EDU 175 Lecture 7

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AUTHOR: MICHAEL W. HARVEY TITLE: Vocational-Technical Education: A Logical Approach to Dropout Prevention for Secondary Special Education SOURCE: Preventing School Failure 45 no3 108-13 Spr 2001 The magazine publisher is the copyright holder of this article and it is reproduced with permission. Further reproduction of this article in violation of the copyright is prohibited. The 1983 Blue Ribbon Commission Report, "A Nation at Risk," raised serious questions as to whether students in the United States were academically prepared to compete in a global economy. The interest in public education generated by this report and the subsequent education reform movement raised a secondary concern--the high percentage of students who did not graduate from school. Dropping out of school has long been recognized as a problem in the U.S. education system. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, the National Governors' Association, and the Council of Chief State School Officers all have been active supporters of increasing high school completion and reducing the dropout rate (MacMillan et al., 1992). The Clinton administration continued the commitment to quality education and to increased high-school completion for all students by way of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act of 1993 and the School-to-Work Opportunity Act of 1994. Students who leave school before they have finished have educational deficiencies that negatively affect their economic opportunities and social welfare throughout their adult lives (Rumberger, 1987). Dropping out of school limits one's choices and labor market advantages in an increasingly sophisticated economic and social climate (Strother, 1986), thus having grave consequences for the individual and society in terms of economic impact and future productivity. The emerging work force has clearly defined employment sectors and high skillhigh wage or low skill-low wage jobs (National Center on Education and the Economy, 1990).


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