New Pathways to NDT: 21st Century Technical Education Connects High School Students to Real-World Careers

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (9) ◽  
pp. 864-873
Author(s):  
Jill Ross
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
High School Diploma ◽  
School Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Career Programs

High schools in the United States are taking a fresh look at the future of career and technical education with the implementation of new learning pathways that lead directly to the workforce, including the nondestructive testing (NDT) industry. These programs directly connect high school curriculums with post-secondary education and employment, reaching kids as young as junior high. This resurgence in technical education can be traced to the current demand for “new collar” jobs—jobs that require a post-secondary degree, although not necessarily a four-year college degree. The demand for new collar jobs continues to increase, as millions of jobs requiring only a high school diploma have disappeared. Harvard’s influential Pathways to Prosperity report, released in 2011, warned that nearly two-thirds of new jobs of the 2010s would require more than a high school education—yet only 40% of Americans had obtained an associate’s or bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s (Harvard 2011). In response, a new vision of 21st century vocational training is emerging across the United States. Vocational education has traditionally taught students how to weld or how to fix a car. Today’s career and technical education encompasses a wide variety of industries and skills. Students are learning to code software, design websites, or operate robots and artificial intelligence systems that have replaced manual labor jobs across much of the economy. Through new technical and career programs, high school students have the opportunity to learn valuable skills, gain job experience and support from participating sponsor companies and mentors, and complete coursework to graduate with a high school diploma and, often, an associate’s degree as well. This article explores new high school technical and career programs in Texas, Minnesota, and North Carolina that specifically provide a pathway to careers in NDT. These new initiatives are fueled by the desires of students, parents, and educators for options outside of the traditional four-year college path, as well as urgent workforce needs within industry. Support from local industry and academia (such as community colleges) are essential to the success of the programs.

The effect of student motivation on career and technical education program completion and continuation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Alisha K. Conley
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Extrinsic Motivation ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
School Students ◽  
Training Environment ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
The Impact

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] President Obama's Race to the Top initiative encourages college and career readiness among high school students. Career and Technical Education (CTE) is an integral part of many students' success, specifically if they want to pursue a career that does not require a four-year degree. Various programs are offered to high school students to jumpstart their careers in a hands-on training environment. This study explores the motivations of CTE program completers to pursue or not pursue the career path that they studied during high school. Participants were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. The interviews take an inside look at the stories of eight program completers who share their personal experiences during high school, as well as their current endeavors. Participants were asked questions pertaining to their motivations to choose a program, their experiences during a program, including interactions with both the instructor(s) and other students and their motivations to continue their program-related career or switch to a different career. The results validate the impact of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on the career decisions that CTE graduates make. If career placement is the main focus of Career and Technical Education, then the marketing strategies should be reevaluated to more appropriately showcase the intentions of CTE. This study leads to further research by broadening the sample, specifically rural and urban settings. Career and Technical Education is a valuable opportunity for high school students that should be encouraged, with appropriate guidance from involved educators.

Factors Influencing High School Students' Career and Technical Education Enrollment Patterns

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
Xue Xing ◽  
Tiberio Garza ◽  
Margarita Huerta
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Enrollment Patterns

Career and technical education (CTE) has gone through major transformations in the United States with important benefits for all students seeking postsecondary and career success. Research analyzing students' CTE enrollment patterns is important to understand which students are taking CTE courses and why in order to inform future research and practice. Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:2009), this study investigated CTE enrollment patterns using Aliaga, Kotamraju, and Stone's (2014) typology and literature-based individual and social factors. Results from descriptive and multinomial logistic regression indicated that the majority of students were enrolling in some level of CTE credits and that individual and social factors were influential but varied by specific enrollment patterns.

Rigor and Relevance: Enhancing High School Students’ Math Skills Through Career and Technical Education

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 767-795 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Stone ◽  
Corinne Alfeld ◽  
Donna Pearson
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
Math Skills ◽  
School Students ◽  
College Entrance ◽  
Math Teachers ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Teacher Professional

Numerous high school students, including many who are enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) courses, do not have the math skills necessary for today’s high-skill workplace or college entrance requirements. This study tests a model for enhancing mathematics instruction in five high school CTE programs (agriculture, auto technology, business and marketing, health, and information technology). The model includes a pedagogy and intense teacher professional development. Volunteer CTE teachers were randomly assigned to an experimental ( n = 59) or control ( n = 78) group. The experimental teachers worked with math teachers to develop CTE instructional activities that integrated more mathematics into the occupational curriculum. After 1 year of the math-enhanced CTE lessons, students in the experimental classrooms performed equally on technical skills and significantly better than control students on two standardized tests of math ability (TerraNova and ACCUPLACER®).

scholarly journals School that Makes Cent$: Taking CTE Courses

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Hogewood Fowler ◽  
Morgan Rao
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Head Start ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
High School Graduates ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
School Students ◽  
Teaching Career ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Career Skills

Career and Technical Education (or CTE) classes are a great way to learn skills for a future career. CTE is the practice of teaching career skills to students. By taking a concentration of CTE courses, high school students can graduate with special certifications that make them eligible to work in certain jobs. These certifications can help high school graduates get a head start in college or career. This tip sheet provides high school students with information about what CTE classes are, how to choose a CTE focus for classes and how to request any accommodations that may be needed.

scholarly journals Professional socialization of high school students in US schools in the context of digitalization: theory and practice

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
В.И. Петрищев ◽  
Т.П. Грасс ◽  
С.Н. Широбоков
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
The United States ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
School Graduate ◽  
School Students ◽  
Career And Technical

Актуальность статьи обусловлена тем, что сегодня современный рынок труда требует от школы качественную подготовку обучающихся, которые должны обладать компетенциями ХХI века, включающими коммуникацию, критическое мышление, умение решать проблемы наряду с профессиональными компетенциями. Цель статьи ‑ выявление особенностей развития профессиональной социализации у обучающихся в США в условиях цифровизации и пандемии (Сovid–19), которые могут представлять определенный интерес для отечественных исследователей. Профессиональная социализация начинается в школе, когда обучающийся входит в мир профессиональной деятельности. На основе анализа американской научной литературы и собственных наблюдений авторы отмечают кардинальное изменение в системе профессиональной социализации подрастающих поколений, произошедшее в последнее десятилетие. Ими продемонстрировано, что новая программа «Карьерное и техническое образование СТЕ» представляет собой модель, состоящую из 16 кластеров. Обучающиеся выбирают, как правило, от 1 до 3 – 4 направлений». Авторы убедительно доказывают, что новизна данной программы заключается в том, что организаторам программы удалось соединить академическую и практическую стороны в одном модуле. Получив признанный работодателями сертификат сантехника, электрика, повара и т.д. выпускник школы может самостоятельно устроиться на работу. В современных условиях, связанных с пандемией, демонстрируются ситуации, позволяющие оценить, как учителя выходят из положения, работая онлайн по данной программе. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that today the modern labor market requires from school high-quality training of higher school students who have to possess the competencies of the 21-st century, including communication, critical thinking, the ability to solve problems along with professional competencies. The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the development of professional socialization among high school students in the United States in the context of digitalization and a pandemic (СOVID-19), which may be of interest to Russian researchers. Professional socialization begins at school, when a higher school student enters the world of professional activity. The author's contribution is that that on the basis of analysis of American scientific literature and their own observations, they underline a fundamental change in the system of professional socialization of the younger generations that has occurred in the last decade. They have demonstrated that the new CTE “Career and Technical Education program” is a model consisting of 16 clusters. High school students choose, as a rule, from 1 to 3-4 directions". The authors convincingly prove that the novelty of this program lies in the fact that the organizers of the program managed to integrate the academic and practical aspects in one module. Having received a certificate recognized by employers as a plumber, electrician, cook, etc. a school graduate can independently get a job. In today's pandemic environment, situations how teachers are coping with the situation while working online are demonstrated.

STEM-Focused Career Courses and College Pipeline for Students with Learning Disabilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 089590482110199
Author(s):  
Jennifer A. Freeman ◽  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Jay Stratte Plasman
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
High School Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Stem Majors ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Nationally Representative

Recent educational policies in the United States have fostered the growth of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career-focused courses to support high school students’ persistence into these fields in college and beyond. As one key example, federal legislation has embedded new types of “applied STEM” (AS) courses into the career and technical education curriculum (CTE), which can help students persist in STEM through high school and college. Yet, little is known about the link between AS-CTE coursetaking and college STEM persistence for students with learning disabilities (LDs). Using a nationally representative data set, we found no evidence that earning more units of AS-CTE in high school influenced college enrollment patterns or major selection in non-AS STEM fields for students with LDs. That said, students with LDs who earned more units of AS-CTE in high school were more likely to seriously consider and ultimately declare AS-related STEM majors in college.

scholarly journals Who’s Taking What? “Applied STEM” Coursetaking for High School Students With Learning Disabilities

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842199907
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Jay Plasman ◽  
Jennifer A. Freeman ◽  
Shaun Dougherty
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
High School Students ◽  
The United States ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
School Students ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
And Mathematics

Increasing and improving the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) educational pipeline has been a point of emphasis for decades, and federal policy in the United States has urged high schools to embed new types of STEM courses into the curriculum. As one example, applied STEM courses—one growing branch within career and technical education (CTE)—are designed to reinforce traditional academic STEM content and to motivate students’ interests and long-term pursuits in STEM areas. That said, little is known about who takes these courses, and applied-STEM-CTE enrollment in these courses has not been explored in the research for students with learning disabilities. Using the High School Longitudinal Study (a nationally representative data set of high school students), we asked whether CTE coursetaking differed for students with learning disabilities compared with those without disabilities, and whether there were specific coursetaking differences in applied-STEM-CTE. We found that students with learning disabilities were more likely to earn more units in CTE courses compared with students without disabilities. Yet, when looking at applied-STEM-CTE courses, we see that although students with learning disabilities earn more CTE units than students without disabilities, students with learning disabilities do not take different amounts of applied-STEM-CTE courses. Implications are discussed.

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