Career and Technical Education Timeline

  • 470 BCE

    Socrates

    Socrates
    Socrates was a Greek philosopher who had a significant influence on Western philosophy.
  • Thomas Jefferson

    Thomas Jefferson
    Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, the third President of the United States, and played a key role in the Louisiana Purchase.
  • John Swett

    John Swett
    John Swett was an American educator who improved the public school system in California. After taking a job as a principal there, he started organizing the city's schools and eventually became California's superintendent of public instruction.
  • Industrial Revolution

    Industrial Revolution
    The Industrial Revolution was a period when industry and machine manufacturing dominated the economy.
  • Ellen H. Richards

    Ellen H. Richards
    Ellen H. Richards was an American chemist who started and promoted home economics in the United States. She was also the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she advocated for and supported women who want to pursue science.
  • John Dewey

    John Dewey
    John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator who helped found the philosophical movement called pragmatism. Pragmatism is a method that emphasizes the practical usefulness and effectiveness of ideas, policies, and proposals in education.
  • Alice P. Norton

    Alice P. Norton
    She advocated for women's studies and taught at Chicago State University.
  • Morrill Act

    Morrill Act
    Also known as the Land-Grant was legislation to assist states in financing colleges that would specialize in agricultural and the mechanics of art.
  • Martha Van Rensseleaer

    Martha Van Rensseleaer
    Martha Van Rensselaer was an American home economist and a trailblazer in creating extension courses for women in rural communities.
  • Booker T. Washington

    Booker T. Washington
    He founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in 1881. He also founded the National Negro Business League in the 1900s.
  • David Snedden

    David Snedden
    David Snedden was a well-known teacher who created a school program to balance the needs of industrial society with what kids can do and what they like.
  • W.E.B. DuBois

    W.E.B. DuBois
    W.E.B. Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, author, editor, and activist. He played a key role in founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
  • Charles A. Prosser

    Charles A. Prosser
    He worked as a lawyer, post office superintendent, teacher, principal, and school superintendent. In the later half of his life, he served as the executive secretary of the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education between 1912-1915. HE also was the executive director of the Federal Board for Vocational Education between 1917-1919.
  • Second Morrill Act

    Second Morrill Act
    The Second Morrill Act provided annual appropriations to each state to support its land grant colleges.
  • Major Dennis Mobley

    Major Dennis Mobley
    Dennis Mobley was an American agriculture teacher who founded the Future Farmers of America (FFA). He also worked with the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), played a role in vocational education legislation, and defended Career and Technical Education (CTE) when President Eisenhower cut its funding.
  • World War I

    World War I
    World War I destroyed four imperial dynasties including Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey. Following WWI, Career and Technical Education became widely recognized as a way to promote adult education and retrain citizens to re-enter the work force.
  • Smith-Lever Act

    Smith-Lever Act
    The Smith-Lever Act established a system of cooperative extension services connected to land-grant universities to inform citizens about agriculture, home economics, and government issues.
  • Smith-Hughes Act

    Smith-Hughes Act
    The Smith Hughes Act of 1917 established a federal fund for vocational education, including agricultural education.
  • Women's Suffrage

    Women's Suffrage
    The women's suffrage movement was a push to allow women to have equal rights. This led to women being able to finally vote.
  • Association of Career and Technical Education

    Association of Career and Technical Education
    CTE is an educational program that prepares youth and adults for rigorous and relevant knowledge in specified pathways.
  • Development of American Vocational Association

    Development of American Vocational Association
    The American Vocational Association was developed, then the first convention was held where the 6 categories of Vocational education were created.
  • George Reed Act

    George Reed Act
    The George Read Act of 1927 established the removal of home economics from the trade and industrial component of the Smith Hughes Act.
  • George Dean Act

    George Dean Act
    The George Dean Act of 1936 allotted millions of dollars for education in the vocational education.
  • Hatch Act

    Hatch Act
    The Hatch Act is a federal law to maintain the public trust in our executive branch.
  • Technological Revolution

    Technological Revolution
    A time of accelerated technological progress characterized by innovations whose rapid application and diffusion typically cause an abrupt change in society.
  • World War II

    World War II
    World War II was a global conflict from 1939 to 1945 involving most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers, divided into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. World War II significantly advanced Career and Technical Education by highlighting the need for specialized skills and training, leading to expanded vocational programs and increased federal support for technical education to meet the demands of a rapidly changing economy and workforce.
  • George-Barden Act

    George-Barden Act
    The George Barden Act amended the George Dean act and allotted more funds that could be used towards salary and expenses for a state director and counselor.
  • Civil Right's Movement

    Civil Right's Movement
    The Civil Rights Movement was a social justice movement for Black Americans to gain equal rights in the United States. Before the Civil Rights Movement rarely did Black Americans serve in office. This was a turning point for equality.
  • Sputnik

    Sputnik
    Sputnik was a series of satellites launched by the Soviet Union that sparked the "space race".
  • National Defense Education Act

    National Defense Education Act
    The NDEA provided funding to provide funding to improve American schools and to promote postsecondary education.
  • Manpower Development and Training Act

    Manpower Development and Training Act
    The Manpower Development and Training Act was created to train and retrain workers who were unemployed due to automation and technological change.
  • Vocational Education Act and Amendments

    Vocational Education Act and Amendments
    The Vocational Education Act and Amendments offer new and expanded vocational education programs to bring job training into harmony with the industrial, economic, and social realities of today.
  • Rufus Stimson

    Rufus Stimson
    Rufus Stimson was an American educator who became the third president of Connecticut Agricultural College. He worked to mend the college's relationships with the state's agricultural communities.
  • Education Amendments (Title IX)

    Education Amendments (Title IX)
    Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 are laws that prohibit sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government. Title IX is still a highly debated and controversial topic.
  • Comprehensive Employment and Training Act

    Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
    The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act consolidates a number of existing federal job training programs to help unemployed, underemployed, and disadvantaged individuals.
  • Horace Mann

    Horace Mann
    Horace Mann was an American educator and a leading advocate of public education. He believed education should be free, accessible to everyone, not influenced by religion, and provided by skilled, professional teachers.
  • New Directions Report (Ag Ed)

    New Directions Report (Ag Ed)
    This report presents findings from an agricultural education study at the secondary level to make recommendations for program improvement.
  • Job Training Partnership Act

    Job Training Partnership Act
    Job Training Partnership Act is a federally funded program that provides employment and training to people who are having difficulty finding work
  • A Nation at Risk Report

    A Nation at Risk Report
    A Nation at Risk Report is the title of President Ronald Reagan's report on the National Commission on Excellence in Education. This report called for greater federal support for education.
  • Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act (Perkins 1)

    Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act (Perkins 1)
    The Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act is a federal law that supports CTE programs and job training for students at the secondary and postsecondary levels.
  • Perkins Act (Perkins 2)

    Perkins Act (Perkins 2)
    The revision of the Carl Perkins Vocational Education Act was to increase the funding and revise the definition of vocational education.
  • The Secretary's Commission of Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Report

    The Secretary's Commission of Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Report
    SCANS examine the demands of the workplace and whether young people are capable of meeting those demands or not.
  • School to Work Opportunities Act

    School to Work Opportunities Act
    The School to Work Opportunities Act provide states with finds for designing school-to-work systems to better prepare all students for future careers and education.
  • Land-Grant to Tribal Colleges

    Land-Grant to Tribal Colleges
    These land grants were put in place to support Native American students.
  • Education Amendment Act (Perkins 3)

    Education Amendment Act (Perkins 3)
    Overall, Perkins Act 3 aimed to enhance the quality and accessibility of vocational education, making it a more integral part of the education system and better preparing students for the workforce.
  • No Child Left Behind Act

    No Child Left Behind Act
    The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 aimed to improve educational outcomes by increasing accountability for schools through standardized testing and performance benchmarks. It required schools to demonstrate progress in student achievement, with a focus on closing the achievement gap for disadvantaged students. The Act also emphasized parental choice and required schools to implement programs based on proven effectiveness.
  • Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act (Perkins 5)

    Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act (Perkins 5)
    The Perkins Act 5, increased federal funding for career and technical education (CTE) and emphasized accountability by requiring states to track and report student outcomes. It aimed to improve CTE programs by aligning them with industry standards and promoting collaboration between schools and businesses. Additionally, the Act focused on expanding access to CTE for underserved and disadvantaged students to ensure equitable educational opportunities.