Special Populations and Tech-Prep: A National Study of State Policies and Practices

Abstract

The late 1990s and the early 21 st century will be a time of monumental change in the nature of employment in the United States as the numbers of unskilled workers decline and the need for a more technologically advanced laborforce increases. To address the need for highly skilled labor, including special populations, the tech-prep curriculum was conceived as an intervention. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990 mandates that special populations have equal access to recruitment, enrollment, and placement activities as well as the full range of vocational programs. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to State Departments of Education to determine if provisions were being made to ensure full inclusion of special populations into tech-prep programs. Thirty-six states responded. Results and implications are discussed.

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