| Abstract: | The importance of vocational education has long been recognized in meeting society's need for trained workers. Since the early 1960s there has been a gradual shift in emphasis of federal vocational education priorities from specific programs (e.g., agriculture) to special populations, such as minorities, women, disadvantaged or handicapped individuals, and individuals with limited English‐speaking proficiency (Ohanneson, 1982). The Vocational Education Act Amendments of 1976 reinforced this emphasis by requiring that follow‐up information be collected, not just by the vocational discipline but by special population groups as well (U.S. 94th Congress, 1976). Subsequent vocational education legislation places emphasis on providing vocational education to all individuals who can benefit from such training (U.S. 98th Congress, 1984; U.S. 101st Congress, 1990). |
