From Land-Grant Legacies to Equity in Career and Technical Education: A 150-Year Policy History of U.S. Higher Education

This paper examines the legislative evolution of vocational education policy in U.S. higher education, spanning from the Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862 to the Carl D. Perkins Act V of 2018. This study employs a historical-interpretive framework to assess five significant legislative measures—the Morrill Act, Smith-Hughes Act, Vocational Education Act of 1963, Vocational Education Amendments of 1968, and the Perkins Acts—focusing on their impacts on institutional identity, equality, and access. The findings indicate consistent duality: vocational education has fluctuated between functioning as a conduit for economic advancement and serving as a tool for social stratification, particularly impacting marginalized groups. Case studies include the racially discriminatory implementation of vocational training in the Tuskegee model, the dual-track framework established by the Smith-Hughes Act, and the augmented function of community colleges subsequent to the 1963 Act and its amendments. The research characterizes vocational education as a transformational influence on postsecondary objectives and workforce development, rather than just a technical supplement to liberal education. The policy implications highlight the need for reintegrating practical learning inside university frameworks, enhancing transfer and certification paths, and augmenting targeted investments in community and technical institutions. This research contextualizes recent CTE changes within a 150-year historical framework, thus contributing to ongoing discussions on social equality, labor-market alignment, and postsecondary access.