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Handbook of Vocational Education and Training pp 1–17Cite as

Vocational Student Organizations and Student Success

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Abstract

A key part of any vocational education program at the middle school, high school, or postsecondary level in the United States is a vocational student organization (VSO). Funding nationally was first provided for these vocational student organizations with the passage of the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917. A vocational student organization is cocurricular and is meant to complement the curriculum of a particular vocational education content area. Vocational student organizations are offered in conjunction with business and industry and are aligned with business and industry standards. Vocational student organizations allow students to participate in realistic activities that are related to their chosen vocation. These activities can include campaigning and running for an elected office, skill competitions, service learning and community service, and activities that prepare them for college and a career. In the United States, despite the noted value of vocational student organization to the overall student experience, there has been intermittent and, at times, scarce research regarding the relationship of vocational student organizations to student success. This chapter will provide an overview of vocational student organizations, interspersed with relevant research.

At the present time, vocational education in the United States is known as “career and technical education,” and student youth organizations are known as “career-technical student organizations.” The names were changed in 1998 as part of an effort to address the negative perceptions surrounding vocational education. However, for the purposes of this chapter, the terms vocational education and vocational student organizations will be used throughout.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Chris Zirkle

  2. Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, PA, USA

    Jeremy Jeffery

Authors
  1. Chris Zirkle
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  2. Jeremy Jeffery
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chris Zirkle .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, University of Nottingham School of Education, Nottingham, UK

    Simon McGrath

  2. Education and Competence Studies Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Gelderland, The Netherlands

    Martin Mulder

  3. Faculty of Education, University of the Western Cape Faculty of Education, Bellville, South Africa

    Joy Papier

  4. School of Education, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Rebecca Suart

Section Editor information

  1. University of Nottingham, Stamford, UK

    Robert Palmer

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Zirkle, C., Jeffery, J. (2019). Vocational Student Organizations and Student Success. In: McGrath, S., Mulder, M., Papier, J., Suart, R. (eds) Handbook of Vocational Education and Training. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_68-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_68-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-49789-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-49789-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Vocational Student Organizations and Student Success
    Published:
    22 January 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_68-2

  2. Original

    Vocational Student Organizations and Student Success
    Published:
    02 January 2019

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49789-1_68-1

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