History of Vocational Schools

Like most things, vocational schools have evolved over time. Vocational schools and their curriculums have changed in accordance with educational needs as well as economic and business factors.

1600s to 1800s

According to history, the first laws governing compulsory education came into existence in the mid-1600s in an effort to create a literate population and thwart Satan. The Old Deluder Satan Act of the Massachusetts Bay Colony set specific requirements to teach apprentices basic academic as well as vocational skills.

As the years passed and the needs of the community changed, vocational schools and their curriculums were redefined by the circumstances of the day. The defeat of Native American leaders resulted in the Carlisle Pennsylvania Indian School where the curriculum entailed job training. With the end of the civil war, Booker T. Washington voiced his beliefs that vocational education was the ideal route for most African Americans. At this point in time, a vocational education was becoming an important part of American society.

1900s to Today

During the turn of the century and America’s move toward industrialization, there was an even greater need for vocational skill training. President Theodore Roosevelt urged school reform to provide vocational education in urban centers and rural areas. Support for federal funding for vocational education brought together the American Federation of Labor (AFL), who opposed such programs as discriminatory, with the National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM), which promoted trade instruction in schools. However, federal support for vocational education really began with the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 which established vocational education as a federal program.

By the 1960s, the vocational education system had been well established. The 1963 Vocational Education Act broadened the definition of vocational education to include occupational programs in high schools and the improvement of vocational education programs for disadvantaged and disabled students.

Today the focus is on having schools organize their curricula so students may develop both academic and vocational skills in order to prepare them to compete in the job market; also known as vocationalism.

The future has never been more advantageous and important for career-minded students to pursue their vocational education. With the variety of vocational schools that are available, it is merely a matter of defining which vocational programs are best suited for your career aspirations.