Episode 117: Enhancing Educational Outcomes through CTE

Unlock the transformative power of Career and Technical Education (CTE) with me as I shatter the myths surrounding this pivotal component of the K-12 system. CTE isn't just for those steering away from college or traditional academics; it's a dynamic pathway equipping students with real-world skills and career readiness. By combining CTE with academic curricula, we're setting students on a trajectory for success in both higher education and the workforce, ensuring they graduate with direction and purpose.

Learn how the Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act is shaping career-focused education, particularly in STEM fields, and how CTE courses are engaging students by making learning relevant to the fast-evolving job market. This episode is a call for educational leaders to champion CTE as a vital tool in equipping students with technological literacy and the essential skills for the 21st century.

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Chapters

• 0:54 Career and Technical Education Overview
• 18:33 Equity and Engagement in CTE Programs

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:55

Welcome to another episode of K-12 Education Untangled. My name is Dr Kim J Fields, former corporate manager turned education researcher and advocate, and I'm the host of this podcast. I got into this space after dealing with some frustrating interactions with school educators and administrators, as well as experiencing the microaggressions that I faced as an African-American mom raising my two kids, who were in the public school system. I really wanted to understand how teachers were trained and what the research provided about the challenges of the public education system. Once I gained the information and the insights that I needed, I was then equipped to be able to successfully support my children in their educational progress. Support my children in their education progress. This podcast is at the intersection between education, research and parental actions. If you're looking to find out more about the current trends, issues and themes in education that could affect you or your children, and you want to know the specific actions you can take to support and advocate for your children, then you're in the right place. Thanks for tuning in today. I know that staying informed about K-12 education topics is important to you, so keep listening. Keep listening.

Speaker 1: 2:34

In this episode, I'll be discussing why CTE and career readiness is a viable option for many students. Which path is best for high school students? It depends on their goals. Career and Technical Education, or CTE, was designed to help students successfully prepare for college and career readiness. It does seem, however, to have negative perceptions of the students who enroll in these programs. Should students follow one specific path or a combination of both paths? I explore these options and more in this episode. Let's untangle this.

Speaker 1: 3:17

Career and technical education, generally referred to as CTE, is often viewed by core subject teachers as well as the general public, as a lesser than non-college-bound option. In spite of early representations of what these programs were about, the perception remains that CTE is only for non-college-bound students. It was historically referred to as vocational education and it typically occurs at the secondary and post-secondary levels. A perception of the students who typically enroll in CTE is that they are disengaged or underperforming. The current debate about the value of CTE is an integral part of standard academic curriculum and has been ongoing since the 1900s curriculum and has been ongoing since the 1900s. The general public has a negative perception of CTE that could be partially based on the blue-collar and white-collar separation that was seen in the early descriptions of vocational and liberal education. Many believe that CTE sent a lot of students, especially low-income and minority students, into low-paying menial jobs.

Speaker 1: 4:32

Despite CTE having a rigorous focus on both academic and industry standards, technological literacy and the development of 21st century skills, it still has its critics and is chronically neglected by many American educational leaders and policymakers. Cte is an important complement to the student academic curriculum for more than half of all high school students, especially if the goal is to improve student readiness for both college and careers. In fact, the integration of quality CTE along with academic curriculum helps more students persist in and complete high school. Four-year college attendance isn't the only goal for some students. For educational leaders to only promote this goal discounts the value of learning a skill trade. Educational leaders should provide enough time in the school year for students to try different CTE programs without missing important academic courses. In other words, they should give students the option to enroll in a CTE course or an academic course. It may not be wise to have students decide at 15 years old about pursuing either post-secondary schooling or work. Balancing academic and CTE course offerings will provide the next generation of students with the technological literacy and 21st century skills that they're going to need to successfully participate in the workforce that they're going to need to successfully participate in the workforce. Instead of directing high school students to college before they have a goal or a direction in mind, perhaps they should be encouraged to do more career planning and exploration. This will allow students to learn more about themselves and their interests before committing to expensive post-secondary schooling their interests before committing to expensive post-secondary schooling Without CTE experiences. Many students graduate every year with little to no practical skills, resulting in little post-secondary direction and no way to support themselves while exploring their options.

Speaker 1: 6:47

Career and Technical Education is a structured series of courses that provide high school students with technical and vocational skills, paving the way to post-secondary education and careers, and is key to aligning secondary education with both labor market needs and college opportunities. It allows high school students to engage in practical learning experiences and to expand their exposure to a variety of careers. It's linked to increased high school graduation rates, greater likelihood of enrollment in two-year colleges and higher earnings. California has invested substantially in CTE over the past 10 years. For example, in 2021-2022, california spent $300 million for high school career and technical education through the CTE Incentive Grants Program and an additional $150 million through the Strong Workforce Program $150 million through the Strong Workforce Program. Additionally, in 2023, governor Newsom signed an executive order to create a new master plan on career education, which coordinated and aligned career education investments to ensure all high school students explore well-compensated, lasting careers. Explore well-compensated, lasting careers, experience, hands-on learning and real-life skills, and access to career education that reduces the burden of substantial debt and avoiding navigating confusing bureaucracies In California's high schools.

Speaker 1: 8:23

Cte is organized around 15 industry sectors, such as agriculture and natural resources, health science and medical technology, and manufacturing and product development. Within each industry sector, there are a number of pathways that a student can choose to complete. A student must earn a grade of C or better in the Pathways Capstone course in order to complete the CTE pathway. For a number of reasons, pathways are not equally available to students across schools due to student choice, distance from the student's high school to the CTE program, as well as partnerships between high schools and local businesses. The two industries that have the highest rates of participation across all CTE pathways in California are art, media and entertainment, and health science and medical technology. In contrast, the energy, environment and utilities, as well as fashion and interior design industry sectors, accounted for just 1% of CTE pathway completions. The health science, the education and the information technology pathways are associated with a higher probability of attending college, as well as higher earnings, compared to the building and construction and the transportation pathways, which are associated with greater labor market outcomes with lower college attendance. Representation by race differs substantially across CTE industry sectors. For example, black students are vastly underrepresented in cultural and natural resources, where they represent only 1.6 percent of pathway completers. In contrast, asian American students are overrepresented in information and communication technology, where they represent 28 percent of pathway completers. Also, there are notable differences in participation by gender across industry sectors. At one end of the spectrum, in the transportation and the building and construction industries, female CTE pathway completers represented 9% and 19% respectively. At the other end of the spectrum, 85% and 84% respectively of the fashion and interior designs and the education and child development industry were female.

Speaker 1: 11:34

Cte programs are often embedded in educational institutions that offer traditional diplomas or degrees, and they are delivered through vocational coursework that's intended to instill more specialized job readiness skills than a traditional high school diploma or college degree. Cte programs often incorporate on-the-job training as well as internships and apprenticeships. More than a third of students who graduate from high school attend community colleges where CTE is a core part of the curriculum. Cte programs at this level instill work-ready skills that fill the gap between a traditional high school diploma and a traditional bachelor's degree. Although these programs can be springboards for further higher education, nearly all the energy and focus of the program is on skills that will translate directly to jobs that require more specific occupational training than a general high school education. They're comprised of a mix of classroom based and workplace based training. In high school, cte is composed of both occupational coursework that prepares students for specific careers and non-occupational coursework that offers more general work-related skills, such as literacy, that could be applicable in many different occupations. It can be embedded within traditional high schools and in certain areas of the country, cte is offered through technical high schools. Full-time occupational high school CTE students tend to be more oriented toward their chosen career path than toward furthering their education, and they are less likely to take college preparatory curriculum including four years of English and three years of science, social studies and math.

Speaker 1: 13:29

Many high school CTE programs are geared toward providing some form of professional credentialing, such as a certificate or preparation for a license. Worth noting is the fact that a significant portion of young adults do not meet essential skill thresholds required for the 21st century workforce. Education and training are critical not only for a person's prospects, but also to maintain a thriving economy. Cte is an economic and feasible way to help close the skills gap. The current CTE infrastructure is extensive, with about 67% of public high schools offering CTE programs and nearly all of this nation's 1,020 public two-year colleges offering CTE programs. Cte is also very cost-effective, and CTE programs that lead to certificates or licensure offer practical and efficient solutions to building a more educated and credentialed workforce.

Speaker 1: 14:35

Here's a question worth pondering Do high school students participating in CTE programs graduate, and do these graduates demonstrate academic proficiency levels required for further post-secondary or college training and for succeeding in skilled technical jobs? Well, the early findings from research on this are promising. The research highlights several important positive facts about students participating in CTE programs Within the high school context. Graduation rates for CTE students is about 93%, compared to the national average of 80%, according to the US Department of Education Office of Planning, evaluation and Policy Development. Additionally, 91% of high school students with two to three CTE credits enroll in college.

Speaker 1: 15:28

Cte programs' impact, however, varies across states. At the end of the day, the main goal of the CTE is to create greater opportunities for workers and a more skilled workforce for employers. For students to be successful, the CTE path must have a positive career trajectory where students gain significant advantages in their job market position, are work-ready and are able to succeed beyond their first job. This means having the transferable skills and the preparation for future upskilling. From a long-term perspective, cte students need to be able to progress along a reasonable career path and meet livable wage expectations. They also need to be flexible for other long-term outcomes that include job mobility and the capacity for retraining, since occupations and task expectations shift due to rapid changes in technology and global competition. Cte programs could benefit a large population of people that are not completing high school, meeting livable wages, acquiring foundational job skill goals like reading, comprehension, oral and written communication, or engaging in higher education training. Together, these groups comprise about 50 million people who are unable to obtain skilled technical work.

Speaker 1: 17:05

Can schools assess and increase progress on equity in CTE participation? Many school districts that offer CTE programs have found that their programs attract a disproportionate number of students from families with higher socioeconomic status, white students and students who have already demonstrated high academic performance. However, cte student profiles vary across settings. For example, some enroll a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged African American, hispanic or Latinx students and English language learner students from non-CTE students. Additionally, there are gender and racial or ethnic imbalances by industry sector. Because of these disparities, several organizations like the National Standards of Practice are making a commitment to equity in terms of access, services and expectations. Lower-income families are more likely than middle and upper-income families to experience job and housing instability and to move between districts. Therefore, they may be especially at risk of not knowing about high school opportunities like career academies in time to enroll their children. This dynamic could be turned around by actively recruiting among family members in those underrepresented families To address these access barriers.

Speaker 1: 18:34

Some school districts, like the one in Elk Grove, california, are using data to design strategies to increase access to career academy students who have been underrepresented. The district is collecting and mining information about students' career interests and using that data to target recruitment so that students learn more about the program. The district also has created recruiting materials that draw a clear connection between the CTE programs and success in college and careers, providing labor market data for related occupations and listing local college degree programs in the relevant career section of that material. After students are enrolled in the career academies and other high school CTE programs, the district continues to track student progress and provide supports so that the program benefits students of all backgrounds. These supports include free transportation to work-based learning events and internships, as well as offering experience on campus such as having sports medicine students help on the sidelines at football games.

Speaker 1: 19:49

Another example of CTE programs in action comes from the state of Oregon. Cte programs for high schools in Oregon has steadily increased since 2015. Oregon has steadily increased since 2015. Cte participation and concentration have also increased, but disparities persist across student demographic groups. For example, female students participated and concentrated in CTE programs at lower rates than their males overall, but there was variation among career areas. Concentration in this case means that students earned one or more CTE credits in a single program. Male students participated at higher rates in agriculture, food and natural resource systems, information and communications, business and management, and industrial and engineering systems programs. Female students participated at higher rates in human resources and health sciences programs. Participation and concentration gaps were small for economically disadvantaged students, but those gaps persisted over time, while gaps for students in special education and students of color narrowed over time. There were larger gaps for English language learner students, and those gaps persisted over time as well. Additionally, in Oregon, cte participation was positively related to higher high school graduation rates and annual earnings after high school.

Speaker 1: 21:22

Student access to high school CTE programs varied widely by school type and geographic location, with small, rural and low-income schools offering both a limited number and a range of programs compared to their counterparts in urban and suburban schools to their counterparts in urban and suburban schools. Oregon district administrators are making strides to provide equity in access and quality of CTE programs for all students. So does career and technical education in high school increase the odds of college enrollment. Cte students tend to enroll more frequently in two-year degree colleges than in four-year colleges, although there is no significant association with the student's probability of enrolling in college. Since the 2000s, participation in CTE no longer predicted any change in college enrollment, since students were just as likely to enroll in college after participating in CTE as were non-CTE students. Since the goal of CTE is to increase students' technical skills and training to make them competitive in the labor market, this means that college enrollment is a requisite after high school, since higher levels of education are often required for most job positions, even when that job does not require a college degree.

Speaker 1: 22:49

Progressing through CTE in a program of study that's been aligned with two-year programs connects CTE to the goal of college enrollment. Cte may also inspire students to attend college more frequently than they would have otherwise because of their educational engagement, which has been noted to increase after participating in CTE. Educational engagement is defined as having four factors academic, social, cognitive and affective. It's strongly tied to educational outcomes of persistence and achievement, and CTE may increase levels of overall academic engagement because it offers increased autonomy, provides a sense of competency and connects the subject matter immediately to the real world. Participation in CTE is also associated with improvements in self-worth. School engagement is linked to numerous positive student outcomes, including school performance, increased probability of high school graduation, lower chances of illicit activity, higher odds of employment and fewer behavioral problems. One recent study addressed whether STEM CTE courses improved school or educational engagement among low-income high school students.

Speaker 1: 24:18

Cte courses are governed by the Carl Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which represents a concerted effort by the federal government to help students relate their high school experience to college and career opportunities. This act is now in its fifth iteration. The act was a critical turning point in high school career course taking, emphasizing career trajectories rather than vocational courses. One goal of the act was to develop career-related skill sets for students with a wide range of ability levels and highlight the relevance of high school coursework for success in college and later in careers. The act emphasized STEM-related course content.

Speaker 1: 25:03

Stem CTE courses focus on applying math and science skills in practically relevant ways and emphasizing the relevance of academic math and science concepts to college and career experiences by incorporating hands-on quantitative reasoning, logic and problem-solving skills. These courses assume that students may better learn STEM-based skills and procedures through real-world tasks rather than through theory abstraction and content comprehension, which is typical of traditional STEM courses. There are two branches of traditional STEM courses. There are two branches of STEM CTE engineering technology and information technology. Engineering technology can lead to careers in engineering, analysis and digital electronics, while information technology courses provide skills for careers in networking technology and Java programming.

Speaker 1: 26:07

Stem CTE courses are not intended to replace traditional academic math and science courses. They are designed to complement traditional math and science courses and should reinforce academic knowledge. Students who enroll in STEM CTE courses tend to be more likely to enroll in advanced academic math and science coursework as compared to non-STEM CTE students. There's a need to increase participation of low-income students in STEM CTE coursework CTE coursework when high school coursework is more practically relevant, as is the case with STEM CTE courses, student school engagement increases. The type of school engagement that was the focus of the recent study was behavioral school engagement, which captures students' school-going behaviors including showing up late to class, skipping class, missing school, receiving in-school suspensions and showing up unprepared. Based on this definition, if students see the relevance of school, they may be more likely to conform to traditional norms and rules like showing up on time and being prepared for class. Suffice it to say that school and educational engagement is multi-dimensional. Students who exhibit higher levels of school engagement had higher rates of school completion, fewer mental health issues and better academic achievement. The effects of CTE course taking are greater for low-income students than their higher income peers. This may be due to the school-based opportunities to reinforce content and develop skills, giving low-income students a broader range of STEM skills as they develop interests from within the school context. For low-income students who do not have outside-of-school opportunities, stem role models or guidance in terms of educational pursuits, stem CTE may serve as one school-based pathway to engage students in education. In fact, the more students engage in activities that demonstrate the relevance of high school coursework on longer-term outcomes, the more likely they are to remain in these activities. Worth noting is that all of this depends on school context.

Speaker 1: 28:36

A focus on college and career readiness policy and programming is necessary to meet the growing demand for a highly skilled, global 21st century workforce. Adolescents aspire to succeed in various post-secondary paths, but a persistent gap exists between aspirations and attainment. This is especially true for underserved and underrepresented populations such as students of color, english language learners, students with disabilities and students from rural communities. Adolescent academic motivation is critical to career and college readiness. The number of eligible rural adolescents that enroll in and complete higher education programs remains below the rate of urban or suburban peers. Programs remains below the rate of urban or suburban peers. Some of the reasons for this may include lower socioeconomic status, lower parental expectations or educational values and limited preparation options. Rural schools typically have fewer advanced placement courses and specialized curriculum courses available to support teenage students in pursuit of advanced education. Rural schools are also limited in their ability to offer access to career and technical education or apprenticeship programs.

Speaker 1: 30:08

College and career readiness means that whether a student chooses higher education or a career pathway, once that path is selected, they will not require additional coursework post-graduation. To quote-unquote, catch them up to their peers or colleagues. They'll already have foundational knowledge required the importance of key content, knowledge, key cognitive strategies, key learning skills and techniques, and key transition knowledge and skills is dependent upon the nature of students' aspirations or post-secondary goals, their belief in their ability to succeed, also known as self-efficacy, and their motivation to persist and overcome barriers. Interpersonal skills and individual qualities that support the development and maintenance of effective relationships have become highly valued, not only in post-secondary education programs but across career fields. A student's academic motivations determine the strength and nature of their engagement in learning and development opportunities subsequently impacting goal orientation, such as higher education or specific career and vocational training. For students coming from backgrounds or contexts in which post-secondary education or career development has been less prevalent, such as rural communities or students of color, student motivation or belief in the value of their learning in post-secondary success may be hampered. So understanding the influences on student behavior and what may be impacting their ownership of learning and goal setting provides insights into various ways of addressing the gaps between aspirations and attainment that persists to this day. Academic motivation in college and career readiness have been identified as critical constructs to the post-secondary success and attainment of adolescents. Peer relationships, as well as parental involvement and support, affect an adolescent's perceptions of his or her academic motivation in college and career readiness.

Speaker 1: 32:23

Parents tend to support CTE programs when they are framed through a workforce development lens. Public attitudes toward college attendance has shown signs of decline in recent years, so understanding parents' perspectives about CTE programs is worthy of discussion. The US Department of Education estimates that between 85 percent and 92 percent of students earn credit from at least one CTE course during high school, and over 98% of public high school districts offer CTE courses. Whether CTE is framed in terms of values, such as inequality or individualism, economics, such as workforce alignment such as workforce alignment or directly related to college access and preparation, parents need to provide high levels of support for CTE, regardless of how it is framed. The support tends to come from urban parents and those with advanced levels of education. In this particular study, lower levels of parental support were noted among suburban parents. Interestingly, highly educated parents reported CTE was quote unquote for other people's children, meaning that it was fine for other people's children as long as it was not at their children's school children's school. It's also worth noting that CTE today at the national level is no longer primarily populated by racialized minority students, since white and rural students are actually overrepresented.

Speaker 1: 34:08

Now let's move from listening to this discussion to applying it. With that in mind, how does what I've just discussed apply to you? Here are the action steps you can take regarding this topic. It's important to recognize that college is not always the end-all be-all for everyone. Cte programs offer a viable option for students who have no interest in pursuing higher education. If you have a child that doesn't seem to be interested in going to college, like I do, having an option to develop skills that are attractive to employers can provide him or her with an opportunity to earn a decent living and a respectable lifestyle. Opportunity to earn a decent living and a respectable lifestyle. Although the recent job environment indicates that at least two years of college is required, with students enrolling in CTE, they have the opportunity to earn as they learn. They learn technical and trade skills and are often paid through on-the-job training programs while they are enrolled in CTE. This makes them independent, contributing members of society that are working toward a longer-term goal. As always, it's important to support your children in whichever path they choose. Here are this episode's takeaways CTE is an important complement to the student academic curriculum for more than half of all high school students, especially if the goal is to improve student readiness for both college and careers.

Speaker 1: 35:56

In fact, the integration of quality CTE along with academic curriculum helps more students persist in and complete high school. Cte programs are often embedded in educational institutions that offer traditional diplomas or degrees, and they are delivered through vocational coursework that's intended to instill more specialized job readiness skills than the traditional high school diploma or college degree. Cte programs often incorporate on-the-job training as well as internships and apprenticeships. Worth noting is the fact that a significant portion of young adults do not meet essential skill thresholds required for the 21st century workforce. Education and training are critical not only for a person's prospects, but also to maintain a thriving economy. Cte is an economic and feasible way to help close the skills gap. Many school districts that offer CTE programs have found that their programs attract a disproportionate number of students from families with higher socioeconomic status, white students and students who have already demonstrated high academic performance. Since the goal of CTE is to increase students' technical skills and training to make them competitive in the labor market, this means that college enrollment is requisite after high school, since higher levels of education are often required for most job positions, even when that job does not require a college degree. Progressing through CTE in a program of study that's been aligned with two-year programs, connects CTE to the goal of college enrollment. A focus on college and career readiness policy and programming is necessary to meet the growing demand for a highly skilled, global 21st century workforce. Research indicates that many adolescents aspire to succeed in various post-secondary paths, but a persistent gap exists between aspirations and attainment. This is especially true for underserved and underrepresented populations, such as students of color, english language learners, students with disabilities and students from rural communities.

Speaker 1: 38:25

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