Strengthening Ties Between Career-Technical Education and Human Resource Development

Building on Gray's ( 1997 ) observation of a common ground between vocational education and human resource development, the present paper seeks to extend the comparative analysis by contrasting each field in terms of its history and definition, professional standards, scope of interventions, and core bodies of knowledge. The analysis suggests that despite a shared historical, intellectual, and institutional space, vocational education and human resource development can be understood as related yet distinct communities of practice. In light of the changing nature of work and evolving career patterns of individuals, however, a further segregation of the two fields appears unwise. Instead, conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work is required to integrate vocational education and human resource development. This is required to better understand and improve the research and practice of what Copa ( 1996 ) termed education for, at, through, and about work throughout the life span with the aim of developing a comprehensive system of workforce education and workplace learning in the U.S.