ABSTRACT
In the best of worlds, elementary and secondary schools would provide the grounding for the advanced technical skills needed in the work force. Because so many adults in the rural South have not completed elementary education, let alone high school, these schools remain important cogs in the training system. It is a highly respected form of vocational education that combines blocks of theory with periods of practice. A recent survey conducted in four states found that two-thirds of all employers said that education and training is a good investment but the majority spent less than $5,000 annually on education and training. The director of vocational education in the school district in which Acme located objected to plans of the company and local officials for the new area vocational education high school. Rural firms also expressed dissatisfaction with engineering education, not because it produced engineers who knew too little but because it produced engineers whose knowledge and interests were too theoretical.
