As part of its work as an associate partner in the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, the Academy for Educational Development, National Institute for Work and Learning (NIWL) undertook a study of curriculum integration models in order to assess the quality of integration-related reforms at the classroom level, and document best practices for promoting desired student outcomes. This report provides the findings from this study.
In order to obtain firsthand information about different approaches and strategies for curriculum integration, case studies of curriculum integration models were conducted in seven sites across the United States. Teams of researchers spent 3 to 4 days in each of the seven communities observing activities, and conducting individual and group interviews and focus groups with school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, employers, parents, students, and representatives from participating postsecondary institutions. Teams also conducted extensive reviews of existing documents in order to understand the nature and history of each initiative.
Prior to the site visits, teams looked at local evaluation and communications materials, mission statements, organizational charts, and community demographic information for each site. After the site visits, the teams reviewed additional documents collected on site including meeting minutes, program reports, curriculum samples, and, where possible, data describing or assessing the impacts of curriculum integration on students.
The project began with an exploration of the relationship between the driver, or catalyst, of a particular curriculum integration effort, and the scope and quality of that effort in four sites. For the purposes of initial research, curriculum integration was defined as a relationship between academic and occupational or career-technical subject matter that goes beyond what would normally occur in the delivery of either the academic or occupational/career-technical subject matter alone. The four models visited during Phase I of the study were selected primarily based on the identity of the catalyst or driver (employer, university, high school teachers, and multiple catalysts). Programs or initiatives also needed to be sophisticated and of high quality.
After analyzing the information collected during the first round of site visits, the team concluded that the catalyst’s role in determining the scope and quality of curriculum integration did not extend much beyond its initial influence on the context. While the catalyst facilitated initial efforts to develop curriculum integration, success was ultimately determined by the presence of strong and consistent leadership throughout the design and implementation phases. Sometimes, but not always, leadership rested in the hands of the original driver or catalyst.
Year 1 findings also suggested that the original working definition was overly broad, which caused the NIWL team to rethink and more clearly define its notion of curriculum integration. For the second phase of the study, curriculum integration was defined as a series of conscious and informed strategies used to connect academic and vocational content so that one becomes a platform for instruction in the other over an extended period of time. For the second phase, the team revised its site selection criteria, and set out to identify three additional curriculum integration models that met the requirements outlined in the new definition.
Findings
Based on findings from this study, it is clear that the presence or lack of certain contextual factors related to structure and operations has considerable implications for the shape, scope, and quality of curriculum integration. The context affects the nature of barriers or challenges school staff face in developing and implementing new content or instructional strategies, which has a direct bearing on outcomes. Specifically:
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Curriculum integration appears to become more difficult in settings that are focused on multiple occupational areas, as opposed to a single industry, theme, or pathway.
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Curriculum integration appears to be more effective when both academic and vocational instruction occur at the same site. Practitioners seem to have considerable difficulty in supporting curriculum integration when students receive regular academic instruction in one location and vocational instruction at another location.
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Curriculum integration is a particular challenge for vocational high schools, career programs, and regional tech centers that offer career and technical education to students from multiple high schools or districts.
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The presence of leadership at all levels—district, building, and classroom—contributes to developing, implementing, and sustaining successful curriculum integration efforts. In order for curriculum integration efforts to be effective, individuals in leadership roles must be innovative, adaptable, and willing to take risks with instruction, the content of curriculum, and classroom management.
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An investment of resources is needed to develop, support, sustain, and expand curriculum integration efforts.
While financial resources are necessary to cover the costs of curriculum development, staff, training, and equipment, most of the sites visited for this study also relied heavily on in-kind contributions of materials, facilities, time, guidance from advisory groups, and political support from key stakeholder groups in the community.
In addition to documenting the circumstances and structural components that facilitate the effective integration of academic and vocational education at the secondary level, the NIWL team identified a number of lessons for both researchers and practitioners. These include observations related to: the role of the catalyst versus the role of leaders; the need for flexibility; the impacts on teachers and teaching; the importance of careful consideration to fit when selecting areas to integrate; and the structural support potentially provided by smaller learning communities.
Perhaps most important of all, the study helped to debunk some of the more pervasive myths that surround curriculum integration, and began to build an evidentiary base for expanded use of curriculum integration as a strategy for enhancing student achievement.
Recommendations for Future Study
Curriculum integration that represents a series of conscious and informed strategies used to connect academic and vocational content so that one becomes a platform for instruction in the other over an extended period of time can be a powerful education reform strategy. Clearly, additional research is needed to look at outcomes within the context of this new, very rigorous definition. While a focal point of future research should be measuring or determining the extent to which curriculum integration contributes to academic performance, it may be necessary to begin with an effort to determine the extent to which secondary institutions are implementing curriculum integration efforts that meet this more rigorous definition.
In the future, researchers might want to conduct large-scale surveys of schools, asking administrators to rate their school's curriculum integration efforts against each of the key elements of the definition, and then against the definition as a whole. By using the definition to determine the extent to which curriculum integration is occurring, such a survey could help to identify potential sites for further research, including projects that could feature experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
There is also a need for a concurrent technical assistance effort to promote a heightened understanding among practitioners of what curriculum integration is. In trying to identify sites for this study, the NIWL team came across many instances in which academic and vocational teachers were working together to integrate curricula through isolated short-term projects. Also plentiful were examples of vocational teachers introducing academic content into their courses without the input or collaboration of academic teachers and, to a lesser extent, examples of academic teachers attempting integration without vocational partners. While such efforts can be important stepping stones to more sophisticated curriculum integration efforts, they are not sufficient, in and of themselves, to meet the more rigorous definition of curriculum integration developed through this study.
Once practitioners understand what curriculum integration is, targeted technical assistance, informed by findings from this study, can help them move toward richer and more complex approaches to curriculum integration. Such assistance should help them think through the context in which they operate and how curriculum integration can best be implemented and sustained over longer periods of time. The revised definition can serve as both a guide and a goal.