Ready to Work links and resources
This is a list of some of the books, reports and resources used in making this documentary. Reports and Research […]
This is a list of some of the books, reports and resources used in making this documentary.
Reports and Research on Career and Technical Education
American Education and Vocationalism: A Documentary History 1870-1970 edited by Marvin Lazerson and W. Norton Grubb (1974) This book surveys the history of vocational education in the United States by bringing together reports and speeches on the subject from some of America’s most prominent educational thinkers including John Dewey and Booker T. Washington.
Career and Technical Education in the United States: 1990 to 2005 by National Center for Education Statistics (2008). This report describes the range of career and technical education available in the United States between 1990 and 2005.
Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality, Second Edition by Jeannie Oakes (2005) This book shows how tracking—the system of grouping students for instruction on the basis of ability—reflects and helps perpetuate the class and racial inequalities of American society. It includes a chapter on vocational education.
Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century by William Symonds, Robert Schwartz and Ronald Ferguson (2011). This report for the Harvard Graduate School of Education argues the United States is failing to prepare young people for productive lives by focusing too heavily on college preparation in high school. It recommends more emphasis on career education.
The Promise of High-Quality Career and Technical Education: Improving Outcomes for Students, Firms, and the Economy by Harry J. Holzer, Dane Linn and Wanda Monthey (2013). This report argues that high-quality career and technical education has the potential to improve student educational attainment and worker earnings, as well as outcomes for businesses and the U.S. economy.
Schooled to Work: Vocationalism and the American Curriculum, 1876-1946 by Herbert M. Kliebard (1999). This book traces the evolution of job training and vocational education and offers a critical perspective on the idea of career training in schools.
Vocational-Technical Education in Massachusetts by Alison Fraser (2008). This report for the Pioneer Institute documents the history and current state of vocational education in Massachusetts.
Reports and Research on Career Academies
Beyond Tracking: Multiple Pathways to College, Career, and Civic Participation edited by Jeannie Oakes and Marisa Saunders (2008). This book explores how to bring real-world context to school curricula in order to prepare students for careers and postsecondary education. Career academies are among the strategies reviewed.
Career Academies: Long-Term Impacts on Work, Education, and Transitions to Adulthood by James J. Kemple (2008). This study from MDRC compared career academy students with students who wanted to attend a career academy but were eliminated by lottery. Kemple found that, in the eight years after high school, those who attended career academies earned more than those in the non-academy group.
Career Academies: A Proven Strategy to Prepare High School Students for College and Careers by David Stern, Charles Dayton and Marily Raby (2010). This paper reviews 40 years of research on career academies. It documents the growth of career academies and suggests questions for future research.
Community Self-Assessment for Implementation of Ford Next Generation Learning Essential Practices by Ford Next Generation Learning (2013). Ford Next Generation Learning is a network of educators and business leaders trying to “transform teaching and learning,” redesign high schools and “sustain change through business and civic leadership.” The Nashville district relied on the Ford NGL program when it designed its career academies.
High School Career Academies: A 40-Year Proven Model for Improving College and Career Readiness by Betsy Brand (2009). This report from the American Youth Policy Forum suggests that career academies should be considered high priority for widespread education reform at district, state and federal levels.
High School Transformation, A Nashville Story by Alignment Nashville (2012). Alignment Nashville is a nonprofit group that builds community support to meet the needs of the school district. Alignment Nashville helped get the career academies off the ground.
Reports and Research on the Job and Education Requirements
Certificates: Gateway to Gainful Employment and College Degrees by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce (2012). This report shows many occupational certificate holders earn more than workers with college degrees. According to the report, the median male certificate holder earns more than 40 percent of men with associate’s degrees and 24 percent of men with bachelor’s degrees. The median female certificate holder earns more than 34 percent of women with associate’s degrees and 24 percent of women with bachelor’s degrees.
Education Pays: The Benefits of Higher Education for Individuals and Society by Sandy Baum, Jennifer Ma and Kathleen Payea (2013). This report for the College Board documents the ways in which both individuals and society as a whole benefit from increased levels of education and examines the persistent disparities across demographic groups in college participation and completion.
Recovery: Job Growth and Education Requirements Through 2020 by the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce (2013) This report predicts job growth and education requirements through 2020. It finds 35 percent of job openings will require at least a bachelor’s degree; 12 percent will require an associate’s degree; 10 percent will require a postsecondary certificate; and 36 percent will not require education beyond high school.
Other Resources
Association for Career and Technical Education
College and Career Academy Support Network
National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium