Redesigning career and technical education in the state of Mississippi

In the United States, responsibility and authorization for Vocational Education and Training (VET) rests overwhelmingly with individual state and local governments, not the federal government. As a result, the organization and delivery of VET programs varies significantly. Over the past two decades, VET in America has undergone a significant makeover including the new name Career and Technical Education (CTE), fewer students concentrating on CTE in secondary schools, and increased emphasis on post-compulsory education. This article uses Mississippi, a rural and racially diverse state in the United States South, to illustrate the direction CTE is taking in the U.S. Policies Mississippi is pursuing include dual (secondary and college) credit for CTE courses, tighter integration of career and academic education, greater efforts to support work-based learning, more emphasis on entrepreneurial skills, and stronger industry-education relationships. In Mississippi and across the United States, CTE is shifting away from overly specialized high school CTE programs that limit career aspirations and possibilities and towards programs that require some postsecondary education.