The quiet reform in American education: Policy issues and conceptual challenges in the school-to-work transition


Crowson R., Wong K., Aypay A.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY, vol.14, no.2, pp.241-258, 2000 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 14 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2000
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/0895904800014002003
  • Journal Name: EDUCATIONAL POLICY
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.241-258
  • Anadolu University Affiliated: No

Abstract

A quiet reform has gone almost unnoticed in the many policy debates about improving America's schools. Labeled "The School-to-Work Revolution" by Lynn Olson and others, this little-noticed movement offers, at last, a solution to the constraining historical dualism between academic and vocational training. There is a new enthusiasm for and focus on the preparation-for-employment side of American secondary education. However although reinvigorated, the school-to-work revolution remains heavily threatened by our nation's reputation for low-quality vocational education and by some long-unresolved tensions with regard to social mobility and political control. This article discusses the need for additional theorizing about and policy-minded attention to the revolution and observes that valuable opportunities for improvement in job preparation are at hand in an increased national interest in economic development.