Competencies needed by secondary students for career preparation and successful employment in intergenerational professions

Date

1995-05

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

The Tech Prep Intergenerational Curriculum Development Project grant was awarded to the Home Economics Curriculum Center at Texas Tech University in June, 1992, by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Texas Education Agency, and the Texas Department of Commerce. Federal fiinding for the project was provided to the state of Texas through the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act of 1990. The purpose of the grant was to develop a competency-based intergenerational curriculum that would prepare students for employment in occupations that provide care and services for children, elders, and dependent adults in separate as well as in joint settings. The central aim of the intergenerational program was to increase career opportunities for students by offering them occupational education and training in a broadened occupational area. In order to develop a comprehensive curriculum that adequately prepared secondary students for these occupations, it was important to survey representatives of business and industry and educators whose occupations or areas of expertise were related to the intergenerational focus. Several authors (Blankenship & Moerchen, 1979; Block & Jedhnski, 1992; Massey, 1968; McConnell, 1973; Pamell, 1985; Terrass & Comfort, 1979; Welford & Akers, 1992) have stressed the vital importance of involving business in curriculum planning so that educators know what students must learn to meet the demands of the workplace.

Description

Keywords

Vocational education, Human services, Career education

Citation