THE TRENDS IN FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN THE USA

Abstract

The article examines the main tendencies of vocational education in the US as a major aspect of training professionals. Three periods of vocational education have been singled out. The First Period (the XVII-th century –1862) is the creation of the first professional schools and colleges. The Second Period (1862–1950) is the formation and development of land-grant colleges. The Third Period (the second half of the XX-th century–till these days) is about the education reform under the new requirements of science and technology and the needs of society in the context of global changes. It has been stated that the establishment of the US higher education began with the foundation of the first colleges such as Harvard, the College of William and Mary, Yale College, Princeton. The first professional US labor schools were established in the late XVIII-th–early XIX-th century. In the first half of the XIX century professional colleges and schools of a new type were established. Their main focus was on practical curriculum. In the middle of the XIX-th century land-grant colleges («land-grant colleges») were started. In the XX-th century there was an education reform which implied two stages: 1) academic reform (improving educational standards); 2) implementing programs that involved graduates to the production. The article also analyzes a current structure of vocational education in the US. Special focus of the article is on the activities of junior biennial (community) colleges as a basic level of vocational education in the US. It has been concluded that these college were formed by the union of technical and professional schools with junior colleges degree. Community colleges (both public and private) have no similar educational institutions in the world of teaching practice and they offer training for technical professions.