Education and Work.

Overview & Synopsis

The major issues surrounding the relationship between work and education now concentrate on the effects of education on productivity, on the effects of technology on the changing demand for education, and on the value of vocational education. In replacing the human capital theory of the value of education in the workplace, some recent theories hold that the major potential for education to increase productivity may be not in its job-specific training, but in its capacity to prepare persons to make decisions and to adapt to technological change. Although the common view holds that vocational students have better job market opportunities than others and that vocational schools reflect labor market demands, recent research contradicts both assumptions. Students in vocational programs, then, may be foregoing better preparation for the future work world. Like those about vocational education, two assumptions about the future of high technology education are also contradicted by available evidence: that the future will see fewer unskilled jobs and that the skill requirements of existing jobs will increase. Thus, a broad education is likely to be more, not less, important in a high technology future. (JW)