Issues in Vocational Education for Special Populations in Rural Areas. TASPP Brief

Students with special needs living in rural areas face a difficult challenge as they prepare for employment and adult life. Access to vocational education in rural areas may be limited by isolation, problems in teacher recruitment and retention, curriculum and instructional deficiencies, and weak financial support. In addition, program relevance and student outcomes are negatively influenced by outdated program offerings, lack of quality, limited relevance to the local job market and industry needs, lack of local job experience opportunities, and lack of recognition by rural educators of vocational education's role in decreasing both the likelihood and impact of worker layoffs or job displacements. Vocational education can play a key role in the economic growth of rural areas. The school can act as an agency of rural economic development; skill-specific vocational education can prepare students with special needs for the job market. If skill-specific vocational education is reduced, vocational educators must encourage special-needs rural students to pursue further education. Vocational education in rural areas can be improved by strategies placing an emphasis on support services personnel, guidance and counseling, involvement of a variety of public and private service providers, more effective use of existing community resources, and modification of existing employment opportunities to address rural conditions. Improvements can also be made by forming cooperative programs, taking administrative action, using mobile facilities, using electronic technology, forming school-business partnerships, and training for entrepreneurship. (28 references) (KC)