Date of Conferral

1972

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisor

Joseph Carol, Ed.D.

Abstract

The Region 4 Study, a four-county research project completed in July 1971 for the New York State Education Department under the direction and organization of the author, was approved by Walden University as the outline for this dissertation. The statistical data and committees' recommendations were adapted for this thesis without altering, hopefully, the substance or intent of the documented findings. The dissertation has been footnoted to indicate the use of Region 4 data in Chapters V, VI, and VII. The study was undertaken to seek methods of improving programs in occupational education and of coordinating those programs among the school districts to open up many more opportunities for students to learn about the world of work such an investigation involved many specialists, as well as the executives of business and the administrators of governmental agencies.

In the process, communication between educators and the men responsible for running the businesses of the four counties was greatly enhanced. A start in this direction, made five years before the Study by the author in his capacity as county coordinator of occupational education for Westchester-Putnam counties, served as an opening wedge for this cooperation over one 'hundred individuals participated in the gathering of statistical data during the eight months of the Study, all of which had to be summarized for the report to the State Education Department. The charts and graphs were made by gleaning data from other statistical sources as well as doing original research. The organization and editing of the Study were directly controlled by the author.

Chapter I of the dissertation covers the problems in occupational education from a four-county perspective. Chapter II gives the authors view of 'what ought to be' in occupational education generally, and what he knows is feasible for the four counties particularly. Chapter III sets the geographical and historical background of the counties.

Population growth and economic development are given in Chapter IV, and Chapter V deals with the numbers of students in the schools and the need for manpower. Occupational education courses offered presently on all educational levels are listed in Chapter IV, with a summation indicating how far short we fall in meeting our goals.

Chapter VII reflects specific and general views of the participating committees in the summing up of conclusions and recommendations. Projections are made for enlarging programs and improving curricula; the considerations of area-wide needs encompass the hopes and aims of men and women concerned with pragmatic goals and the ideals of a good society. A very significant recommendation is the one expressing the need for continual planning and for improving regional coordination through the resources of active advisory committees.

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