Enrollment, hiring trends, and college recruiting for industrial education courses in northeastern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula secondary schools

This research is a replication and extension of a 1996 needs assessment study for Industrial Arts Education Programs at Northern Michigan University. The 1996 survey included enrollment and hiring for middle and high school Industrial Technology courses. The current survey was modified to include recruitment and Michigan Merit Curriculum items and sent to 139 middle and high schools in Upper Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin, representing seven fewer middle and high schools than the 1996 count. Current enrollment in Industrial Technology courses doubled in middle schools from 1996 to 2007 and increased 1.5 times in high schools between 1996 and 2007, yet middle and high school Industrial Arts Programs decreased the number of courses offered by 3:1. Twenty-six schools representing half of the respondents to the survey anticipated hiring Industrial Technology teachers between 2008 and 2012. Seven schools indicated hiring Industrial Technology teachers for the 2008-2009. Recruitment efforts by colleges for Industrial Technology Programs were relatively unknown by school administrators. Surprisingly, 62% of respondents indicated no knowledge of recruitment by college-level Industrial Technology Departments.