Career and Technical Education

Description of Career and Technical Education

CTE courses, one or more, are offered in 93% of the nation's nearly 1,600 comprehensive Grade 9-through-12 high schools and nearly all of the nation's 2,000 community and technical colleges. In addition, there are over 1,000 specialized vocational or technical high schools, 800 area or regional vocational schools, and 1,500 high school career academies. About 97% of all U.S. high school students take at least one course classified as career and technical: About 25% of high school students are “concentrators” who take at least 3 credits in one program; and 45% are “investors” who take at least 3 courses, but in different programs. High school students earn 4.2 credits, on average, of the 25 to 26 credits they complete as part of their high school programs.

About 44% of all undergraduates in U.S. higher education institutions are enrolled in community colleges, and 45% of first-time freshmen enroll in community colleges. At least 50% of community college enrollment is specifically for career or technical purposes.

History of Career and Technical Education

CTE in the United States has evolved primarily in response to federal legislation beginning with the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. This act began a long string of federal acts and amendments that continued to provide funding to the states in support of vocational education. The focus of this federal legislation shifted over the years to reflect national defense efforts, reduce unemployment, assist the war effort, include junior colleges, and help shift industries to peacetime economic development. Beginning in the 1960s, legislative influence began to shift from one of economic development to one of providing more opportunity to youngsters with academic, socioeconomic, or other disadvantages that prevented them from succeeding well in schools.

The State Directors Consortium has identified five key principles for career and technical education:

• 1.
  CTE should draw its curriculum, standards, and organizing principles from the workplace.
• 2.
  CTE is a critical and integral component of the total educational system.
• 3.
  CTE is a component of the workforce development system.
• 4.
  CTE should maintain high levels of excellence supported through identification of academic and workplace standards, measurement of performance, and high expectations for participant success.
• 5.
  CTE should be robust and flexible enough to respond to the needs of multiple educational environments, customers, and levels of specialization.

Trends

There are several prominent trends for CTE at the beginning of the twenty-first century:

• An increased effort to enhance the

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