An Evaluation of Industrial Education Programs in Secondary Schools for Negroes in Louisiana

Modern man has and is making scientific discoveries that dwarf those of the past. These scientific achievements, though reflecting man's effectiveness in utilizing the method of intelligence for material purposes and goals, threaten man's existence. In view of the critical state of contemporary living, one might raise the following questions: Is man capable of shaping his destiny? Can man utilize his material accomplishments to promote living rather than to destroy it? If the answers to these are in the affirmative, it follows that man needs to set his house in order. Thus man, increasingly, is sensing the need for examining his creations, institutions, laws, beliefs, and practices. Consequently, there has been a shift in thinking from a point of view of many worlds to that of one world. Moreover, the idea that every individual is of invaluable worth and is entitled to a full and wholesome life is finding expression in the application of science to the solution of persistent problems of living. In accordance with the idea that man needs to re-examine his creations, the educational system in America is being subjected to critical study and evaluation. The Harvard Report I calls attention to the need for and the importance of education for good citizenship. The President's Commission on Higher Education, 2 advocating equal educational opportunities for all, brings to light the crucial need for a general education program to provide for the extension of democracy in every phase of life. Increasingly, as exemplified by the Commission on Life Ajustment Education for Youth, 3 the idea that secondary education should be concerned primarily with preparing its constituency for college entrance requirements is being replaced with the point of view that secondary education should be concerned with meeting the real needs of adolescents. It is in this setting that the industrial education programs in high schools for Negroes in Louisiana were examined to ascertain: (1) To what extent objectives and goals of the programs are consistent with the needs of the in

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