The field of career and technical education (CTE) has been evolving in recent years. Formerly known as vocational education, high-quality CTE programs are being championed by educators, policymakers, and employers alike, who recognize that these robust models can help high school students acquire the skills, training, and postsecondary credentials…

Although Hispanic students have been a part of Kansas public education since the 1800s and have been the second largest student body since 2000, as of fall 2020, there is a shortage of Hispanic superintendents across the state. With over 20 percent of the student population being Hispanic across the United States, the lack of superintendents from…

The policy brief describes a study done by the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest. Round Rock Independent School District (ISD) wanted to enhance its high school career and technical education (CTE) programming to prepare CTE graduates to either enter high-wage, in-demand careers in Central Texas or continue their education after high…

While about three-fourths of all public school districts offer dual credit opportunities in Career Technical Education (CTE) courses, many programs face gaps in alignment between secondary and postsecondary CTE programs that lead to quality and equity inconsistencies in early postsecondary opportunities (EPSOs) across career pathways, ultimately…

This dissertation consists of three chapters. Chapter one explores the causal relationship between adverse health conditions and research-related activities/career outcomes by assessing the dynamic impacts of functional limitations for the U.S. trained doctoral recipient population. Using the restricted Survey of Earned Doctorates and Survey of…

Public school leaders struggle to find teachers to fill the vacancies in America's classrooms. The teacher shortage crisis is a result of many overlapping causes which include the disparity in resources to attract potential teachers, a declining enrollment in teacher preparatory programs, a lack of teachers certified to teach critical shortage…

It is well established that COVID-19 pandemic is associated with arousal of feelings of hopelessness and negativity in adolescents regarding future career development outcomes. However, the current literature has yet to clarify the roles teacher social support play in facilitating students' positive career development during the pandemic. This…

Today's young adults want and need a diverse array of education options, including, but not limited to, two- and four-year degrees to help them connect learning with earning. Young people and employers alike are eager for effective, efficient, work-aligned pathways to employment that enable people not just to say, "I know a lot, and here's…

In a university course on the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico, students engaged in a scaffolded inquiry project to consider connections between individual major areas of study or intended career paths and the Zuni Pueblo. Students completed project tasks prior to, during, and after the trip, and analyzed information gathered to answer their inquiry…

Following calls to 'bewilder' (Snaza 2013) the pioneers of early education, this article positions Montessori pedagogy as a 'desire path' that acts as resistance to normative policy-driven pathways in early childhood education and care. Desire paths are alternative tracks made aside from officially established walking routes. In this paper I think…

This playbook provides ways in which Community Based Organizations (CBOs) can blur the lines between high school, postsecondary education, and the workforce. CBOs play a significant role to Raise the Bar for student success by developing an "education-to-workforce system" that focuses on Unlocking Career Success.

For more than three decades, educational professionals and researchers have warned about the impending teacher shortage in America's public school system. As we are currently in the midst of the shortage, school districts are facing the reality of fewer qualified teachers and filling the teaching gaps. This is especially evident in high-poverty…

Technology presents incredible new potential in opening 'learning to earning' pathways for traditionally marginalised groups, such as displaced young people, adolescent girls and young women. Developing and scaling digitally powered learning for displaced populations can provide alternative opportunities to those who have lost access public…

Although persisters now represent the largest group of non-graduating high school students, they have received little attention in the research literature, leaving unanswered the question of how persisters differ from dropouts in terms of demographic characteristics, academic preparation, and key life outcomes. Using statewide…

Background: Although there is an increasing demand for workers in STEM fields, people with disabilities are underrepresented in STEM educational programs and related occupations. Among those who achieved competitive integrated employment after serving under an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) by the state-federal vocational rehabilitation…