Benefits of an Integrated Academic and Vocational Curriculum

The National Center for Research in Vocational Education (cited in Coyle-Williams, 1990) notes the many benefits of an integrated academic and vocational curriculum:

• "Increased quality of vocational instruction through greater use of academic material and of applied academic courses.

• Increased quality of academic instruction through increased use of applications and problem-oriented approaches to teaching.

• Upgraded curriculum through the replacement of diluted academic (general courses) with more rigorous applied academic courses.

• Improved 'coherence' in the sequencing of four-year programs of study as a result of vocational teachers, academic teachers, and counselors cooperatively defining such sequences.

• Improved integration and increased understanding between academic and vocational teachers as a result of working together on new curricula.

• Decreased segregation of academic and vocational students through the development of courses and programs that eliminate the divisions between academic and vocational subjects.

• Increased enthusiasm of teachers for teaching and students for learning."