CAREER, TECHNICAL, AND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION
"CTAE"
Creating a World-Class Workforce for Georgia in the 21st Century
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Career DevelopmentCareer development is a vital part of one’s educational career. It is a life-long process in which individuals define and re-define career-related choices and outcomes. Labor trends indicate that many workers will change jobs an average of 5-7 times in their career. Therefore, this process will be used time and time again in one’s work career. Educators in Georgia are responsible for providing the tools, knowledge and resources that young people and their parents need to make these critical career-related decisions. The Georgia Department of Education’s ( GaDOE) career development initiative has selected as its framework the National Career Development Guidelines (NCDG). The NCDGs recognizes three major areas or domains in the career planning process (NOICC, 1989):
The GaDOE has identified key components in an exemplary career development program in grades K through 12. These key components are:
In an effort to reach ALL students in grades K through 12, the GaDOE strongly recommends a teacher-as-advisor program beginning in the 6th grade as the delivery system for the career development initiative. Students need the opportunity to make connections with themselves, with career information and resources, and with their future. Educators need the opportunity to make connections with students in an effort to assist them in answering the following questions:
What we want the future to be is this: When a bright student with the right aptitude and a good work attitude comes in, the school counselor will say to him or her, 'Have you thought of an automotive career?'
Curriculum FrameworksThe Career and Technical Education Division is developing business-validated, competency-based curriculum frameworks for all occupational programs funded under the auspices of this division. The competencies included within the curriculum frameworks are identified as state-required, student performance standards, or QCCs, for individual courses of instruction. Thus, these student performance standards represent a major component within the state's occupational accountability system. Performance standards will be developed for all occupational programs so as to convert vocational skills accountability from "course-passing" to competency-based performance assessment. The development of the curriculum frameworks includes the revision of many courses, the deletion of some courses, and the development of new programs and courses that more closely reflect contemporary workforce requirements. The performance standards included therein represent a synthesis of performance standards gleaned from other states, from national curriculum laboratories and national curriculum projects, and from industry skill standards. The compilation of performance standards is reviewed and validated by panels of experts from both business and industry as well as by representatives from secondary and postsecondary education. Finally, the performance standards included within each curriculum framework are articulated with postsecondary performance standards to help ensure ease in a student's transition to a postsecondary institution within Georgia. Each curriculum framework includes two components: (1) the core employability skills that are to be integrated throughout the instructional course sequence of a given program; and (2) the technical skill standards that reflect the occupational-cluster performance requirements unique to a given course. It should be noted that the core employability skills are basic requirements for all occupational programs. As additional curriculum frameworks and performance standards/ QCCs are developed and are approved by the State Board of Education, the standards will, likewise, be added to the Division and GLC websites. Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education at Newton County Schools’ CTAE offers innovative programs, as well as traditional offerings for basic instruction and on-the-job placement of students. Classes are offered in Business & Computer Science, Agriculture, Marketing Sales & Service, Healthcare Science, Family & Consumer Science, Engineering & Technology, Government & Public Safety, and Arts & Humanities. The Georgia Youth Apprenticeship Program and the Technical Preparation (Tech Prep) Program recently have been implemented. The Youth Apprenticeship Program offers a systematic mix of training with academic and technical instruction on the secondary and post-secondary levels. Students are trained at a level of quality sufficient to certify the ability of the individual to perform task-oriented duties in professional, technical and skilled occupations. Youth Apprenticeship is a combination of school-based work and work-based learning that is used to smooth the transition from school to work. Areas of apprenticeship opportunities include automotive services, industrial-engineering sites, and banking and finance. Current and future work places require, more than ever before, education and special skills. Critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, decision making, and adaptability to new working environments are now necessities in the work place. The Tech Prep program is designed to increase curriculum and training articulation efforts between secondary schools and post-secondary schools by helping students participate in a coordinated academic and technical program which starts at the high school level and continues at the post-secondary level. Through this program, the Newton County Schools and DeKalb Technical Institute have committed to work together to coordinate career opportunities for students seeking post-secondary education and/or employment. An improved high school curriculum offers a planned sequence which links educational programs to provide a seamless curriculum for students to move smoothly from one instructional level to another without duplication of courses, loss of credit, or delay in program.
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