The school master schedule is a structure that, when intentionally designed, can promote student access to opportunities. However, complex factors often promote the schedule as a technical process instead of one that is vital to school improvement and equity work. As student needs change, fostering leadership capacity in understanding the…

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore educators' perceptions of the implementation of CTE in preparing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to seamlessly transition from high school to the workforce or higher education post-graduation. Framework: The California Career Technical Standards for Grades Seven…

Since 2011, the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) has awarded Alaska students who excel in high school with more than $100 million in scholarships to help cover the cost of in-state postsecondary education. This report covers: (1) APS Eligibility & Use; (2) High School Outcomes; (3) Postsecondary Outcomes; and (4) Alaska Residency and…

Not all high school students successfully transition from school to the workplace. Poor attendance, compliance with rules and policies, and task participation contribute to such transitional failures. Attendance, rule compliance, and task participation are needed for success in school and at work, yet little is known about whether students form…

The new world of work demands not only academic knowledge and skills but also transferable skills such as communications, creativity, and collaboration--skills that are rarely captured formally. Meeting that demand will require a new approach to the high school diploma. The opportunity is ripe to redesign credentials to enable competency-based…

This paper addresses the question of why young Australians with intellectual disability (ID) remain underrepresented in open employment despite significant investment by various stakeholders. It uses the analogy of Whack-a-Mole (an arcade game) to draw attention to the complexity young people face during transition, and to illustrate how…

Using self-determination and schema therapy theories, we examine the cognitive-motivational processes underlying the regulation of career decisions and the experience of well/ill-being during the key school-to-work transition among Portuguese high school students. We obtained two pathways of transition: A "Bright" pathway, where need…

Despite rising participation rates in Portugal, a gap persists between general and vocational upper secondary students' transition to higher education (HE). This study employs a qualitative methodology, specifically through content analysis of focus group discussions, to explore the factors influencing vocational students' reluctance towards…

This study examines the extent to which students obtain postsecondary credentials in the career technical education (CTE) fields of focus they choose in high school. Using school fixed-effects models, we find that focusing on a particular CTE field in high school is associated with an increased probability of enrolling and obtaining a…

Work-based learning experiences (WBLEs) provide students with opportunities to learn about careers and gain work skills required for post-school employment. WBLEs may be especially important for students with extensive support needs (ESN) who often struggle to access competitive, integrated employment after graduation. The purpose of this study…

Problem: Due to the current resurgence of attention given to high school students' taking courses in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), research was needed to examine whether a relationship between the number of STEM courses a high school student, who graduates from high school and works in a non-STEM field, completes and…

Career and technical education (CTE) incorporates occupational skills, workforce readiness skills, and credentials that make high school graduates better prepared for the workforce. Students who complete CTE programs of study have higher employment rates after high school graduation and often go on to postsecondary education. For those who do not…

This narrative study followed 11 vocational teachers in the Building and Construction program and examined factors that influenced their transition from the construction site to upper secondary school. The recruitment path for most technical vocational teachers means moving directly from the construction site to the school, where they begin work…

This paper documents the emerging role of education in the well-known decline in US male working hours. An insignificant hours difference between high school and college graduates becomes a significant 2 hours/week advantage for college graduates within a generation. This growing "college hours premium" is confirmed in alternate data.…

An emerging body of research links online credit recovery programs to rising high school graduation rates but does not find comparable increases in student learning. This study follows high school students who engaged in online credit recovery into the labor market to understand the longer-term implications of this growing educational trend. If…