Postsecondary Teacher Quality and Student Achievement in Florida's Career Certificate Programs Using a Causal-Comparative Study

Teacher quality and student achievement have shown positive relationships in prior studies of elementary and secondary grade levels in the United States. However, postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) teacher quality and student achievement is an understudied topic. According to the literature, teacher quality is measured by pedagogical knowledge, level of education, and professional development. For postsecondary CTE teachers, occupational experience is a hiring requirement for teacher quality. Student achievement is measured by test scores and graduation rates. Postsecondary career certificate programs usually have a summative evaluation with an industry-specific certification test, which assesses the student's employability in the program's field of study by industry standards. The purpose of this retrospective causal-comparative study was to examine the relationship between postsecondary CTE teacher quality and student achievement in Florida's career certificate programs. An online survey was conducted with 203 postsecondary CTE teachers in Florida. Findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between the level of pedagogical knowledge and educational degree attainment of postsecondary CTE teachers and students' passing an industry certification test. This finding is consistent with prior studies in K-12 grade levels. Recommendations include increasing the pedagogical knowledge and educational degree attainment of postsecondary CTE teachers to improve student learning outcomes.

Factors Influencing Student Enrollment in Career Academy Programs

There is considerable research demonstrating strong benefits of the career academy model to students and teachers, but there is little indicating why students enroll in academies and what methods of recruitment may work best. This study assessed factors influencing students' decisions to enroll in career academy programs by looking at factors that influence students to apply for academy programs and reasons students have for choosing not to enroll in academy programs. A survey was used to collect the necessary data with n = 401 responses from students enrolled in an academy and n = 2,421 responses from students not enrolled in an academy. A factor analysis resulted in two larger groupings linking items together based on program experience and student attitudes. A Pareto analysis indicated that counselors were the greatest influencing factors on student decisions to enroll in career academy programs. Parents, teachers, other students, the course catalog, website, and brochure also played a considerable role in how students learned about the academies. The most influential reasons students have for not applying included not knowing, not interested, and missed deadline.

Texas High School Counselor Perceptions of Agricultural Education

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of high school counselors across the state of Texas toward agricultural education. This study was descriptive in nature. High school counselors had an overall positive attitude toward agricultural education. They did not believe agricultural education courses were intended for lower-performing students. High school counselors agreed their local agricultural education program was valuable for college bound and non-college bound students. An overwhelming majority (85%) of high school counselors reported that student interest was their top priority when advising students to enroll in an agricultural education course. They had low to very low awareness of many opportunities available for agricultural education students. It is recommended that agricultural education teachers continue to develop strong, positive relationships with school counselors to provide education and awareness of the agricultural education program opportunities.

Identifying Technical Competencies for Architecture and Construction Education using the Delphi Method

The purpose of this Delphi study was to identify the dominant technical competencies needed to effectively teach architecture and construction at the secondary and postsecondary level and to determine if there are differences of opinion among educators, recent graduates and industry personnel as to what those competencies should be. To provide instructors with the knowledge and skills that align with industry needs, it was imperative to identify the changing technical competencies needed by the workforce and the instructors who prepare these future employees. A three round Delphi study was conducted to identify the dominant technical competencies. From a list of 23 technical competencies identified in round one, seven technical competencies emerged as the highest rated in perceived level of importance by the three groups.

Occupational Safety and Health Education in Post-Secondary Career and Technical Education Construction Programs

Construction is one of the most dangerous industries in the US. Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs are important settings in which new construction workers can learn about Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). CTE programs are sometimes the only place where these workers will encounter such training. We set out to examine the quality of OSH education received by students in post-secondary CTE construction programs by conducting a surv ey of instructors teaching in these programs across the country . The goal was to learn the extent to which previously identified" essential elements necessary for providing effective safety and health education" are spread across these programs. Our findings show instructors in these programs prioritize hands-on training, make efforts to stay current in best practices in safety and health, and regularly update their curricula. We also found that instructors need more training on effectively teaching safety and health to more meaningfully integrate such content into their trade skill courses. Finally, we found that instructors need to better model effective safety and health management systems within their classrooms to help keep students safe and set students' expectations for safe work when they enter their chosen trade.

Career and Technical Education: Academic Achievement as Measured by National Testing

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at secondary and post-secondary levels are gaining more and more attention from students, parents, and communities. Evaluating the merit of educational programs is a necessary practice. This study examined the academic achievement of CTE completer high school graduates and non-CTE graduates as measured by nationwide testing. Results indicate (ρ < .01), CTE completers had statistically significantly higher ACT scores on the ACT composite, reading, writing, math, science, and English assessments than those of general academic student graduates who took one or no CTE courses. Empirical studies have found CTE attracts a diverse audience of students including those who are economically disadvantaged and historically perform at lower academic levels. The difference found in this study of CTE graduates accomplishing ACT composite scores 4% higher than non-CTE graduates deserves special attention given additional external challenges many CTE students experience.

Exploring Participation in SkillsUSA Among Postsecondary Students

Industries across the United States are facing a shortage of skilled technical workers. This qualitative case study investigated how participation in SkillsUSA, a career and technical student organization, influenced community college students' preparedness for the workforce and their connection to campus. Data were gathered from interest questionnaires, interviews, resumes, and observations. Using the psychology of working theory to frame the study, findings revealed participation in SkillsUSA influenced students' work choices, initiative, and confidence in overcoming obstacles. Participants also reported benefitting from a supportive campus community. The study provided an extension of the psychology of working theory to community college populations and has implications for practitioners and policymakers.

It's Good Until It's Not: The Curvilinear Relationship Between Affective School Engagement and Career and Technical Education Participation

Practitioners, researchers, and policymakers are interested in the potential of Career and Technical Education (CTE) to improve student outcomes by increasing students' affective engagement - their feelings of belonging at school and valuing what they are learning. Little research has studied the relationship between the breadth of participation in CTE and affective engagement; however, to help fill in this gap, this paper draws on data from a large, multi-ethnic high school, to examine the linear and non-linear relationships of participation in CTE with affective engagement at school. Results of multiple regressions revealed curvilinear relationships between students' affective engagement and the number of CTE courses they took and the number of afterschool and weekend hours spent working on CTE related businesses. These findings suggest a middle-range mix of CTE and academic courses are associated with higher levels of affective engagement with school.