Vocational Education Commons^™

Pathways To Credentials: Does The Timing Of Earning An Industry Certification In High School Influence Postsecondary Educational Outcomes?, Elizabeth Glennie, Erich Lauff, Roger Studley, Ben Dalton

Journal of Research in Technical Careers

Earning industry certifications helps people prepare for jobs in a range of careers. Doing so in secondary school may help students prepare for college as well. Using administrative data on two cohorts of first-time 9^th graders in Florida, we examined whether earning a certification was associated with postsecondary enrollment and degree attainment and whether the timing of the certification influenced that relationship. Earning a certification in high school prepared students for success in both 2-year and 4-year colleges. However, the patterns of certifications and college enrollment and degree attainment differed based on when students earned the certification. For early …

Cte Teacher Recruitment, Training, And Retention Toolkit, Lisa Martino, Jodi Adams, Sara Shaw, Brandon Hudson

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This toolkit is a collaborative effort of ECMC Foundations fellows across four US states (Florida, Kentucky, Nevada, and Tennessee) with experience in postsecondary and secondary CTE teacher education, training, and recruitment. Through this project, fellows will apply lessons learned and best practices to create a digital toolkit of practical and proven strategies for recruitment, training, and retention of quality postsecondary CTE teachers.

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 …

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 …

High School Principals’ And Assistant Principals’ Perceived Knowledge Of Career And Technical Education, Sara Jo Greene

Dissertations

An employment crisis is ever growing in Kentucky. Business and industry continue to search for reliable skilled employees without success. These representatives have started looking at local high school and technical education centers to help fill these employment gaps. Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides students with a strong foundation to become a well skilled, employable individual who will make a great employee. Although CTE programs are available throughout the state of Kentucky, enrollment is not where it should be. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of perceived knowledge of CTE held by Kentucky high school …

An Exploration Of Experiential Learning Practices Utilized By Stem Educators, Mark D. Threeton, Kyungin Kim

Experiential Learning & Teaching in Higher Education

Educators within applied STEM disciplines assert they promote the development of new knowledge, skills, and attitudes by integrating experiential education within their instruction. However, few studies have actually investigated this phenomenon. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how applied STEM instructors of career and technical education define experiential learning and utilize it while teaching safety and health subjects. The results revealed that while almost all educators claimed to utilize experiential learning practices, essential modes of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) were underutilized. The results would be useful for professionals interested in learning about authentic experiential education strategies.

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 …

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, …

An Examination Of Motivation And Teacher Identity In Minority High School Students Enrolled In A Career And Technical Education Teacher Preparation Program, Elizabeth M. Aguila

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This quantitative research describes the measures of motivating factors, through a social learning lens, that empower minority high school students in a CTE program to develop a teacher identity through time in clinical teaching practice. This quasi-experimental study found interactions between student motivation, teacher identity, and student achievement through an early clinical practice intervention used in SCHOOL A ECE 1. A comparison group, SCHOOL B ECE 2, was used to measure any effect of a community of practice framework on these factors. The present study also used a non-teacher education program, SCHOOL A BIO 1 to measure if motivation and …

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), …

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 …

The Value Of Career And Technical Education In Addressing College And Career Readiness And The Ill-Prepared Workforce: A Study Of The Perceptions Of Community College Administrators And Instructors; District High School Administrators, And Guidance Counselors, And Cte Department; And A Workforce Employer In North Carolina, Kamina A. Fitzgerald

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the perceptions of community college administrators and instructors; district high school administrators, guidance counselors, and CTE department; and a workforce employer of the value of career and technical education. This study also examined the historical and present perceptions of the district- and state-level officials regarding career and technical education and its ability to address the issue of an ill-prepared workforce and college readiness.

Data were collected from several sources. Quantitative data were collected in the form of questionnaires to administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, and a workforce employer in North Carolina. The quantitative data can be used to …

College-For-All Meets Skills Gap: Millennials’ Decisions To Pursue Certificates In Skilled Trades, Amy Deitrickson

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This is a case study of a group of students enrolled in traditional skilled trade certificate programs at a large Midwestern community college. Considering severe shortage of skilled labor in the geographic area of the college, there is great need for better understanding of ways to alleviate the labor shortage by attracting more young adults to the in-demand fields. Therefore, this case study sought to examine millennial students’ decisions to pursue careers in areas of demand. To collect input from multiple perspectives, interviews were conducted with students, college employees, and family members. The influence college-for-all culture had on their decisions …

Mississippi Choices And The Influence Of Career And Technical Education, Charish Rene Pierce

Dissertations

Mississippi counselors serve in a variety of roles in order to meet the needs of all students. The role of the school counselor is to execute efforts to address each student’s academic, personal/social, and career development needs (ASCA, 2005). Middle and high school counselors are often tasked with activities that do not align with national and state standards for school counseling. Thus, these activities generate very little time for activities such as the Choices program and career development.

This study examined the middle and high school counselors’ usage of the Choices program. In addition, the research study explored middle and …

The Work Ethic Gap: Comparing Perceptions Of Students, Educators, And Employers, Joseph Routhier

All NMU Master's Theses

Work ethic has been a constant, but elusive topic for decades. This study sought to identify the differences in perception of work ethic in between students, educators, and employers. Seventy-two participants observed videos of workers in various tasks and rated the perceived work ethic of the person in the video by using a sliding Likert scale. Additionally, participants were asked to comment as to why they rated the worker the way they did. Quantitative analyses were used to determine differences in the participant’s work ethic ratings. Qualitative analyses interpreted respondents’ comments to better understand the results. Results indicated that while …

Literature Review Of Project Based Learning, Katelyn Kwietniewski

Career & Technical Education Theses

The information gathered leads to an improved definition of project based learning. For students to gain a greater understanding of classroom content they need to experience a hands-on environment that allows for a challenge and problem solving opportunities. It is recommended that a project based learning environment be used in Business and Marketing Education. Students are given opportunities to apply information learned in the classroom to real world situations and make deeper connections with the material. This real-world application will allow students to strengthen their skill sets and further prepare them for their lives after school. They have learned how …

The Language Of Learning In Family And Consumer Sciences: English Language Learners In Career Technical Education, Kali S. Lenhoff

Empowering Research for Educators

Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) content and English as a Second Language (ESL) strategies can be organically incorporated to create a successful education for an English Language Learner (ELL). The first objective of this research project is to discover how prepared Family and Consumer Sciences teachers feel to work with English Language Learners in the classroom. The second objective is to identify practical and effective methods and strategies that are useful for Family and Consumer Sciences teachers instructing English Language Learners. The rationale for this project is that by identifying the challenges faced by English Language Learners in education, teachers …

Building Career And Technical Education Capacity In California's Secondary Schools, Carol Tsushima

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers to building secondary career technical education (CTE) capacity and the best means of overcoming those barriers from the perspective of the California regional occupational centers and programs (ROCPs). Methodology: Using a Delphi method, a panel of 15 CTE experts provided input through 4 rounds of anonymous electronic surveys. Conclusions: Utilizing the resources within the state’s ROCP system helped to identify barriers not addressed in the current literature or research. The impact of funding fluctuations, the limitations of the traditional school schedule, and the need to be …

Determining The Skills Gap: A Study Of The Perceptions Of Entry-Level Skills Of Recent Career And Technology Education Completers, Lee Clinton Green

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the perceptions of community employers as to the skill levels of graduates from Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs. This study also examined the perceptions of former students of CTE programs. The skill level is the skills that the job market deem necessary to be successful in a particular industry. This study also determined if the skills being taught in secondary schools meet the needs of community employers.

Data were collected from several sources. Quantitative data were collected in the form of questionnaires distributed to 496 recent completers of CTE programs in Chester County School District and …

High School Engineering/Technology Education Course Impact On Georgia Standardized Achievement Scores, Rodney N. Ragsdale

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

This research explores whether a student completing a two course sequence in engineering/technology education is more successful on the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) assessments in mathematics, science, social studies, and English/language arts. The findings provide additional insight into whether the current focus on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) could also improve student achievement in core academic areas. Student data were provided through the Georgia Department of Education database, from all public high schools in Georgia where engineering/technology education courses are taught. The school sizes ranged from the largest schools in the state (student population greater than …

Components Needed For The Design Of A Sustainable Career And Technical Education Program, Vann Mizzelle Lassiter

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

As education has changed to meet the needs of society and has been shaped by the enactment of new laws, various aspects included under the massive umbrella of education have also changed to maintain momentum One such educational program is career and technical education (CTE). Changes to CTE have been made to continually meet the needs of all involved. The purpose of this study was to identify components needed for the design of a sustainable career and technical education program. The study will provide readers with factors, which in turn will allow them to design programs which will meet the …

Assessment Of Kalamazoo County's Education For Employment (Efe) Programs Using 2008 Survey Data, Kevin M. Hollenbeck, Jason M. Preuss

Reports

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Kalamazoo County's Education For Employment (Efe) Programs Using 2007 Survey Data, Kevin M. Hollenbeck, Jason M. Preuss

Reports

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Kalamazoo County's Education For Employment (Efe) Programs Using 2006 Survey Data, Kevin M. Hollenbeck, Jason M. Preuss

Reports

No abstract provided.

Best Practice: National Board Certification, Philip A. Reed, G. Eugene Martin (Ed.), Christopher M. Martin (Ed.)

STEMPS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Kalamazoo County's Education For Employment (Efe) Programs Using 2005 Survey Data, Kevin M. Hollenbeck, Jason M. Preuss

Reports

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Kalamazoo County's Education For Employment (Efe) Programs Using 2004 Survey Data, Kevin M. Hollenbeck, Jason M. Preuss

Reports

No abstract provided.