Secondary and postsecondary vocational education curriculum articulation as perceived by community college and high school administrators

The transition of the vocational student from the secondary school to the community college may result in unnecessary duplication of educational resources and curriculum, and can cause the student to waste time, effort, and lose motivation (Whitlock, 1978). Curriculum articulation is a significant approach to solving these problems (Hull & Parnell, 1991). The purpose of the study was two-fold: (a) to investigate the perceptions of community college and high school administrators regarding ideal and actual vocational articulation practices, and (b) to investigate the differences of perceptions to determine if differences were a function of administrative position. The High School-Community College Vocational Education Articulation Perception Inventory was utilized to gather data. A total of 402 Iowa community college and high school administrators were selected to participate in the study. The response rate was 73.1%. The data were analyzed in three ways. A 2 x 5 (articulation x administrative category) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures on articulation was conducted on each articulation dimension (information/ communication/interaction). Significance was tested at the.05 level. Post hoc tests were used to determine the means between which significant differences existed. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Narrative responses were analyzed by using the constant comparative method of qualitative analysis. Significant differences were detected in the following areas: (a) between actual and ideal articulation in all dimensions, (b) among administrators on actual articulation in the information dimension, and (c) among administrators on articulation in the communication dimension. A majority of administrators, in all categories, viewed vocational articulation as being Extremely Important or Very Important. While the majority of presidents and top level administrators viewed the process as working Very Well or Well, a large percentage of middle level administrators, superintendents, and principals believed that the articulation process was working Fair, Not Well, or Very Slowly. The findings of the study suggest that administrators support what is taking place in articulation efforts, but believe additional efforts need to transpire. Administrators in specific administrative categories should be exposed to inservice activities enabling them to acquire additional skills to be more effective articulation leaders