must
meet the needs of various system partners-education institutions,
employers, government, unions, community groups, and others.
Programs also must meet legislated federal, state, and local
mandates, often within the structural and operational constraints
of local education, work, and community institutions and policies.
Unlike
traditional vocational education, which often did not provide
sufficient conceptual learning to prepare students for higher
levels of education, today's technical education programs
must be designed to meet the criteria set by both higher education
institutions and the labor market, to give all students options
for their future. This means programs must provide learning
experiences that enable students to meet both academic standards
in various disciplines and also meet skill standards for particular
industries or occupation clusters. All students must be prepared
to progress to higher education levels or to enter the workforce.
From
our experience observing and assisting education-to-employment
programs, we have identified a number of features that can
be found in education-to-employment programs working to meet
the criteria we have outlined above. These features include
the following:
- Strong
philosophical and financial support from education administrations,
industry unions, and government;
- Advisory
boards consisting of educators, local employers, workers,
government and community leaders, and other stakeholders;
- A
paid third party to direct and coordinate the operations
of the program;
- Curriculum
that integrates academic and technical learning, in all
disciplines;
- Curriculum
that enables students to meet high academic standards in
all disciplines, and industry skill standards;
- Pedagogy
that mirrors high-performance work and work organization-such
as team teaching and learning, project-based, problem-centered
learning, contextual learning;
- Extensive
opportunities for teacher/instructor and counselor professional
development;
- Access
to state-of-the-art equipment, materials, and procedures;
- Various
opportunities for interaction with workers-in school, workplaces,
and the community-to help students learn about career opportunities,
requirements for various careers, and become familiar with
different work settings;
- Work-based
learning experiences, with trained supervisors, that are
coordinated with school-based learning;
- Competency-based
assessment methods, as well as knowledge assessment methods,
all geared to high standards;
- Articulation
among various levels of academic institutions to increase
the ease of and maximize opportunities for education advancement.
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