There has been much international effort to improve or transform Vocational and Technical Education (VTE). However, the outcomes often remain elusive. VTE continues to be largely shunned by society as a sector of education for low-achievers and academic failures.A Breakthrough in VTE: The Singapore Story shares the Singapore experience that was made possible through strategic planning, organisational excellence, innovation and ingenuity. It is a compelling story of how the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) began to transform lives and change its image over a period of fifteen years (1992-2007). This book, based on a first-hand CEO account, vividly captures the sort of leadership, policy choices, fundamental principles and capabilities in the journey of transformation. The details of the 'what, when, how and why' are a valuable guide for leaders and practitioners in building quality and sustainable VTE systems which are responsive to social and economic needs.

Pt. I. The early beginnings. ch. 1. Historical perspectives -- ch. 2. Dynamics and challenges -- ch. 3. Aligning education with economic development -- ch. 4. Vocational training under the former VITB -- pt. II. Journey of transformation. ch. 5. Move towards organisational excellence -- ch. 6. The three waves of transformation -- ch. 7. Strategic planning makes a difference -- ch. 8. Changing the image -- ch. 9. ITE: a world-class educational institution -- Photos insert -- pt. III. Implications for developing countries. ch. 10. Some lessons on building quality and sustainability -- ch. 11. Concluding reflections.

Singapore under the ruling People’s Action Party government has been categorized as a developmental state which has utilized education as an instrument of its economic policies and nation-building agenda. However, contrary to accepted assumptions, the use of education by the state to promote economic growth did not begin with the coming to power of the People’s Action Party in 1959. In Singapore, the colonial state had been using education to meet the demands of its colonial economy well before the rise of the post-independence developmental state. Education, Industrialization and the End of Empire in Singapore examines how the state’s use of education as an instrument of economic policy had its origins in the colonial economy and intensified during the process of decolonization. By covering this process the history of vocational and technical education and its relationship with the economy is traced from the colonial era through to decolonization and into the early postcolonial period.

Partitioning schools : federal vocational policy, tracking, and the rise of twentieth-century dogmas / Michael Thier, Joshua Fitzgerald, and Paul Beach -- Fitted to serve their community : race and power at penn school and the transition to vocational education / Mary-Lou Breitborde -- A school of their own : movements to provide industrial education in Columbus, Georgia for marginalized students on both sides of the color line / Lauren Yarnell Bradshaw -- Disentangling the triumph of vocationalism from the institutionalization of vocational education : a reexamination of the Douglas Commission report, social efficiency, and the Cooley controversy / Stephen Provasnik -- More than mere "book-learning" : democracy and vocational -- Education in the territory of Hawai'i, 1900-1959 / Michelle M.K. Morgan -- The give and take of vocationalism at the local level : administrative and student perspectives on Milwaukee's interwar high schools / Kyle P. Steele -- Striving for a unity of opposites : the general education movement, vocationalism, and secondary education / Kevin S. Zayed -- Trending toward "new vocationalism" in college and career readiness definitions / Matthew J. Benus and Catherine L. Livesay -- Cutting-edge (and dull) paths forward : accountability and career and technical education under the Every Student Succeeds Act / Paul Beach, Michael Thier, Joshua Fitzgerald, and Christine M.T. Pitts

This book provides an overview of some fundamental topics of international Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), e.g. genesis of TVET research, fields of TVET research, curriculum development, TVET planning and developing, methods of TVET research etc. The International Handbook of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Research (Rauner/Maclean), published in 2009 by Springer, was the first handbook to provide a comprehensive coverage of TVET research in an international context and with a special focus on research and research methods. Building upon the great success of this handbook and replying to the great demand expressed by researchers, (postgraduate) students and decision makers in VET, this new book “Areas of Vocational Education Research” focuses on providing an easier accessible overview of the fundamental topics of international TVET research.