Association for Career and Technical Education

Last updated
Association for Career and Technical Education
Website https://www.acteonline.org

The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the largest national education association in the United States dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares for careers. The ACTE is committed to enhancing the job performance and satisfaction of its members; to increasing public awareness and appreciation for career and technical education (CTE); and to assuring growth in local, state and federal funding for these programs by communicating and working with legislators and government leaders.

Contents

About ACTE

The ACTE's membership is composed of more than 27,000 career and technical educators, administrators, researchers, guidance counselors and others involved in planning and conducting career and technical education programs at the secondary, postsecondary levels. ACTE's leadership is a volunteer Board of Directors elected by the members of the Association in an annual election. Board officers include the president, president-elect and past president. The ACTE produces publications, including issue briefs on topics such as improving student literacy skills in the context of learning hands-on skills.

Policy & Advocacy

One of ACTE’s most critical roles is representing the career and technical education field through advocacy activities, including direct lobbying, media relations and public awareness. This work promotes the value of CTE and the policies that are needed to support CTE practitioners, advance the field and improve student learning.

CareerTech VISION

ACTE hosts and participates in a wide range of events throughout the year. Chief among them is the Association's annual conference CareerTech VISION. CareerTech VISION is designed to be an integral component of an educators overall professional learning plan. The format of VISION has been created to meet individual professional growth needs and align with institutional strategic-improvement plans. Participants drill deeper and accomplish more by taking advantage of a wide range of international partnerships and powerful business and industry connections.

National Policy Seminar

The National Policy Seminar which is held every spring hosts over 400 career and technical educators, administrators and partners that come together to show their support for CTE on Capitol Hill. Attendees learn about federal policy priorities and upcoming legislative activities, and to help policymakers make the connection that CTE is the answer to many of the key challenges facing our country, including dropout rates, postsecondary access and completion, the skills gap, unemployment and more.

Related Research Articles

Cooperative education is a structured method of combining classroom-based education with practical work experience.

The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) is a United States professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. Since 1911, NCTE has provided a forum for the profession, an array of opportunities for teachers to continue their professional growth throughout their careers, and a framework for cooperation to deal with issues that affect the teaching of English." In addition, the NCTE describes its mission as follows:

The Council promotes the development of literacy, the use of language to construct personal and public worlds and to achieve full participation in society, through the learning and teaching of English and the related arts and sciences of language.

Founded in 1920, The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) is a professional organization for schoolteachers of mathematics in the United States. One of its goals is to improve the standards of mathematics in education. NCTM holds annual national and regional conferences for teachers and publishes five journals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental education</span> Branch of pedagogy

Environmental education (EE) refers to organized efforts to teach how natural environments function, and particularly, how human beings can manage behavior and ecosystems to live sustainably. It is a multi-disciplinary field integrating disciplines such as biology, chemistry, physics, ecology, earth science, atmospheric science, mathematics, and geography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agricultural education</span> Training in farming, natural resources, and land management

Agricultural education is the systematic and organized teaching, instruction and training available to students, farmers or individuals interested in the science, business and technology of agriculture as well as the management of land, environment and natural resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SkillsUSA</span> Career and technical student organization

SkillsUSA is a United States career and technical student organization serving more than 395,000 high school, college and middle school students and professional members enrolled in training programs in trade, technical and skilled service occupations, including health occupations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commission on the Future of Higher Education</span>

The formation of a Commission on the Future of Higher Education, also known as the Spellings Commission, was announced on September 19, 2005, by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. The nineteen-member commission was charged with recommending a national strategy for reforming post-secondary education, with a particular focus on how well colleges and universities are preparing students for the 21st-century workplace, as well as a secondary focus on how well high schools are preparing the students for post-secondary education. In the report, released on September 26, 2006, the Commission focuses on four key areas: access, affordability, the standards of quality in instruction, and the accountability of institutions of higher learning to their constituencies. After the report's publication, implementation of its recommendations was the responsibility of U.S. Under Secretary of Education, Sara Martinez Tucker.

These organizations for higher education have a common purpose and mission for advocacy in numerous areas of both institutional management and the general public interest. The organizations have specific purpose for issues from faculty unionization to public policy research and service to institutions. Most are focused on the organization and governance of higher and tertiary education, but some are involved in service and research at all levels of education.

In Oklahoma, Tech Prep is an administered through the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Tech Prep is funded through Section II of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006.

The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) formerly Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) is a subdivision of the United States Department of Education. OCTAE falls under the supervision of the Undersecretary, who oversees policies, programs and activities related to vocational and adult education, postsecondary education, college aid and the President's financial reforms for the Pell Grant program.

Career Pathways is a workforce development strategy used in the United States to support workers’ transitions from education into and through the workforce. This strategy has been adopted at the federal, state and local levels in order to increase education, training and learning opportunities for America’s current and emerging workforce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Higher education in Ontario</span> Colleges and universities in Ontario, Canada

Higher education in Ontario includes postsecondary education and skills training regulated by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and provided by universities, colleges of applied arts and technology, and private career colleges. The current minister is Jill Dunlop who was appointed in June 2021. The ministry administers laws covering 22 public universities, 24 public colleges, 17 privately funded religious universities, and over 500 private career colleges. 18 of the top 50 research universities in Canada are in Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vocational education in the United States</span>

Vocational education in the United States varies from state to state. Vocational schools or tech schools are post-secondary schools that teach the skills necessary to help students acquire jobs in specific industries. The majority of postsecondary career education is provided by proprietary (privately-owned) career institutions. About 30 percent of all credentials in teaching are provided by two-year community colleges, which also offer courses transferable to four-year universities. Other programs are offered through military teaching or government-operated adult education centers.

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) is a state agency in Rhode Island that oversees the elementary and secondary education system from pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is headquartered in Providence. RIDE works closely with the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (RIOPC), the agency charged with overseeing higher education. Together, RIDE and RIOPC aim to provide an aligned, cohesive, and comprehensive education for all students.

The National Professional Agricultural Student Organization, regularly referred to as PAS, is a national organization associated with postsecondary institutions offering baccalaureate degrees, associate degrees, diplomas and/or certificates in agriculture/agribusiness and natural resources. PAS is one of the ten career and technical student organizations that has been approved by the United States Department of Education as an integral part of career and technical education also referred to as vocational education. PAS is a member of the Consortium of Collegiate Agricultural Organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Educational Policy Institute</span>

The Educational Policy Institute (EPI) is a research organization founded by its current president and CEO, Dr. Watson Scott Swail. EPI is dedicated to high-level research and policy analysis on a variety of educational issues, including the challenges that individuals and families from underserved communities face throughout their educational career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Society for Technical Education</span>

The Indian Society for Technical Education is a national, professional, non-profit Society registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act of 1860. First started in 1941 as the Association of Principals of Technical Institutions (APTI), it was converted into "Indian Society for Technical Education" in 1968 with a view to enlarge its activities to advance the cause of Technology education. ISTE has an Executive Council at National level. It has active membership of more than 97286 technical teachers, 5,66,466 student members, more than 2345 institutional members, 1166 faculty chapters and 1280 students’ chapters throughout the country. The major objective of the ISTE is to assist and contribute in the production and development of top quality professional engineers and technicians needed by the industries and other organizations. Being the only national organization of educators in the field of Engineering and Technology, ISTE effectively contributes in various missions of the Union Government. The Ministry of Human Resource Development, CTE/Department of Science and Technology/MIT/State Govts. are well associated with the ISTE for programs relating to technical education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The DO-IT Center</span> People with disabilities in postsecondary education and careers

The DO-IT Center is based at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1992, DO-IT’s mission is to increase the successful participation of people with disabilities in postsecondary education and careers, in STEM fields and careers, and in computing fields and careers throughout the U.S. It directs the national AccessSTEM program, and co-directs the national AccessComputing Alliance focused on engaging people with disabilities in computing fields.

The College of Education is one of 15 colleges at The Pennsylvania State University, located in University Park, PA. It houses the departments of Curriculum and Instruction, Education Policy Studies, Learning and Performance Systems, and Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education. Almost 2,300 undergraduate students, and nearly 1,000 graduate students are enrolled in its 7 undergraduate and 16 graduate degree programs. The college is housed in four buildings: Chambers, Rackley, Keller, and CEDAR Buildings.

"Work-based learning (WBL) is an educational strategy that provides students with real-life work experiences where they can apply academic and technical skills and develop their employability." It is a series of educational courses which integrate the school or university curriculum with the workplace to create a different learning paradigm. "Work-based learning deliberately merges theory with practice and acknowledges the intersection of explicit and tacit forms of knowing."

References