Vocational Education and Defense Preparedness. Overview. ERIC Digest No. 39.

Overview & Synopsis

Collaborative efforts between vocational education, the military services, and defense-related industries have been reviewed to meet the defense preparedness needs of the Nation. The U.S. Department of Education has responded to these needs by establishing the Defense Preparedness Task Force, convening a Defense Preparedness Review Group, and conducting the Vocational Education and Defense Preparedness Seminar. The Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education has proposed the following Federal initiatives: identifying the need for defense-related training, fostering training performance that yields increased productivity, disseminating the best research and demonstration products relating to defense preparedness, improving data management for information dissemination, and encouraging information sharing with school personnel. Many military training needs are similar to those provided by vocational education in the civilian sector. The partnership that the Department of Defense has maintained with the civilian educational community in providing education for the nation's youth can be broadened in the area of vocational and technical education. Vocational educators need to continue to monitor state and national defense-related training developments and to share models of training. Such efforts will assist them in developing stronger collaborative arrangements with defense-related industries. (YLB)