Vocational Education Curriculum

Contemporary vocational education is oriented to preparing people to perform successfully in the workforce. Its roots stretch back thousands of years. Once the U.S. vocational education movement emerged in the late 19th century, educators have used diverse curricula to prepare citizens for work. The field of vocational education has evolved from scattered 19th-century manual training initiatives focused on work processes and moral reform to comprehensive and systematic curriculum focused on labor needs and concrete outcomes. Workforce education includes varied curricular strategies, educational philosophies, and cultural beliefs. Yet an enduring principle that distinguishes it from other fields is its close relevance to the world of work. Vocational educators argue that the diverse activities that constitute vocational curriculum should be directly relevant to a future worker's skill ...