VOCATIONAL EDUCATION CURRICULA AND CURRICULAR NEEDS FOR THE AREA OF NEBRASKA SERVED BY EDUCATIONAL SERVICE UNIT #6

The purpose of this study was to determine, for students enrolled in the secondary schools located within the geographical area of Nebraska served by Educational Service Unit #6 (ESU #6), whether or not the vocational education needs of students who wished to either become employed immediately after graduation or continue postsecondary vocational training were being met. Specifically, the following questions were investigated. (1) What are the occupational interests of secondary students in the population being studied? (2) What are the vocational offerings provided to students in the population being studied as contained in the curricula of the secondary schools located in Educational Service Unit #6? (3) What is the degree of congruence between curricular offerings and student interests in the population studied? (4) What are the occupational opportunities in the state of Nebraska? (5) What is the degree of congruence between curricular offerings and occupational opportunities in the area studied? The procedures for this study involved the 22 Class II and III schools located in ESU #6 and students enrolled primarily in grades 10-12. The students\u27 interests were inventoried or measured using the California Occupational Preference System Form R (COPS-R) in which 3,094 students responded to 168 activities. These responses were scored and profiled into 14 clusters. For purposes of this study only the top three interests of each student were utilized. The top three interests of the students were totaled for each of the 14 clusters of the COPS-R and the clusters were ranked. This information was then compared to the curriculum offerings of the 22 Class II and III schools. To facilitate this comparison the curriculum offerings were clustered using the nine clusters of the COPS-R which were determined to be applicable to the vocational areas used in this study. The curriculum was also clustered using the Office of Education codes as stated in Handbook VI of the National Center for Educational Statistics and ranked. These seven areas were compared to the occupational opportunities as cited in the report, Occupational Opportunities in Nebraska. Comparisons of (1) student interest and curricular offerings and (2) manpower needs and curricular offerings were made by means of the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient. The results of the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient were used to determine the degree of congruence between (1) the curricular offerings and student interests, and (2) the manpower needs and curricular offerings. Two significant conclusions were drawn on the basis of the findings of this study: (1) There was substantial congruence between the courses offered by the schools of ESU #6 and the students\u27 inventoried or measured occupational interests. (2) There was little congruence between the courses offered by the schools of ESU #6 and the areas of employment showing the largest number of job openings in the state of Nebraska. These conclusions were the basis of recommendations made to the 22 public schools in Educational Service Unit #6. Two recommendations were: (1) occupational opportunities should be given greater consideration when planning curricular offerings, and (2) local educational agencies should continue to consider the students\u27 occupational interests when planning curriculum