Implementing Vocational Education in the Schools: An Alternative Curriculum.

This extrapolation paper is intended: (1) to present a model of a pretechnical curriculum that has as its focus the self-empowerment of the individual and (2) to describe how the curriculum could be implemented in the schools. The first part of the paper discusses the need for a pretechnical curriculum in terms of a model for self-empowerment. Addressed in the next two chapters are employer and employee needs in the labor market of the future and criteria for curricular decisions. Next, the concepts of personal and occupational transitions are examined, and a model for handling transitions is provided. Covered in the next chapter, the largest section in the report, are the need for developing problem-solving skills, a model for solving problems, strategies for developing higher order problem-solving skills, skills for use in developing logical and critical thinking skills, and the role of interpersonal skills in the group problem-solving processes. The final chapter is an implementation guide that presents strategies for fusing generalizable, transition, and problem-solving skills in pretechnical and technical education courses to prepare students for entry-level jobs, training programs, or retraining programs. (MN)