Education Commons^™

Revitalizing The Middle-Skill Talent Pipeline: Exploring The Decision To Enroll In A Postsecondary Career And Technical Education Program, Felicia Hall

Dissertations

A workforce shortage exists within occupations requiring educational training beyond high school but less than a 4-year degree, known as middle-skill occupations. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs offered at community colleges throughout the United States equip graduates at the middle-skill level. Although affordable CTE programs are readily available, little is currently known about what makes students consider and ultimately enroll in postsecondary CTE programs. This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the decision to enroll in a postsecondary CTE program as experienced by current students at a North Alabama community college to identify enablers and barriers faced during the decision to …

A Delphi Study Of Effective Strategies For Addressing The Most Significant Challenges To Creating Gender-Balanced High School Career Technical Education (Cte) Pathways, Jon Black

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify what expert high school Career Technical Education (CTE) administrators see as challenges to creating gender-balanced classes across all high school CTE pathways, to rate the significance of the identified challenges according to the experts, and to describe the most effective strategies for addressing the five most significant challenges identified in creating balanced CTE enrollment across all high school pathways. Methodology: This study used a three-round Delphi method to collect data from expert high school CTE administrators. In Round 1, the expert panel was asked to identify challenges to creating gender-balanced …

How Teacher Implemented Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum Impacts Collective Teacher Efficacy And Influences Teacher Beliefs About Job Satisfaction, Lisel Patrylow

Dissertations

“Teachers are the engine that drives social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in classrooms and schools, and their own social-emotional competence strongly influences their students” (Schonert-Reichl, 2017, p. 137). I wanted to examine if teachers benefited from teaching SEL. The purpose of my study was to examine if teachers perceived benefits to their Collective Teacher Efficacy (CTE) and job satisfaction beliefs when they taught SEL. The context of my research was elementary schools in one school district. I conducted surveys with elementary school classroom teachers and counselors. The findings from my study indicated that classroom teachers perceived that their SEL …

Evolving Literacy Practices In The Vocational-Technical High School Classroom: How Critical Literacy Frameworks Enhance Learning And Increase Student Reading Success In Cte, Alice A. Infranco

Theses and Dissertations

This paper provides a qualitative account of how Critical Literacy instruction fosters reading growth in vocational-technical school settings. This study examines how critical literacy enriches learning outcomes within Career and Technical Education (CTE). The findings are that Critical Literacy skills are necessary for all readers because they positively affect student engagement and participation in learning, especially if presented in a way that allows students to have an active role in their learning. Examples of how to integrate Critical Literacy instruction into CTE classrooms are presented and discussed. These instructional practices go beyond traditional reading comprehension skills. The conclusion is that …

Impact Of Career And Technical Education On Student Lives, Jennifer L. Burtram

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The traditional high school experience in the United States continues to adapt to meet the diverse needs of students. There are now a wide range of avenues to earning high school credit including online learning, hybrid classes, flipped classrooms, early college pathways, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) models, and others. The shared goals and expectations of these various approaches to high school learning are designed for students to complete their state’s graduation requirements to earn a high school diploma while also preparing them for life after high school. Career and technical education (CTE) is another approach that is attempting …

Issues Influencing The Certification Of Online Career And Technical Educators In The Western Pacific Region, Benjamin Borja Seman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem this study addressed is Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers’ perceived concerns of the eTeacher certification process and perceived support needed to increase CTE teacher participation in the process. Although an eTeacher certification process is available and free of cost in the Western Pacific region, local secondary CTE teachers have resisted enrolling in certification courses resulting in few CTE offerings for the distance education program. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived concerns of CTE teachers, and the perceived support needed to increase participation in the eTeacher certification process to teach online CTE courses in …

A Study Of Hybrid Cte Programming Vs. Traditional Cte Programming For Students With Ieps At Two Technical High Schools, Esthere K. Scott

Dissertations

The purpose of this paper is to research the postsecondary readiness of students with IEPs at North and South Technical High schools within Special School District of St. Louis County (SSD). The attention is on the description of the readiness outcome of the students in a traditional career in the education program and technical education programs to the students with IEPs in hybrid technical programs. The paper also exploits the concept of inclusivity and diversity in learning and highlights the role of the CTEs in the preparation of the students for the future. However, success is described as either the …

Career And Technical Education Teacher Self-Efficacy Of Staff Development As Part Of A Beginning Teacher Induction Program: A Qualitative Research Of Cte Teacher Externs Of A South Texas School District…From The Classroom To The Job Site, And Back Again, Raul Alvarez Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Career and Technical Education (CTE) has proven itself through substantial research, to provide a positive impact on the U.S. economy and the job market in its college and career preparedness of high school students. However, the ability of school districts in retaining competent CTE teachers is not as reassuring. The progressive years for any beginning CTE teacher are during their initial tenure in the profession. Teacher self-knowledge is also developed during these years inclusive of the occupational reflection of either removing oneself from or continuing as a teacher. Therefore, it can be stated that it is during this period when …

Examination Of Experiential Phenomena Influencing Culinary Educators’ Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Danny Babin

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study aimed to explore the theory of expert teaching by comparing culinary educators at the secondary and postsecondary levels based on their varying levels of experience. Experience for culinary educators included pre-service teacher training, in-service teacher training, professional industry experience, and teaching experience. The primary goal of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine the impact professional experience has on culinary educators’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Distinctions in PCK include collective PCK, personal PCK, and enacted PCK. PCK theory has been an integral part of educational research for over three decades; it has been studied, refined, and implemented into …

Changing Perceptions Of Career And Technical Education (Cte): Bridging The Soft Skills Gap With High Quality Cte, Alison Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers’ perceptions of the role and application of soft skills content within CTE and students' career planning. This qualitative multiple case study utilized artifact collection, document analysis, and personal interviews of CTE teachers from three high schools in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. Participants had between ten to twenty-three years of teaching experience, either in Business or Technology Education. This study investigated CTE teachers’ perspectives regarding the importance of soft skills within CTE curricula, strategies for soft skills implementation, and examined any differences in the implementation of soft skills in different …

An Exploratory Case Study On The Perspectives Of African American Men Pursuing A Career And Technical Education (Cte) Pathway At An Urban Community College In Illinois, Kimberly Kay Hollingsworth

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This qualitative case study explores the motivating factors that influence CTE pathway selection for African American men students and will investigate the interplay between two components of Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT), self-efficacy and outcome expectations, and their role in the career decision-making process. Drawing upon SCCT, this case study seeks to understand the decision-making process of African American men pursuing CTE programs at an urban community college in Illinois. This study further explored whether culture/race shapes the perspectives of African American men students and their decision to pursue a CTE pathway. Lastly, the study will investigate the types of …

Exploring The Effect Of Cte Coursework And Work Experience On Adolescent Career Readiness, Albion Sumrell

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Career readiness is an area of youth development that is often overlooked in secondary education. Preparing students for the professional world is especially important for high school students, who upon graduation, will have to decide to pursue postsecondary education or a career. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, which involve teaching youth employable knowledge and skills, have been shown to assist students in transitioning more seamlessly from high school to college and careers. Work experiences, such as jobs and internships, have also been found to support adolescent career readiness. Currently, there is not a widely used quantitative measure for assessing …

Perceptions Of Occupationally Trained Technical College Faculty On Their Preparedness To Teach And On The Need For Professional Development: A Phenomenological Study, Brandon Hudson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative, phenomenological study examines the perceptions of occupationally trained Tennessee technical college faculty on their preparedness to teach after being hired directly from industry and on the need for professional development and training on instructional and classroom strategies. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted by Zoom with instructors from three technical college program areas, Industrial Maintenance, Machine Tool Technology, and Welding. Participants represented institutions from each grand division of Tennessee, West, Middle, and East, plus Upper East. As a result of the data analysis, common themes, including a “here are your keys” approach to instructor induction, a reliance on other …

The Relationship Between Technical Skill Attainment And Post-Graduation Related Placement Of Secondary Career And Technical Education Students In Missouri, Michael Pantleo

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

This study was conducted using quantitative methods to determine if a relationship exists between former Career and Technical Education (CTE) concentrators’ Technical Skill Assessment (TSA) performance and their attaining related placement after high school. The study included data from 65,606 Missouri CTE concentrators who graduated during the years 2015-2019. To investigate the relationship between TSA assessment performance and attaining related placement, multiple descriptive models were run and disaggregated by CTE program area, gender, race/ethnicity, IEP status, and SES. The data revealed students who pass their TSA assessment are more likely to attain related placement compared to those not passing their …

An Examination Of Motivational Influences On Professional Choice, Perceived Preparedness, And Retention Of Alternatively Certified Teachers Of Career, Technical, And Agriculture Education In Northeast Georgia, Jonathan Stribling

Ed.D. Dissertations

Alternative routes to teacher certification have been utilized as a way to address the Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education teacher shortage, and this abbreviated path to a teaching career has attracted current educators from the industries for which they are trained. Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education teachers who have entered the teaching profession after prior industry experience intentionally chose, and continue to choose, to teach. There is a gap in the extant literature as to why. In this qualitative interpretive study, I examined the motivational influences on professional choice, perceived level of preparedness, and retention of alternatively certified teachers …

The Relationship Of Career And Technical Student Organizations To College And Career Readiness, Brenda Haynes

Doctor of Education Dissertations

Many schools are waking up to the reality that students need programs that will keep them alert and ready for their next level in life. Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSO) are the co-curricular programs associated with every career and technical education course and promise to offer opportunities for a peek into the real world. This study examined the relationship of CTSOs to college and career readiness. Career and technical education is oftentimes overlooked. Qualitative data were collected in the form of interviews of former high school students who were CTSO participants and teachers who were advisors of CTSOs. This …

Educational Practices That Prepare Career And Technical Education Students With Industry-Ready Skills, Melissa Webb

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The mission of high school career and technical education (CTE) programs is to prepare high school graduates for a career. This study provides insight into the educational practices that support students with the skills necessary for workplace success, as not all CTE program graduates are prepared for the workplace with industry-ready skills. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of CTE and business/industry leaders about which educational practices in CTE programs can support the preparation of students with industry-ready skills. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the 2018 ACTE Quality CTE Program of …

The Devaluation Of Career Technical Education (Cte) By The Graduates Of Wonderwood High School, Jason J. Weiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Georgia, high school graduates are expected to be college and career ready, however due to recent educational legislative changes the focus has been placed on being college ready. These modifications have led to a low number of graduates completing a Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway as well as a low number of graduates passing their CTE End-of-Pathway assessments and earning industry credentials. To assist in determining the factors that have led to the devaluation of CTE by Georgia graduates, a critical qualitative inquiry study was conducted on a sample of 13 graduates from Wonderwood High School, in South Heights, …

Awareness Of Apprenticeships Among College Students At A Research University In The Western United States: A Fixed-Convergent Mixed Methods Study, Kendra Vanessa O'Connell

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Apprenticeships offer a practical solution to a growing skills gap, youth unemployment and rising school debt in the United States by delivering a low cost, high-skilled, educated, competitive labor force. Government, industry, and educational institutions have increased focus on expanding apprenticeships. However, enrollment and participation in apprenticeships in the United States remains low. Why?

Legislators, educators, and business leaders agree two primary factors contribute to low apprenticeship participation in the United States: lack of awareness and negative perception of apprenticeships. This fixed-convergent mixed-methods study explored only the first factor, awareness of apprenticeships among college students in Nevada.

An original researcher-designed …

Examining Career And Technical Education Practitioner Preparation And Professional Development Needs, Shane Wilson Lange

Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative study was used to investigate Illinois automotive educator professional development needs and to identify the demographic landscape of Illinois secondary and post-secondary automotive teachers. The study should bring a greater understanding of what automotive teachers feel they need to learn in order to continue as successful educators. A modified Borich (1980) needs assessment model was used to identify the perceived importance and ability levels for 32 professional competencies. Mean Weighted Discrepancy Scores (MWDS) were calculated using the importance and ability scores in order to report the professional development need. The administered survey was also utilized to examine their …

Career And Technical Education Teachers Integrating Literacy And The Support Administrators Provide, Heather Denese Piccott-Bryan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Education regulations in many U. S. schools require teachers, including career and technical education (CTE) teachers, to integrate literacy skills into the curriculum to support student performance on standardized tests. Changes in teaching strategies and content for literacy integration require administrators to improve the support systems for CTE teachers. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore CTE teachers' experiences in integrating literacy into the curriculum and the support they receive from administrators. Fullan's change model informed the conceptual framework for this study. Individual interviews with 4 teachers and 3 administrators from a state on the east coast …

Instructors’ Perspectives On Misalignment Of Secondary And College Business Curriculum, Ronderrick Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Curricula developers have not been aligning high school career and technical education (CTE) business curricula to prepare high school students for college business courses. The purpose of this research was to explore and seek to understand misalignment issues regarding CTE business curricula at a public school district and three surrounding colleges in the southern United States. The conceptual framework was curricula integration theory, which posits that education leaders and curricula developers improve existing knowledge by designing curricula systems that address real-world problems, issues, and concerns. The research questions for this qualitative case study were about the perceptions of college business …

The Importance Of Earnings In Career Technical Education Field Of Study Choice, Karen S. Childers

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods research study was to examine factors influencing community college Career Technical Education (CTE) students in their field of study choice. The problem was twofold: (1) Community college CTE performance metrics include earnings goals, but there is little research to inform the performance metric (Harrington, Mbomeda, & Casillas, 2018; Roberts, Leufgen, & Booth, 2018); and (2) CTE students, who are disproportionately economically disadvantaged, pursue fields of study that do not lead to a living wage (Bahr, 2010; Booth & Bahr, 2012; Zhang & Oymak, 2018).

For this within-stage mixed model design (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004), …

The Effect Of Joint Training On Knowledge And Attitudes Of Career And Technical Education And Special Education Professionals, Crystal Emery

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Career and technical education (CTE) is a set of career-focused courses and pathways that provide students with technical skills and knowledge which can lead to future employment and postsecondary education. Concentration in a career and technical education pathway while still in high school supports job exploration for school-age youth and is correlated with higher levels of full-time employment after high school. This is especially true for students with disabilities. Special Education (SPED) is the educational support system for students with disabilities. CTE and SPED professionals have struggled to effectively collaborate to serve students with disabilities. Infrequent and inconsistent communication between …

Cybersecurity Education In Utah High Schools: An Analysis And Strategy For Teacher Adoption, Cariana June Cornel

Theses and Dissertations

The IT Education Specialist for the USBE, Brandon Jacobson, stated:I feel there is a deficiency of and therefore a need to teach Cybersecurity.Cybersecurity is the “activity or process, ability or capability, or state whereby information and communications systems and the information contained therein are protected from and/or defended against damage, unauthorized use or modification, or exploitation” (NICE, 2018). Practicing cybersecurity can increase awareness of cybersecurity issues, such as theft of sensitive information. Current efforts, including but not limited to, cybersecurity camps, competitions, college courses, and conferences, have been created to better prepare cyber citizens nationwide for such cybersecurity occurrences. In …

A Critical Walk Down Illinois Career Pathways, Michael Cermak

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) enrollments in Illinois public high schools. Emphasis is placed on considering how enrollments of students of color differs from their white peers. Gender and racial imbalances prove pronounced in STEM-related career pathways and reveal a large proportion of students of color enrolled in courses leading to low-skill, service-sector occupations. Given future economic and social implications, I recommend future researchers consider how students of color select and how underrepresented students are placed by institutional members and practices into CTE courses.

Google Docs As Supportive Technology In High School Career And Technical Education, Jannotta Faulkner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators must meet the demand to produce a workforce better educated with using 21st-century technology tools. The purpose of this case study was to explore the usefulness of Google Docs as one of those tools by examining 2 main questions. Those questions were how high school students perceive Google Docs could benefit them and how career and technical (CTE) teachers use it to support collaborative learning as a strong part of the learning process. The conceptual framework used included Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which focuses on collaborative learning. Participants were 2 teachers and 8 students from 2 urban school districts in …

Instructional Practices Of Career And Technical Teachers Toward English Language Learners, Alan Kendall Crouch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Midwestern high schools, English language learners (ELLs) who are enrolled in Career and Technical Education (CTE) classes transition from school to the workforce at unacceptably low levels. This loss of opportunity has been linked to CTE instructional practices. The purpose of this study was to explore the instructional practices used by CTE teachers to support ELL instruction and how the teachers perceive those practices to improve ELL transition from school to the workforce. The conceptual framework included Freire's critical consciousness theory, which holds that it is important to include learners in the learning process. The framework grounded the study …

Testing The Validity And Utility Of A Career And Technical Education Programs Of Study Evaluation Instrument, Alisha D. Hyslop

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to build on the research already completed by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) in the development of ACTE’s quality Program of Study Framework and accompanying evaluation instrument to examine the validity of the instrument’s results and its utility when used independently by local educators in a pilot test. The study used a two-phase mixed-methods design. In the first phase, 39 participating programs were evaluated using the instrument, consisting of 102 items organized into 12 elements. Representatives of participating programs, either teachers or administrators, then provided quantitative and qualitative feedback about the …

Perceptions Of Career And Technical Education (Cte) Teachers On Indicators Of Teaching Quality, Jesse Seth Chenven

Teacher Education, Educational Leadership & Policy ETDs

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of career and technical education (CTE) teachers regarding the importance they assign to indicators of quality teaching practice. The population consisted of CTE teachers who teach or taught in New Mexico. The first research question asked how CTE teachers perceive the importance of quality teaching indicators as they relate to what CTE teachers should know and be able to do. Subsequent research questions examined the degree to which four demographic categories (years of experience, level of education, discipline of instruction, and licensure type) influence CTE teachers’ opinions regarding the importance …