1970, Allen, assistant director of the federal education agency and American family education Commissioner, put forward the concept of "vocational education" for the first time in his speech entitled "Taking ability as the goal of secondary education for all". He believes that a serious defect of American education is the separation of academic and professional, which unreasonably transfers students to academic. He pointed out that career education is a new cognition, and people should not only realize the importance of career education, but also understand its important position in the whole education cause.
197165438+1October 23rd, Dr. Mahlander, director of the USOE Education Committee of the United States, introduced the term of career education into the education field for the first time at the joint meeting of middle school principals in Houston, Texas. Mahlander and others believe that one of the main reasons for the high dropout rate in the United States is that the education system does not provide students with knowledge and skills related to adults working and living in the community.
After that, the United States gave strong support to the promotion of vocational education at the policy and legal levels.
1974, the American Office of Vocational Education was formally established in the United States Department of Education.
From 65438 to 0976, the United States held the first national meeting of the Vocational Education Committee and adopted the vocational education amendment.
From 65438 to 0977, the United States promulgated the Vocational Education Implementation Incentive Act (Public Law 95-207) to help states incorporate vocational education into school curricula.
The comprehensive budget adjustment bill of 198 1 promotes vocational education as a whole licensing plan, and hopes that most state education departments and local school districts will give priority to vocational education and even allocate more funds.
1982 65438+ 10 1 In order to enable states and localities to carry out vocational education and make it an indispensable part of their educational work, the United States abolished the Vocational Education Incentive Act.
At present, there is no unified view on the definition of career education. But from the descriptions of different institutions or personnel, we can see its basic connotation.
Mahlander's interpretation of career education is as follows: First, career education will become a part of the curriculum for all students, not vocational school students. Second, career education should run through all grades from the first grade of primary school to high school and even colleges and universities. Third, all students who have graduated from middle school, even if they drop out of school, will master all kinds of skills to maintain their careers.
1971may, the federal education agency of the United States defined vocational education as: "Vocational education is a comprehensive education plan, which pays attention to people's whole career, from kindergarten to adulthood. According to the steps of occupational awareness, occupational exploration, occupational orientation, occupational preparation and occupational proficiency. They are implemented one by one, enabling students to acquire life skills and establish personal career forms. "
The American Vocational Education Association believes: "Vocational education is the whole educational process for all citizens, from childhood to adulthood. It can make students clear the purpose of study and have enthusiasm for future work ... ".
Brolin and Lloyd (Donna brolin and Robert J Lloyd (1979, 1985, 1995, 2004)) think that career education can be regarded as an attempt, which starts no later than kindergarten education and then runs through the whole preschool education stage (k-/). The goal of this stage is to make the work. Career education not only emphasizes starting from kindergarten, but also emphasizes using the concept of "work" as the basis of the whole primary and secondary education reform, which makes the concept of "career education" different from other current popular planning suggestions (Hoyt, 1993). Career education can be called a lifelong process, which integrates the importance of career into the substantive fields of primary and secondary schools at all stages. These substantive areas include job training, job research, work practice, apprenticeship program, personal consultation, career exploration and unpaid work as family members, citizens and leisure people. The process of vocational education includes four interrelated stages-vocational awareness, vocational exploration, vocational preparation and vocational assimilation. The cultivation of professional awareness begins in primary school, career exploration mainly occurs in junior high school, and career preparation mainly occurs in senior high school. Career assimilation mainly refers to entering a higher learning stage or adapting to the community or working environment after graduating from high school.
To sum up, the definition of foreign vocational education at least includes the following aspects:
First, career education is a kind of lifelong education, and its education targets include the whole education process from children (3-5 years old or even earlier) to adults.
Second, the purpose is to enable students to acquire skills of making a living, knowledge and skills of community communication, knowledge and skills of life and so on.
Third, earning a living skill is the core part of vocational education.
Fourth, high school students need to carry out life skills-centered career education like college students.