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This paper aims to examine technical education in various types of secondary schools, and suggests three levels of technical courses to be taught in secondary schools.

The paper discusses the differences between technical schools and colleges, and vocational technical courses taught in “academic” secondary schools; it recognizes that technical schools also attract students of a high academic quality. With a wider range of abilities, there need to be courses offered in secondary technical schools that suit a range of levels. Three technical courses are suggested here, which are aimed at the different levels of education parallel to secondary schools – for the potential craftsman, for the potential technician, and for the potential technologist.

It is suggested that great care must be taken to ensure that the vocational subjects develop naturally from more general academic studies – the aim of the courses outlined in this paper is to provide a fundamental general education alongside an understanding of vocational studies. The course for the potential craftsman takes the student towards suitable City and Guilds certificates, and involves some designated time for industrial visits. The course for the potential technician aims for four “O” level subjects in the General Certificate of Education (GCE), and the course for the potential technologist aims for pupils to gain two subjects at “A” level.

The paper suggests a hierarchy of technical courses for integration into secondary schools in the 1950s.

The references in the Crowther Report to the Secondary Technical School are not very numerous, but they are, on the whole, unusually complimentary in character. This is refreshing. These schools have not very many friends in official circles and it is, therefore, particularly pleasing when the characteristics of the secondary technical school, or rather of the technical high school, are clearly recognised, spotlighted and, what is more, commended as sound educational practice.

The purpose of this paper is to trace the restructure of the Victorian Education Department in Australia during the years 1980-1992. It examines how the restructuring of the department resulted in a generational reorganization of secondary schooling. This reorganization culminated in the closure of secondary technical schools that today continues to have enduring effects on access and equity to different types of secondary schooling.

The history is based on documentary and archival research and draws on publications from the State government of Victoria, Education Department/Ministry of Education Annual Reports and Ministerial Statements and Reviews, Teacher Union Archives, Parliamentary Debates and unpublished theses and published works.

As an outcome the restructuring of the Victorian Education Department, schools and the reorganization of secondary schooling, a dual system of secondary schools was abolished. The introduction of a secondary colleges occurred through a process of rationalization of schools and what secondary schooling would entail.

This study traces how, over a decade, eight ministers of education set about to reform education by dismantling and undoing the historical development of Victoria’s distinctive secondary schools system.

This is the first in a series on technical education in the various types of secondary school. Technical and scientific subjects have for some time been receiving increasing attention in secondary education and the recent White Paper “Secondary Education for All — a new drive” foreshadows an acceleration in this process as well as an attack on shortcomings of the secondary education system. The articles will relate the experience already gained in some schools to this increasing technical emphasis and, in particular, will study those factors on which the success of present plans depends. In the present article Mr Howard gives his personal views on the place of technical subjects in secondary education as a whole.

In the 1980s, the Chinese government undertook a major structural reform in education by which upper secondary education was converted from predominantly general education to an equal mix of general education and vocational/technical education. A critical examination is provided of the rationale for and implementation strategies of the reform, framed in a broader context of the development of secondary education in the past four decades. It points out that, although the reform was justified in largely economic terms, there is actually little empirical support for the economic assumptions; the development of vocational/technical education is prompted more by a desire to reduce the social demand for higher education and to use education as a social stratification device. The reform reflects changing perspectives of the Chinese leadership on the role of education in national development; and it can be seen as the outcome of the most recent episode of continuing social and political conflicts in the Chinese state that began in the 1950s.

In light of contemporary critiques of New Zealand comprehensive schooling published mainly in the popular press, it is timely to re‐examine the origins of and the rationale for the widespread adoption of this model of education. The comprehensive schooling philosophy, it was recently alleged, has produced a situation in which ‘as many as one in five pupils in the system is failing’ and where ‘there is a large group at the bottom who are not succeeding’. This group was estimated to include some 153,000 students out of the total current New Zealand student population of 765,000. In this context, however, Chris Saunders and Mike Williams, principals of Onehunga High School and Aorere College in Auckland respectively, have noted that having underachieving students in secondary schools in particular is not a recent phenomenon. A large ‘tail’ of poor performing high school students has long been a cause of concern, Williams suggests.

All schools in the secondary sector of Newcastle's educational provision have now been reorganized, apart from the six Roman Catholic secondary moderns and one Roman Catholic secondary technical school. A breakdown of the secondary school population shows that, of some 14 800 children, 13 000 are grouped in large comprehensive units. Eight of these are co‐educational, and the remaining two single‐sex schools (one boys' and one girls'). The six Roman Catholic secondary moderns have a role of from 150 to 270 pupils, the largest denominational unit being St Mary's Technical School with about 500.

Some of the problems that have confronted the implementation of the National Policy on Education in Nigeria include the lack of teachers for the pre‐vocational courses and equipped workshops for practicals, among others. Aims to find out how established tradesmen could be used effectively to teach workshop practicals. Principals of secondary schools and technical colleges provided the data which were used to answer the two formulated research questions. The result of the data analysis showed that most post‐primary schools need between one and three instructors in each pre‐vocational subject. Suggested strategies for effective utilization of tradesmen for workshop lessons, including the building and equipment of workshops, constant supply of electricity, supervision of the instructors and students by school heads and organization of competitions among students. Proposes that a system by which instructors could be acquainted with the processes of continuous assessment be built into their teaching assignment.

At Shepparton in the Murray electorate of Victoria in 2007, the Federal Liberal Member, Sharman Stone, announced that under a returned Coalition Government, Shepparton ‘would get a stand‐alone technical college’. One year earlier, the Victorian Minister for Education, Lynn Kosky claimed that ‘We lost something when technical schools [the ‘techs’] were closed previously. Yes, the facilities were not great but we lost something that was important to young people’. This article explores the development and demise of ‘South Tech’, Shepparton South Technical School, 1966‐86 to identify the ‘something’ that Kosky claimed was lost, and to argue that technical education is essential in a reconstituted system.

Entrepreneurship is defined as a “life skill”, and the European Union (EU) has recently called on member states to promote the development of entrepreneurial attitudes from primary school right through to university level. The paper aims to investigate which factors influence entrepreneurial thinking and attitudes towards entrepreneurship in vocational and general secondary education in Austria.

The paper is based on the configuration approach. This approach was adapted as a conceptual model for the origins of entrepreneurial orientation and start‐up inclinations among school pupils. The model consists of four dimensions: person, education context, education process, and environment. A total of 900 Austrian pupils at secondary‐level schools were surveyed with a standardized questionnaire.

The results show that entrepreneurial orientation as well as inclinations to start up a new business can indeed be influenced considerably, with potential targeted influences at the personality level, in the education process, and in the pupil's immediate and general environment. It is easier to influence entrepreneurial orientation than start‐up inclinations.

Owing to the heterogeneous school systems in Europe it may be difficult to transfer findings from one country to another. Much more research is needed for identifying country‐specific factors of influence.

The results provide evidence that the potential for developing entrepreneurial orientation and promoting the abilities needed for a free and self‐determined career has not been exhausted by any means.

The study shows that the education process can have a considerable influence on entrepreneurial orientation, and that the EU's call for the promotion of entrepreneurial spirit can be fulfilled in the sphere of education.