Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the curriculum development process in selected local vocational schools in Turkey through individual and group interviews. The participants included administrators, school-industry coordinators, teachers and students in selected secondary vocational high schools, and managers and workers in selected companies. Relevance of the vocational curricula to industry, needs assessment, curriculum development efforts, school-industry relations, and on-the-job training were some of the main areas investigated through interview questions. Interview results indicated that in general the vocational curriculum is outdated, and the procedures and processes for curriculum development create serious obstacles to updating the curriculum in line with the needs of students and industry.
Highlights
One of the critical problems of many educational systems is how to improve job opportunities for the young people who do not compete for a post secondary education (Hudelson, 1994)
These schools were purposefully selected based on the following criteria: (a) the school curricula were in line with the industrial areas within the province, (b) the number of schools visited within a province was proportional to the relative population within the province, (c) both boys’ and girls’ vocational high schools were represented, (d) different vocational areas were represented, and (e) the schools were large scale covering many vocational specializations and serving more than a thousand students.The companies were purposefully selected based on two criteria: (a) they had a relation with one of the schools sampled, and (b) both small and large-scale companies were represented
We assessed the current status of the vocational curriculum in the vocational schools sampled
Summary
One of the critical problems of many educational systems is how to improve job opportunities for the young people who do not compete for a post secondary education (Hudelson, 1994). As an important part of this system, around 700 public vocational high schools with about 11,000 teachers prepare students for employment. These schools serve around 300,000 students (35% of the secondary education age group), and the government development plans indicated a commitment to increase both the supply and the quality of students in these schools (State Planning Agency, 1995). Secondary vocational schools are administered and supervised by several directorates at the MOE (e.g., Girls Vocational Education Directorate, Boys Vocational Education Directorate, Tourism and Commercial Vocational Education Directorate) These schools are 3-year institutions (covering 9-11th grades) and receive students through centrallyadministered selection exams. They have the option of continuing their education at the university level (Ministry of Education, 1999)
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