Office of Vocational and Adult Education; National Research Centers

SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education (Secretary) intends to establish

one or more National Centers to carry out research, development,

evaluation, demonstration, dissemination, and professional development

activities designed to improve academic, vocational, and technical

education in secondary and postsecondary institutions to prepare

students for postsecondary education, careers, and lifelong learning.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before March 31, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Dennis Berry,

Director of the Division of National Programs, Office of Vocational and

Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,

SW., (Room 4512, Mary E. Switzer Building), Washington, DC 20202-7242.

Internet address: D[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ricardo Hernandez, Office of

Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education, 400

Maryland Avenue, SW., (Room 4512, Mary E. Switzer Building),

Washington, DC 20202-7242. Telephone: 202-205-5977. Internet address:

R[email protected]. Individuals who use a telecommunications

device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay

Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern

time, Monday through Friday.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain this notice in an

alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer

diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding

paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

General

The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998

(Public Law 105-332) (Act), which was enacted October 31, 1998,

continues to authorize the Secretary to make one or more awards to

establish one or more National Centers to carry out research and

dissemination to assist State and local programs to improve the quality

and effectiveness of their vocational and technical education services

and activities. The Act lists the entities that are eligible to receive

an award to operate a National Center. In addition to institutions of

higher education, which were eligible under the previous legislation,

public or private nonprofit organizations or agencies, or consortia of

such institutions, organizations, or agencies, are now eligible to

compete to receive awards.

Invitation to Comment

Interested persons are invited to submit comments and

recommendations regarding this notice.

All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available

for public inspection, during and after the comment period, in room

4512, 330 C Street, SW, Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m.

and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except

Federal holidays.

On request, the Department supplies an appropriate aid, such as a

reader or print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs

assistance to review the comments. An individual with a disability who

wants to schedule an appointment for this type of aid may call (202)

205-8113 or (202) 260-9895. An individual who uses a TDD may call the

Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339, between 8 a.m. and

8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

Intent To Hold a Competition

The grants awarded to the University of California at Berkeley to

operate the current National Center for Research in Vocational

Education will end in December 1999. Before that time, the Secretary

will designate one or more new National Centers to carry out the

activities described in section 114(c)(5) of the Act. The Secretary

expects that the simultaneous operation of the old and new centers for

a short period will facilitate as seamless a transition as possible

with a minimum disruption of services. The Secretary intends to publish

a closing date notice in late spring or early summer of 1999 to

announce one or more competitions for funding the National Centers.

Applicants will be given approximately 60 days, from the date the

closing date notice is published in the Federal Register, to develop

and submit applications. Through this notice of intent, the Secretary

is providing early notification of the Department's plans to hold one

or more competitions under the authority of section 114(c)(5) and (6)

of the Act. The Secretary encourages interested institutions of higher

education, public or private nonprofit organizations or agencies, or

consortia of these institutions, organizations, or agencies, to begin

planning for the upcoming grant competitions.

Issues for Public Comment

The enactment of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical

Education Act of 1998 marks the beginning of new opportunities in

vocational and technical education. The Act recognizes that all

students must meet challenging academic standards and be prepared for

postsecondary education and lifelong learning and that all students

must prepare for careers--not just entry-level jobs. The Act challenges

the Department to provide leadership and be proactive in carrying out

its vision of vocational and technical education, and thereby assist

State and local programs to improve the quality and effectiveness of

vocational and technical education.

The Secretary believes National Centers have a unique role that

enables them to serve as effective catalysts for program improvement.

In this regard, the Secretary believes that in carrying out section

114(c)(5) of the Act, National Centers should--

(a) Build a knowledge base that is critical to increasing the

quality and improving the effectiveness of vocational and technical

education programs;

(b) Help to redefine vocational education and spearhead

conversations on reform;

(c) Conduct research that contributes significantly to both theory

and practice, especially in areas that are relevant to practitioners

and in emerging areas of practice that are not well defined; and

(d) Translate research into practice for teachers, counselors,

administrators, and policy makers through dissemination, professional

development, and technical assistance.

The Act specifically charges the Secretary with establishing one or

more National Centers to--

(a) Carry out research for the purpose of developing, improving,

and identifying the most successful methods for addressing the

education, employment, and training needs of participants in vocational

and technical education programs, including research and evaluation in

such activities as--

(1) The integration of vocational and technical instruction, and

academic, secondary and postsecondary instruction;

(2) Education technology and distance learning approaches and

strategies that are effective with respect to vocational and technical

education;

(3) ``State-adjusted levels of performance'' and ``State levels of

performance'' that serve to improve

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vocational and technical education programs and student achievement;

and

(4) Academic knowledge and vocational and technical skills required

for employment or participation in postsecondary education.

(b) Carry out research to increase the effectiveness and improve

the implementation of vocational and technical education programs,

including conducting research and development, and carrying out studies

that provide longitudinal information or formative evaluation with

respect to vocational and technical education programs and student

achievement.

(c) Carry out research that can be used to improve professional

development and learning in the vocational and technical education

classroom, including--

(1) Effective in-service and pre-service teacher education that

assists vocational and technical education systems; and

(2) Dissemination and training activities related to the applied

research and demonstration activities described in section 114(c) of

the Act, which may also include serving as a repository for information

on vocational and technical skills, State academic standards, and

related materials.

(d) Carry out any other research the Secretary determines

appropriate to assist State and local recipients of funds under the

Act.

(e) Carry out dissemination and training activities based upon the

research previously described.

The Secretary may also authorize Centers to--

(a) Carry out demonstration vocational and technical education

programs, to replicate model vocational and technical education

programs, to disseminate best practices information, and to provide

technical assistance upon request of a State, for the purposes of

developing, improving, and identifying the most successful methods and

techniques for providing vocational and technical education programs

assisted under the Act.

(b) Carry out a demonstration partnership project involving a 4-

year, accredited postsecondary institution, in cooperation with local

public education organizations, volunteer groups, and private-sector

business participants to provide program support, and facilities for

education, training, tutoring, counseling, employment preparation, and

specific skills training in emerging and established professions, and

for retraining of military medical personnel, individuals displaced by

corporate or military restructuring, and migrant workers, as well as

other individuals who otherwise do not have access to these services,

through multi-site, multi-State distance learning technologies.

1. Structuring the National Centers

In this notice, the Secretary presents a few options for

structuring these National Centers, to initiate discussion. However,

comments should not be limited to or restricted by the options and

questions presented.

Possible Structures

Generally, section 114(c)(5) and (6) of the Act provides for

research, development, evaluation, demonstration, dissemination, and

professional development activities to be carried out at the National

Centers. The Act requires each National Center to carry out

dissemination and training activities based on the research performed

by the Center. In addition, it authorizes the Secretary to support

dissemination separately, either through a demonstration program or a

Center. Should the Secretary decide to support a separate Center to

carry out dissemination and training activities, that Center would

provide a vehicle for a more comprehensive and extensive dissemination

of the research produced by the National Centers and other research or

information on successful practices.

Option 1. One center would carry out all of the activities

(research, development, demonstration, evaluation, comprehensive

dissemination, and professional development) of the National Centers.

Option 2. One center would carry out research, development,

demonstration, evaluation, dissemination and professional development

for secondary education issues.

A second center would carry out research, development,

demonstration, evaluation, dissemination and professional development

for postsecondary education issues.

A third center would carry out comprehensive dissemination

activities for both secondary and postsecondary education.

Option 3. One center would carry out research, development, and

dissemination on all issues.

A second center would carry out comprehensive dissemination and

professional development.

Option 4. One center would focus on long-range research allowing

for longitudinal studies, evaluations, or data collections, which

extend beyond a calendar year. Other long-range research might relate

to comprehensive demonstrations and validating promising practices. The

center would also carry out dissemination and professional development

activities that relate to its research.

A second center would focus on short-term research issues that

could be completed in a year or less. The center would also carry out

dissemination and professional development activities that relate to

its research.

A third center would carry out comprehensive dissemination and

professional development activities.

Option 5. One center would focus on academically oriented research

such as testing the efficacy of various theoretical approaches, or

measuring the effect of a specific educational initiative.

A second center would focus on applied research, demonstrations,

developing and improving successful methods, providing technical

assistance to States in developing and implementing measures of

performance, and evaluating program effectiveness.

Each center would carry out dissemination and professional

development activities that address its specific audiences.

Option 6. One center would focus on research (e.g., long-term,

short-term, applied, theoretical, evaluation, data analysis) and

demonstration issues. The center would also carry out dissemination and

professional development activities that relate to its research.

A second center would focus on professional development and

leadership issues, e.g., training education personnel to use the most

successful methods for addressing the education, employment, and

training needs of participants in vocational and technical education

programs, and offering pre-service and in-service training, including

internships and fellowships.

A third center would focus on comprehensive dissemination

activities.

2. Questions

In addition to inviting comments on the structure of the proposed

National Centers, the Secretary is also interested in receiving views

in response to several questions that relate to the scope of the

Centers:

(a) Are there specific research activities the Centers should

undertake in order to assist State and local vocational and technical

education programs?

(b) What theoretical and applied research should the Centers

undertake?

(c) What are effective ways to ensure maximum coordination and

synergy among the Centers if there is more than one Center?

(d) Should the National Centers provide technical assistance to

State and

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local programs in adopting/adapting successful practices? What types of

technical assistance are needed most?

(e) To what extent should the work of the Centers inform and be

informed by other similar international research institutes and

Centers?

(f) How should the relevance, quality, and timeliness of a Center's

work be measured in order to inform decisions on whether to continue a

National Center?

3. Naming the National Centers

The Secretary is also interested in receiving views on possible

names for the new National Centers. Changes in the legislation provide

new opportunities. A new name for the Centers could help to emphasize

the changes, opportunities and new thrusts of the Act. Previously, the

National Centers were called the ``National Center for Research in

Vocational Education''. A possible new name could be the ``National

Centers for Research in Technical and Professional Education''.

Electronic Access to This Document

Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of

Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or

portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the

following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the pdf, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with

Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you

have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing

Office at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free, at 1-888-293-6498.

Anyone also may view these documents in text copy only on an

electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511

or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option

G-Files/Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases.

Additionally, this notice, as well as other documents concerning

the implementation of the national centers, is available on the World

Wide Web at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OVAE/

ncrperk111.html.

Note: The official version of this document is the document

published in the Federal Register.

Program Authority: Public Law 105-332.

Dated: February 24, 1999.

Patricia W. McNeil,

Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.

[FR Doc. 99-5011 Filed 2-26-99; 8:45 am]

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