CTE's focus on leadership development has traditionally started in secondary programs, where leadership skills are advocated as one part of total student development (Cahill and Brady 1999). Vocational students organizations (VSOs) are a familiar means of providing leadership experiences to students, both inside and beyond the classroom; the 10 VSOs recognized by the U.S. Department of Education served more than 1.5 million students in 1999 and help draw many students to CTE programs (ibid.). Similarly, postsecondary CTE programs continue a focus on developing students' potential, often through postsecondary components of VSOs, as leaders in their chosen career areas (Fitzhugh-Pemberton 1996; Litowitz 1995). Postsecondary CTE leadership development has also provided formal credit courses or noncredit activities for preservice or inservice CTE teachers or administrators, either on leadership development per se or as part of administrator preparation (Bensen and Paige 1996; Fritz and Brown 1998; Viegas et al. 1998), reflecting the prevailing opinion that leadership, although a complex construct of characteristics and behaviors, can be observed, learned, and taught.

Leadership development is an important and long-standing concern in many fields; career (CTE) is no exception. Concerns about leadership development in CTE today arise from two factors: not only are large numbers of experienced leaders retiring but also the demands placed on CTE leaders are different from those of the past. This Digest reviews the literature on leadership development in CTE and in other areas to describe how leadership development in CTE is evolving to prepare leaders for the future.