米国におけるテクニシャン教育の動向と課題

抄録

There were some movements on laws relative to technicians education in the United States in recent years. The first is laying a bill of the National Technicains Training Act before the Congress in 1987, which was rejected as it turned out. The second is passing revision of Carl D. Perkins Vocational Act in September 1990. And the third, that is not directly concerned with technicians education, is passing revision of the Job Training Partnership Act in September 1992. What background is behind these recent chain movements on laws? Therefore, the aim of this paper is studying the significance of the movements connected with technicains education. Through several reports that pointed out the decline of labor force quality we find out that the United States has problems of work skills, especially decline of skills. Refering to technicians, the problem is probably that 2-year college graduates don't satisfy the labor market enough, in terms of skill requirement for technicians. To put it concretely, technicians are required to have a broader and higher base level of education/training. Against such requirements from the labor market, 2-year postsecondary institutions, as a supplier, are making efforts to carry forward curricula reformation that is called "Advanced Skills Program" done by "articulation" with secondary institutions. Advanced Skills Programs take two main forms, that is the Core Curriculum (or 'Tech Prep') Model and the Vocational - technical "2+2" Model. The purpose of the Advanced Skills Programs is to let students get through the curricula not to quickly but more efficiently. Most of these programs have a high-technology emphasis, deliver more concentrated and more advanced content, and result in graduate students at a "master technician" level. The following is that I give significance to such movements of 2-year postsecondary institutions. The vocational programs at secondary institutions must have been playing an important role in supplying technicians while the educational opportunities for postsecondary level, like the present, haven't spread yet. As postsecondary education spread after that, the core of supplying technicians has been shifting gradually from secondary to postsecondary. And the technicians' skills which are required in the labor market must have already been above the skills which should be acquired at secondary level, because the demand side is requiring higher level skills and broader capabilities from technicians at present. Such skills and capabilities may be nearing what should be acquired at 4-year colleges. Rather, I think that the core of supplying technicians has shifted to 4-year colleges already. Nowadays, postsecondary institutions are required to raise the educational target to the level of technicians' skills required by the demand side, in any case. 2-year postsecondary institutions which have been forming the core of supplying tecnicians are accordingly making effort in the curricula reformation, like the Advanced Skills Program on the "articulation" with secondary institutions. Nowadays, 2-year postsecondary institutions have a huge influence in the United States on account of its having the largest role as a method of mass higher education. Therefore, I understand that they are forced to make great effort to supply technicians, and also the movements of laws relative to technicians education have such background.