Local Accountability in Vocational Education: A Theoretical Model and its Limitations in Practice
How can we best foster accountability in vocational education?
What is the nature of existing accountability relationships?
Concern about the productivity of the U.S. workforce and the
competitiveness of the U.S. economy heightens the importance of
these questions. Recent reports from the U.S. Department of Labor
and the National Educational Goals Panel focused public attention
on the performance of the vocational training system. Legislators
at state and federal levels are formulating policies aimed at
improving vocational education through increased accountability.
These policies will be better informed if they are based on
thorough knowledge of existing accountability systems.
Yet we know very little about accountability in vocational
programs. At the local level, schools and programs have
long-standing relationships with constituents through which their
performance is measured and judged. These local accountability
systems, although often informal, have many of the same elements
that are being incorporated into formal regulations. However,
there is no clear picture of the functioning of such local
accountability systems.
This study was designed to analyze and describe local
accountability systems in vocational education. Such a
description can serve as a basis for further study of vocational
programs, for developing criteria for evaluating accountability
systems, and for monitoring the impact of policy changes. As
such, this Note should be of interest to state and local
education administrators, state and federal policymakers, and
policy researchers interested in vocational education.
The present Note describes a model for local accountability in
vocational education and explores shortcomings in accountability
systems. A subsequent report will consider the demands that
federal legislation places on states and localities and will
propose policy alternatives for responding to these demands that
are sensitive to local accountability concerns. RAND research on
vocational education is conducted within the National Center for
Research in Vocational Education, sponsored by the Office of
Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.
Stecher, B. M., & Hanser, L. M. (1991, November). Local accountability in vocational education: A theoretical model and its limitations in practice. Berkeley, CA: National Center for Research in Vocational Education.