Vocational Education Act (V.E.A.): Gender Equity Support for Immigrant Students. OREA Report.

Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment, New York City Board of Education, 110 Livingston Street, Room 740, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

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Bilingual Education Programs; Career Choice; Equal Opportunities (Jobs); Immigrants; Limited English Speaking; Nondiscriminatory Education; Nontraditional Occupations; Secondary Education; Sex Fairness; Special Needs Students; Student Attitudes

An evaluation was made of New York City Schools' Gender Equity program, which was intended to improve attitudes in gender equity, self-esteem, decision-making skills, and cultural isolation among students of both sexes--especially those who were recent immigrants or limited English-speaking students--in grades 7-12. Approximately 620 students in 10 schools participated in the program during the spring of 1991. Activities that provided preparation for entry-level jobs were the vehicle for the strategies, cocurricular, and extracurricular activities of the program, including group guidance sessions, student and parent workshops, visit to job sites, visits to cultural sites, outside speakers, retreats, organized media events, job fairs, and the production of publications in which students had the opportunity to discuss gender equity. A pretest and posttest, provided in several languages, asked students whether each of 30 jobs are appropriate for either males, females, or both. Both males and females were significantly more likely to answer that persons of both sexes should hold the jobs on the posttest than on the pretest. Recommendations include the following: (1) increase parental involvement through workshops in which parents and students can discuss nontraditional career options; and (2) emphasize the importance of the school counselor to students' decisions to enroll in training programs. (CML)

1993

ED352477