Tech Prep Essay -- Technology Education Essays

Tech Prep Although the development and implementation of tech prep education programs have been in process since the initiation of the Carl D. Perkins Act Amendments of 1990, misconceptions about tech prep education still exist. As defined in provisions authorizing Perkins funds for tech prep, a tech prep education program is a combined secondary and postsecondary program that- leads to an associate degree or two-year certificate; provides technical preparation in at least one field of engineering technology; applied science, mechanical, industrial, or practical art or trade; or agriculture, health or business; builds student competence in mathematics, science, and communications (including applied academics) through a sequential course of study; and leads to placement in employment. Tech prep programs are designed to accomplish this agenda through strategies described as "integration," "articulation," and "work-based learning." Although these strategies are reflective of the various tech prep program components, they are diversely interpreted according to the background, education, and experience of those involved in the tech prep initiative. This publication examines some of the myths that have evolved about tech prep and presents the realities of tech prep implementation. Myth: Tech Prep Is an Integration of Academic and Vocational Education Although tech prep is based on the premise that academic and vocational skills cannot be learned in isolation from each other, integration of the two disciplines extends beyond the merging of existing academic and vocational education curriculum. It requires the introduction of new courses, sequenced in an entire program of core curriculum that leads students to d... ...4 (April 1992): 30-31, 53. Boesel, David et al. National Assessment of Vocational Education. Final Report to Congress, Vol III. Program Improvement: Educational Reform. Washington, DC: Office of Research, U.S. Department of Education, July 1994. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 371 193) Hull, Dan. Opening Minds, Opening Doors: The Rebirth of American Education. Waco, TX: Center for Occupational Research and Development, 1993. Norton, Robert. "DACUM and Tech Prep: Dynamic Duo." Paper presented at the Mid-America Competency-Based Education Conference, Bloomington, MN, June 1993. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 359 339) Stern, David et al. Research on School to Work Transition Programs in the United States. Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education, March 1994. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 369 923)