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UNION NEWS
ACTE convention…
Vocational and career education getting a boost?
By Lotty Blumenthal
 The Association for
Career and Technical Education held its Annual Convention in New Orleans
from De. 13-16 at the Ernest Morell Convention Center, one of the locations
large enough to hold a convention usually numbering between 7-12 thousand
attendees. The ACTE is the largest national organization of teachers,
administrators, counselors and teacher educators in North America because
of the inclusion of educators from pre-school to post-graduate level,
public and private.
Dedicated to the advancement
of career skills education to prepare America’s students for life
and career success in the workplace, divisions or sub-groups include administration,
adult workforce, agricultural education, business education, family &
consumer sciences, guidance, health occupations, marketing ed, new &
related services (related academic areas), cooperative ed, personnel development,
research, school-to-work, special needs, support staff, tech prep, instructional
materials, technical and technology ed, and trade and industrial education.
As usual more than
200 exhibitors displayed their products. There are about 400 meetings
including more that 200 workshops from 15 minutes to four hour field trips.
One session on Friday called “Carousel” lasts three hours and
includes between 40 and 50 15-minute sessions. Fifty were scheduled, but
only about 35 appeared this year, leaving about 15 tables empty.
Each sub-division or
the entire division may present workshops. For instance, Special Needs
is comprised of academically and/or economically disadvantaged; physical
and/or mental disabilities; Limited English Proficiency; as well as current
or past incarceration; long-term unemployment; youth and adults at-risk
of dropping out of school; teenage parents and pregnant teens; and single
parents. At the “Carousel” — or round tables of mini-workshops
— this division presented “The related vocational Instruction
Experience” of support services for students with disabilities, “A
Math-Solution for At-Risk Students!” and “Learning for a Lifetime:
Preparing and Supporting Students with Disabilities” presented by
Stephen Bigaj, Dept. of Ed. Keene State College, Keene, NH. While New
and Related’s School to Work section had, among it 4 workshops, “Implementing
the MAVCC Toolkit for Non-Traditional Careers,” presented by James
Fliehler, Iowa Department of Education, Des Moines, IA, while its Public
Information Section presented “Legislators and Lobbyists: All in
Your Day’s Work,” presented by Betty Boyd, Member (retired),
Oklahoma House of Representatives, Oklahoma City, Ok, its Tech Prep Section
presented “Choices: Career Institute for 9th and 10th Graders,”
presented by Susan Burnett, Tech Prep Coordinator, St. Petersburg College,
St. Petersburg, Fl, and its Research Section had “Survey Research
Via Web-Based Technologies: Benefits and Challenges,” presented by
James Bartlett, II, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL and Allen Truell,
College of Business, Ball State University, Muncie Indiana. Each attendee
must choose carefully the workshops to be attended during the convention
since in four days, only about 8 meetings can fit into the time since
all sessions end by 7:00 p.,m, usually. General sessions which may conflict
with other meetings must also be carefully selected. Some meetings start
at 7:00 a.m.
Deborah Norville opened
the first general session with motivational speech about the importance
being an educator and having determination. The Saturday General Session
speaker was John Alston, author, psychologist and multicultural consultant,
talked of “Attitude in Action.” He spoke of the effect of attitudes
which could empower individuals to more easily accept the reality of change
and diversity.
The Sunday General
Session speaker was Henry Winkler, “The Fonz” of “Happy
Days” fame. His speech “If You Will It, It Is Not a Dream”
recounted his youth, the effect of his parents on his career choices,
and the fact that he was one of those children who needed no looser boundaries
than other children to reach his potential.
By far the best General
Session speaker was Friday’s Howard Gardner, professor in cognition
and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is widely
known by many educators for his work in the theory of multiple intelligences.
The concept of multiple intelligences, some of which as organizational
skills are difficult to recognize and assess through ordinary multiple-choice
written tests, is the basis for the development of gifted programs throughout
the world. His new book concerning his belief that there may be an eighth
area of intelligence was explored using audio-visual showing of studies
as well as a brief recounting of the seven previously designated areas
and their relationship to the eighth area called “Emotional Intelligence”.
He held a book signing in the materials area for anyone who had a copy
of his book which was available at the convention. Long lines developed
for both book and signing.
Upon arriving on December
13, I choose to attend “Are High-Stakes Tests a Fair Assessment for
CTE Students?” The session was presented by the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences of the University of Arizona, Tucson. Arizona Professors
Jack Elliot, Jim Knight, Billye Foster, and Ed Franklin (all having doctorates)
made the presentation. This report of ongoing research of which two years
have been completed confirms that technical education students compare
favorably with other students on high-stakes tests when variables are
controlled. The test most often cited was the SAT. Over 2000 graduates
were investigated in the research from urban, suburban, and rural schools,
divided into two categories: (1) CTE program concentrators and (2) All
other students. The Independent Variables with Possible Influence on the
Dependent Variable were gender, race/ethnicity, special populations-eligible
and category, and learning style. Other possible variables not included
in the research were listed. The reason for these variables was in the
changes in the last 20 years in the kind of student population now completing
high school and continuing to college. According to the professors, the
last time the SAT was normed was about 20 years ago. The student population
then electing to go to college was predominantly white and male. The population
for college entrance now is different, but the test has never been renormed.
The categories for learning style self-assessment were A) visual learners,
B) auditory Learners, C) Kinesthetic Learners, D) All learners. (To see,
obtain, or take this self-assessment, go to: www.ulc. arizona.edu).
In talking about education
myths, he said the idea that there is a crisis in education is untrue.
They quoted Susan Chirca (1992): “Seldom in the course of policymaking
in the U.S. have so many firm convictions held by so many been based on
so little convincing proof.”
In dispelling another
myth, they stated that the concept that U.S. students do not do well on
international testing is also untrue. For instance, they said that in
reading Finland always ranked first, then other countries ranked from
2 to 10. When someone cites a country as falling from say 3 to 9, it may
be insignificant because the change in order may be related to a raw score
of less than 1%. A country may fall from 89.8 to 89.2, but change 7 or
8 places in the ranking. Their 12 page handout had computation tables
of the study and the recommendations that l) CTE educators understand
the problems of raw score comparisons, 2) that this type of information
be used “in CTE promotional materials,” and 3) that there be
more research. This work was promoted at the Nat. Assoc. of Agricultural
Educators held to correspond with the larger ACTE convention.
After going to various
sessions, including New & Related Division’s Vocational Instructional
Materials Section business and awards meetings as a Board Member, this
reporter went to Carousel Table #17, “Cultural Adjustment of Foreign
Students in United States Higher Institutions.” Bridget Oscar Udoh
of Louisiana State University (1934 General Adams Av., Baton Rouge, La
70810, E-mail: biddyoscar@msn.com
or boudoh@subr.edu) in 15 minutes explained some of the factors being
used in the ongoing study as length of stay, gender, marital status, continent
of origin, age, and previous work experience. Each of these was assessed
separately and then given a mean score for a comparison of discomfort
level.
Although many statistics
were being analyzed, no final conclusions had yet been derived. What I
found more fascinating was that the facilitator was an educator from Finland.
I asked her what they are doing there that they are always Number One
internationally in reading (besides being in a climate conducive to being
inside reading). At first she said, “Nothing, we just have school.”
Then I asked what age does school start? She said, “Six or seven
— in first grade.” I was shocked and asked if they had kindergarten
and when did it begin? She answered, “At age three or four.”
I asked how many years of kindergarten are there, and she said, “Four,
but they do not start regular scholarly classes.” When asked if they
study language arts in any regular way, she said, “No, but they play
games with word showers.” She went on to explain, after prodding,
that teaching staff pick a foreign language and vocabulary words from
it, and in normal speaking to the students as part of the day, they shower
the students throughout the day or week with those words. Then, a different
time, they will use different vocabulary words from another language in
showers. She said if anyone wanted to contact her E-mail was
riitia.vahteristo@cedunet.com. At the sound of the bell it was time
to move to another table.
Among the dizzying
array of vendors machine demonstrations, brochures for other conferences
and the next ACTE in Dec. 2002, the aisles of text books as Careers in
Action, Elementary Hands-on Career Awareness (series) by Education Associates,
1-800-626-2950, P.O. 23308, Louisville, KY, and workshops on “New
Techniques for Thinking Clearly,” and topics about employer/ employee/
school relationships, there were the presentations of $10,000.00 and $5,000.00
awards to schools with EXEMPLARY AND PROMISING CTE programs from the National
Dissemination Center for Career and Technical Education. Although based
at Ohio State University, the judges who evaluate those entered in the
competition are from all over the country. And if a school receives a
$5,000.00 “Promising” award one year, it does not preclude them
from getting a “Exemplary” award the next year.
The University of Illinois
is involved in the administration of these awards. Six high schools, colleges
and career/tech centers received $10,000.00 for programs dealing with
Early Childhood at a high school, integrated manufacturing, a culinary
academy with integrated academics, a graphics design program, and a refugee
assistance program, while $5.000.00 awards numbered eight with four high
school level programs and four college level programs winning.
For more information,
the web site is www.nccte.org.
Contact may be made with Debra D. Bragg, Project Co-Director, University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 347 Education Building, 1310 South Sixth
St., Champaign, IL 61820, 1217-333-0807 or national Dissemination Center
for Career and Technical Education, Ohio State Univ., 1900 Kenny Road,
Columbus, OH 43210, 1-800-678-6011. Awards are given the National Convention
of ACTE in December. This organization is funded by the U.S. Department
of Education.
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