Research Priorities for Research and Development: Articulating Areas for Increased Investigative Attention.

Overview & Synopsis

A study was conducted to identify key long-term research areas for Nebraska's vocational education community. The Delphi survey technique was used with 22 Department of Education personnel, 18 of whom completed both rounds of the study. A 1-5 Likert rating scale was used to identify 23 research topics, which were thematically clustered into the following general areas for continued investigation: (1) programmatic issues, such as barriers to integration of vocational and academic education and apprenticeship linkages; (2) student-centered issues, such as impact of vocational student organization and vocational and academic education graduate follow-ups; (3) vocational education effectiveness and accountability, such as job-ready effectiveness of secondary vocational education (the most widely agreed-upon area in need of research attention) and accountability systems and models for vocational education; and (4) economics and economic development, such as education's impact on the economic base of Nebraska and education and industry partnerships in training employees. It was concluded that primary attention for research must focus on the procedures for delivery and outcomes of vocational education programs. (CML)