|
About
DECA
|
DECA,
a national association of marketing education students, provides teachers and
members with educational and leadership development activities to merge with the
education classroom instructional program. DECA is not extracurricular; it is
an integral part of the classroom instructional program. DECA chapters attract
students who are interested in preparing for entrepreneurial, marketing or management
careers. While DECA membership consists primarily of students in marketing programs,
membership extends also to alumni and to professionals in marketing education
and in marketing teacher education. Working hand-in-hand with the education and
business communities, DECA’s goal is for its student members to develop a
"career success kit" to carry into their business and personal lives
after graduation; one that includes:
Occupational competencies needed for careers in marketing, management and entrepreneurshipLeadership
abilities
Social and business etiquette
Understanding and appreciation of civic responsibility
Ethical behavior in personal and business relationships
Understanding the role of our free enterprise system in the global economy
To accomplish this, DECA utilizes on-the-job experience, chapter projects, and a program of competency-based competitive events in specific marketing occupational areas. These events emphasize academic and vocational excellence as building blocks for successful marketing and management careers and demonstrate the direct relationship between marketing education and the real needs of business and industry. Each year more than 110,000 students participate in the competitions on the local, state and national levels.
A non-profit organization, DECA is governed by an elected Board of Directors. The National Advisory Board made up of representatives of major U.S. corporations and businesses who support DECA’s mission, and the Congressional Advisory Board made up of members of the U.S. Congress, offer members support and guidance. Since July 1991, the organization is known by its commonly recognized acronym, DECA, accompanied by the tag line, "An Association of Marketing Students". The familiar diamond DECA logo has been updated; newly designed to suggest the strength, stability, and forward-looking attitude of the association and its 180,000 student members.
What We Stand For
In 1946, the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) organized around an ambitions goal: to improve educational and career opportunities in marketing, management and entrepreneurship for students. In the years since, DECA has remained on the cutting edge of educational innovation, working with the business community to integrate academic achievement with vocational and career skills.
Over time, the needs of our membership have changed, and we have changed to meet them. Yet the fundamental reasons we formed remain at our core: First, effective marketing education gives young people the tools and aptitudes they need to pursue their dreams. Second, marketing education works best when it's part of an integrated education program linking classroom instruction with internship experience for career success.
With 180,000 student members and faculty advisors, we function as the companion student organization to over 5,000 marketing education programs in secondary and postsecondary schools across the U.S., its territories and Canada. Our once-revolutionary ideas have become models for effective educational alternatives. DECA remains committed to the advocacy of marketing education and the growth of business and education partnerships .
Visit the National DECA website here.