In 2018, the United States Congress passed the "Strengthening of Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act." This legislation included the requirement to conduct a comprehensive local needs assessment, which must include input from community stakeholders. This project designed and evaluated a three-step process that…

Career Technology Education (CTE) program evaluations have been mostly completed for compliance and monitoring purposes. Hence, they have limited use in establishing program effectiveness or for program improvement. Moreover, engaging in program evaluations can be time consuming and costly, especially for programs that have not been evaluated in…

This study sought to better understand present-day relationships between institutional and programmatic characteristics and their impact on student outcomes at postsecondary career and technical schools. This is critical given: (a) the existence of a significant middle-skills gap impacting the U.S. economy; (b) a lack of research and guidance for…

This study examined the impact of Career & Technical Education (CTE) credit accumulation on the persistence and academic attainment of student service members/veterans (SSM/V) within the 2-year public postsecondary education segment. SSM/V are a small but significant population of underrepresented non-traditional students within postsecondary…

Career technical education plays an important part in the mission of community colleges--providing educational opportunities needed by members of their communities. Career technical programs prepare students for entry into the workforce. Accountability standards for career technical programs, from local, state, and federal bodies, monitor…

There has been a wealth of research conducted on the high school dropouts spanning several decades. It is estimated that compared with those who complete high school, the average high school dropout costs the economy approximately $250,000 more over his or her lifetime in terms of lower tax contributions, higher reliance on Medicaid and Medicare,…

The purpose of this study was to explore the essential leadership practices, abilities, and experiences of Deans of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and to consider how these Deans of CTE fit into the succession process of the community college. A qualitative case study was conducted with three dyads of career Deans and their supervising…

Youth with disabilities face significant barriers in achieving positive post-high school outcomes, particularly when transitioning out of high school and entering the workforce, a problem that has been documented and studied by many researchers. The impact of previous work experience has long been viewed as related to positive outcomes when youth…

Using theoretical constructs of the human capital theory (Schultz, 1959) and the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991), this study examines whether the type of education completed has an impact on an individual's choice between self-employment and employment with a firm. In addition, this study seeks to understand the geographic…

The descriptive mixed-methods study explores and describes the challenges and prospects of the growth and development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) schools and science-based technology education in Nigeria. It is not understood how Nigerians in the United States perceive the impacts of governmental policies on education…

The primary purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of career and technical education in Rhode Island utilizing Program Approval Process: Standards, Instruments, and Protocols. The process establishes standards for quality career and technical education. The population surveyed provided data on Standard Two: Curriculum and…

The findings from the case study research demonstrated that the high school students at the Christian academy who have emotional and behavioral disorders are successful in teaching, retaining, and graduating this population of students. Their teaching methods and strategies included a strong biblical foundation to develop emotional and behavioral…

The purpose of this study was to identify the impact intensive reading instruction had for 28 students with learning disabilities at the middle school level on standardized tests. National Assessment of Education Progress testing indicates that across the United States, learning disabled students literacy skills are decreasing annually, and these…

This study examines the conceptual learning and cognitive development processes of schoolchildren engaged in problem solving activities in a non-school, workplace setting known as the exploratory bicycle shop. The exploratory bike shop is a commercial bicycle shop: a) that has been adapted for combined retail and educational purposes and b) where…

The qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceived institutional access barriers to distance education at comprehensive high schools with secondary career and technical education programs in central Virginia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data via email, telephone, and face-to-face. A purposive sample of 24…