Publications and brief description (revised May, 2012)
Kuchinke, P., Hill, R. & Zinser, R. (in press). Connecting workforce education and
human resource development. Human Resource Development Review.
This article was written to reinforce the connections between CTE and HRD; the
approach explains that, in the workforce development system, CTE is “upstream” from
HRD and therefore both sectors have mutual interests.
Zinser, R. (in press). The evaluation of technical education programs. Education and
Youth Employment in Russia and Abroad.
A new journal was launched as the result of a successful conference Kemerovo,
Russia. The article is based on my conference presentation.
Feutz, M. & Zinser, R. (2012). A phenomenological study of engineering technology
graduates. Journal of Technology Studies, in press.
Feutz is a former doctoral student who conducted an in-depth follow-up study of
engineering graduates, which I thought made a significant contribution to the evaluation
of CTE programs, so I wrote a manuscript based on his dissertation to disseminate the
findings.
Horvitz, B. & Zinser, R. (2012). Identifying the state of online instruction in ATEfunded technical education programs at community colleges. International
Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, in press.
Horvitz is an assistant professor in instructional technology. This article is the
result of a NSF grant project that we completed by surveying community colleges that
have produced online instruction for highly technical courses.
Manley, A. & Zinser, R. (2012). A Delphi study to update CTE teacher competencies.
Education and Training, in press.
This research paper was produced after completing a project funded by the
Michigan Department of Education with several hundred CTE teachers and other experts
to identify and rank the key competencies needed by new teachers. Manley is an
assistant professor in Family and Consumer Sciences.
Zinser, R. (2012). A curriculum model of a foundation for educating the global
citizens of the future. On the Horizon, 20(1).
This paper is the result of continuing research (see below) on a global curriculum;
it outlines and explains each component of the curriculum which culminates in “altruism
for people, the planet, and the future”.
Zinser, R. (2010). Education for a global civilization. Conference Proceedings,
International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations, Provo, UT.
June 10-11.
Considering how to prepare students for an uncertain future led to thinking about
“global literacy” or what students need to know to live in a more unified society. The
resulting paper introduced a curriculum model which combines technical skills, problemsolving skills, and knowledge of the world.
Zinser, R. (2009). The preparation of vocational teachers in America. Professional
Education in Russia and Abroad, 1(1), 86-90.
This was an invited paper and presentation at the Conference on Comparative
Analysis of Education Development in Cultures and Civilizations in Kemerovo, Russia.
The colleagues in Russia wanted to learn more about how CTE is delivered in America
and how CTE teachers are trained.
VanderMolen, J. & Zinser, R. (2009). Job tasks performed by career system
administrators. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 46 (1).
VanderMolen is a former doctoral student at WMU who conducted a state-wide
study of CTE administrators on leadership competencies. Zinser’s role was to help frame
the study and discuss the implications for leadership development in CTE. This article
was recognized as the “outstanding research manuscript” for Volume 46.
Zinser, R. & Vito-Randall, S. (2008). Data mining for current trends in CTE enrollment.
Conference Proceedings, Association for Career and Technical Education
Research, Charlotte, NC.
After receiving permission from Kalamazoo County schools, Zinser conducted a
“data mining” project using student records over 5 years to determine the extent to which
students in several categories were adequately represented in CTE programs. The
variables studied were gender, race, economic status, and special needs; the research
concluded that those populations had almost identical proportions enrolled in CTE.
Zinser, R. & Hanssen, C. (2006). Improving access to the baccalaureate: Articulation
agreements and the National Science Foundation ATE program. Community
College Review, 34 (1).
Used data collected by the national evaluation of the NSF-ATE program on the
number and type of articulation agreements between community colleges with technical
associates degrees and universities. Zinser’s contribution was establishing the larger
context, through an extensive literature review, of improving access to universities for
students with technical backgrounds who otherwise may not have pursued a bachelors
degree. Hanssen was a senior researcher at WMU’s Evaluation Center.
Kohler, P. & Zinser, R. (2006). Recruitment and support of females for information
technology careers. Conference Proceedings, Association for Career and
Technical Education Research, Atlanta, GA.
This research was the result of Kohler’s grant to study females enrolled in CTE
computer courses which is considered non-traditional for that gender and career. Zinser
served as the CTE subject matter expert and provided input on surveying CTE teachers
and school counselors. The study found that despite some progress in the last 20 years
females are still under-represented in computer related programs, and that improvements
could be made in the guidance and recruitment of females for those careers.
Zinser, R. & Poledink, P. (2005). The Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies: A new
case for curriculum integration in technology education. Journal of Technology
Education, 17 (1).
A description of the new pre-engineering curriculum for high schools created by
the Ford Motor Company. The curriculum development process emphasized the
integration of academic standards to support this nation-wide effort in CTE. The article
was partially a result of Zinser’s earlier work with Ford on aligning the course objectives
with specific standards in math, science, language, social studies, business, and
technology. Poledink was the program manager for Ford.
Zinser, R. & Lawrenz, F. (2004). New roles to meet industry needs: A look at the
Advanced Technological Education program. Journal of Vocational Education
Research, 29 (2).
This article was the result of field visits to ATE sites for the Evaluation Center.
The purpose was to promote and popularize the program for a national audience. Zinser
provided a theoretical framework and literature review to establish the importance of
industry-education collaboration. Data are presented from a national evaluation of ATE
projects on collaboration, materials development, professional development, and program
improvement that demonstrate substantial goal attainment. Lawrenz is a professor and
evaluation expert at the University of Minnesota.
Zinser, R. (2004). Business and technical teachers’ perceptions of career and
employability skills. Workforce Education Forum, 31 (2).
A survey study was conducted with 80 teachers to determine their perception of
the importance of including employability skills (as defined by state standards) in CTE
curricula and the extent to which they actually do so in their courses. Data analysis
showed strong support for the skills with some implementation and some disconnects.
Zinser, R. (2003). An evaluation of a community college technical program by local
industry. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education, 40 (3).
This article was the result of an externally funded project that utilized a
comprehensive evaluation strategy for a community college to determine the value of a
specific degree program that was needed by local industry. The methods included
analyzing institutional data, structured interviews with company executives, and focus
group discussions with current and former students. The data analysis culminated in a
substantial list of recommendations.
Zinser R. (2003). Developing career and employability skills: A US case study.
Education and Training (international journal), 45 (7).
Zinser created a new course to prepare CTE teachers to teach career and
employability skills in their courses based on a detailed list of state standards. The article
presented a description of the course, the curriculum development process, and the
American perspective on employability skills compared to several other countries.
Zinser, R. (2001). Developing a career matrix for technology students. The Technology
Teacher, 60 (4).
In order to promote careers in high-demand areas students need realistic
information about the requirements and benefits of employment. Zinser used a modified
Delphi method with 12 companies in one industry sector to determine the typical career
paths, levels of employment, education and experience requirements, and salary ranges.
The resulting matrix was presented with a description of the process so it can be adapted
to other career areas.