The influence of “national security” and “new technologies” on the development of vocational education in capitalism countries from 1950 to 1973

Abstract

Vocational education in capitalism countries had a big progress in the period from 1950 to 1973. Thanks to this progress, vocational education in these countries was a main supply for skilled labours for the growth of economy. It is said that many elements exerted great impacts on the development of vocational education. This paper mainly focuses on analysing the two main elements: national security and new technologies. Under the influence of the Cold War, national security turned into a very important and urgent element not only in the U.S but in other capitalist countries as well. Hand-in-hand with research and military equipment manufacture was the requirement of skilled labors. This forced vocational education in these countries to change in a good way. Moreover, the 1950s and 1960s witnessed the development of new technology and science which were applied to industry. As new technologies also required more skilled labors, vocational education had to make more changes in order to meet the demands. This is one of the most important reasons pushing up the development of vocational education in these capitalist countries.