The primary purpose of this study was to determine the factors and perceptions that affect enrollment in career and technical education (CTE) programs in rural East Central Mississippi. Specifically, the study had four key purposes. First, the academic grades of CTE students and non-CTE students were examined to determine whether academic grades differ significantly between the CTE enrollers and non-CTE enrollers. Secondly, the study determined the perceptions that students in rural East Central Mississippi have toward CTE programs. Next, the study examined the internal and external factors that cause students to enroll or not enroll in a CTE program. Finally, the study identified the individuals who can positively or negatively affect a student’s decision to enroll in a CTE program. The research design for this study was causal-comparative, and the researcher used descriptive statistics, as well as frequencies and percentages to analyze the data. The Mann-Whitney U test and a series of t-tests for independent variables were used to test the hypotheses. The population for this study was 400 high school seniors enrolled in seven rural East Central Mississippi high schools that feed into three career and technical centers. A total of 284 students completed the proper consent and assent forms in order to participate in the study. Findings in this study indicated that a significant difference did not exist between the academic grades of CTE students and non-CTE students. Additional results showed a significant difference between CTE enrollers and non-CTE enrollers in regard to four of the eleven perceptions of CTE. In addition, the researcher found that students enroll in CTE because they are interested in one of the career areas and want to attend college in that career area. It was also determined that CTE students enjoy spending time away from their high school. The study showed that non-CTE students did not enroll in CTE because it would not fit into their schedule. The researcher also found that friends and parents mostly encouraged students to enroll in CTE, while in some instances guidance counselors may have discouraged them from enrolling in a CTE program.

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of CTE administrators in Alabama and Georgia on how agricultural education teachers were integrating STEM and employability skills. The population of this study consisted of CTE administrators in Alabama (N = 137) and Georgia (N = 178) with 315 surveys being distributed and 129, or 41%, completing the survey. This descriptive study utilized a static group comparison pre-experimental research design. Means were used to determine how strongly the respondents value employability skills and STEM skills. Standard deviations helped understand how responses varied. Frequencies and percentages were used to determine the number and proportion of the respondents. The demographics portion of this study found that the average CTE administrator in Alabama and Georgia was a white female with a specialist or doctoral degree and no educational background in CTE. In addition, the average CTE administrator was employed in a county school system that offered agricultural education and had less than 15,000 students. Furthermore, the average CTE administrator has 13.05 years of teaching experience and 23.25 years of total experience in education. On average, CTE encompassed the majority of their duties and they were not an administrator in a charter school. The findings of this study presented evidence that CTE administrators in Alabama and Georgia do value the integration of employability skills and STEM skills into agricultural education differently. Moreover, participating CTE administrators perceived all employability and STEM skill categories to be "very important" or "Extremely Important" based on a Likert-type scale of 1 = Not Important to 5 = Extremely Important. Furthermore, the most valued Employability Skills include Critical Thinking Skills, Personal Qualities, and Communication Skills. The STEM Pathways that CTE administrators valued the most include the Plant Systems Pathway, Animal Science Pathway, and the Food, Products, and Processing Pathway.

This work seeks to examine the relationship between intercultural effectiveness and the number of global experiences among secondary agricultural education youth in Kentucky. The study utilizes Mere Exposure Theory and considers the importance of global experiences in increasing their levels of global competence and their performance on the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES). The results indicate that students with a higher number of global experiences and exposures are more open to other cultures and score higher on the IES. In addition, these students are more likely to be self-aware and interested in exploring new cultures and making connections with individuals who are culturally different from them.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine whether differences in student course outcomes as defined by final course grades existed between three content delivery methods in career and technical education courses: Traditional (face to face), hybrid, and online. Final course grades in career and technical education courses at one community college for the Fall 2011 through the Fall 2015 semesters were used in this study to compare the success of students in courses employing the three content delivery methods. The outcomes for male and female students and the outcomes for traditional and nontraditional students in career and technical education programs were compared as well. The method of delivery was found to have an impact. Withdrawal rates for career and technical education courses were also impacted by course delivery method. Seven research questions were included in this study, and the data was analyzed using one-sample chi-square tests for the seven research questions in the study. Results indicated that students had significantly higher student learning outcomes in traditional courses in career and technical education programs than in either hybrid or online courses. Withdrawal rates were higher for hybrid and online courses than traditional courses. Student gender and age were related to student final course outcomes with both male and female students more likely to earn transferable final course grades in traditional courses than in hybrid or online courses. Traditional age and nontraditional age students were also more likely to earn transferable final course grades in traditional courses than in hybrid or online courses. Nontraditional age students were significantly more likely than traditional age students to earn a transferable final course grade regardless of delivery method. Overall findings suggest that delivery method may impact student outcomes in career and technical education courses. The study is significant in that it provides insight into specific differences in student outcomes by the three different delivery methods currently used in higher education and may be used for comparison with other institutions’ student outcomes.

The state of education in the United States faces many challenges in preparing students for the workforce and postsecondary education. These challenges are heightened at the postsecondary level for schools of nursing. The current shortage of nurses will continue to rise if recruitment and retention strategies are not employed. The purpose of this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand and explore the experiences of former health science program students enrolled in nursing school. Research questions focused on the experience of career and technical education (CTE), motives and perceived benefits of CTE, nursing experience, career choice, and academic interests. The theoretical framework for this study was based on Lent, Brown, and Hackett's social cognitive career theory. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews with 6 associate and bachelor degree nursing students in South Carolina that completed CTE health science courses in high school. Data were manually coded and analyzed. The findings of the study indicated that CTE health science program experiences were positive and provided early college preparation and career opportunities. Furthermore, findings indicated that collaborative efforts between secondary, postsecondary, and nursing stakeholders are needed. This study has implications for positive social change by providing information to stakeholders in education about CTE, bridge programs, and secondary-postsecondary partnerships that may lead to a solution for the shortage of nurses.

The probe method (PM) is a learning model that equips students with essential learning strategies and skills so they can be successful and competitive in a highly diverse technological global workforce. Although research indicates this learning model was successful at the elementary school level with improving students' motivation to learn, their critical thinking skills, and their ability to solve complex problems, little research has examined the impact of this method at the high school level for students who participated in a career and technical education (CTE) program. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to fill a gap in knowledge about the role and function of the PM on high school students' motivation to learn and their critical thinking skills in a CTE program. Guided by the conceptual framework of constructivism, data were collected through surveys, reflective journals, interviews with 17 students, and a teacher interview. Data were analyzed through descriptive and content analysis using open coding to determine what active learning was taking place, whether authentic project-based and problem-based learning strategies were implemented, and what 21st century workforce skills were being taught. Findings indicated that the PM had a positive impact on high school students' motivation to learn and their ability to think critically in a CTE program. This study supports positive social change by providing high school CTE teachers with a valuable learning model that infuses reflective thought, collaboration, communication, problem solving, and critical thinking into the learning process while at the same time motivating students to learn.

The purpose of this study was to build on the research already completed by the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) in the development of ACTE’s quality Program of Study Framework and accompanying evaluation instrument to examine the validity of the instrument’s results and its utility when used independently by local educators in a pilot test. The study used a two-phase mixed-methods design. In the first phase, 39 participating programs were evaluated using the instrument, consisting of 102 items organized into 12 elements. Representatives of participating programs, either teachers or administrators, then provided quantitative and qualitative feedback about the instrument, and 23 of the programs submitted Perkins program performance data. Results on the program evaluation instrument were correlated with the Perkins performance data to determine the criterion validity of the instrument. Correlations were significant for two of the performance measures, student technical skill attainment and completion, and positive but not statistically significant for student placement. Results related to the utility of the instrument, including for ease of use, practicality across programs, and usefulness of information, were all positive, and participants provided suggestions to further increase the possibility of wide scale future use. In Phase Two of the study, results of Phase One were used to inform in-depth interviews with a sample of five participants. These interviews provided further insight on the validity and utility questions guiding the study. The study is significant because it helps to more clearly define the characteristics of a high-quality CTE program and provide a standardized way to determine and improve the quality of CTE programs for millions of students around the country.

A quasi experimental study tested a contextual teaching and learning (CTL) model for integrating reading and mathematics competencies through 13 introductory Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. Volunteer CTE Lead Teachers with assistance from academic teachers, developed integrated units. The purpose of this study was to determine whether students who participated in CTE courses that integrated core mathematics and reading standards performed better on a test of mathematics and reading skills compared to students who participated in traditional, non-integrated courses. The treatment group consisted of students in the 13 introductory courses taught by the CTE Lead Teachers and the control group consisted of students in all other sections of the 13 introductory courses not taught by CTE Lead Teachers. After a 26-week intervention, 9th and 10th grade student Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) reading and mathematics scores were analyzed to determine if the mean change in post-test scores was greater in the treatment group than the mean change in scores in the control group. An ANCOVA and multiple regression analysis of quantitative data revealed that the integrated CTE courses were statistically significant in improving reading treatment group scores, but not statistically significant in improving mathematics treatment group scores. The study is significant because it seeks to address a gap in the literature on academic and CTE integration and to provide evidence that a partnership between academics and CTE can contribute to student achievement as measured by state assessments.

It is evident that the failure rate is higher among online students than in-class students at Hopkinsville Community College. An analysis of the academic records of students who enrolled in online courses for the first time at Hopkinsville indicated a 13% higher withdrawal and failure rate than those who took in-class courses over the same period between 2000 and 2010. Colleges are taking potentially all of the necessary steps to reduce the student failure rates among online students because high withdrawal and failure rates often reflect badly on the quality of education by the providing institutions (C. Segura, personal communication, November 2009). The purpose of this study is to determine if there is any statistically significant difference in the success rates between first-time online students who participated in the orientation for first-time online students, and first-time online students who did not participate in the orientation at Hopkinsville Community College. The study also determined if any relationships exist between success in an online course and student gender, student course load, student grade point average (GPA), student age, student readiness for online learning score, and student level of technology experience score. Studying the relationships between orientation of first-time online students and withdrawal and failure rates among first-time online students may lead to finding ways of reducing the high failure and withdrawal rates of online students at the community college.

The purpose of this study was to describe the needs and concerns regarding the Virginia Credentialing Initiative (VCI) of career and technical education (CTE) stakeholders in rural southwestern Virginia. These stakeholders included central office CTE administrators, high school principals, guidance counselors, and high school CTE teachers. The Stages of Concern Questionnaire (George, Hall, & Stiegelbauer, 2008) was sent to 355 participants with 260 responding for a return rate of 73%. All of the respondents were employed in Superintendents' Region Seven. There are seven Stages of Concern: 0 Unconcerned, 1 Informational, 2 Personal, 3 Management, 4 Consequence, 5 Collaboration, and 6 Refocusing. Results revealed that when categorized by occupational areas, central office CTE administrators and teachers had primary concerns that ranged from Unconcerned to Personal. Guidance counselors had primary concerns that ranged from Unconcerned to Informational. High school principals had primary concerns that ranged from Unconcerned to Personal. All groups had lowest concern levels at the Consequence and Refocusing stages. Results for each group varied slightly when the number of years of experience was used as a reporting category. The primary level of concern was at the Unconcerned stage for each group when the respondents had 5 or fewer years of experience. CTE teacher groups were also categorized by subject area as those with long-standing licensing history (cosmetology, nursing, welding) and those newer to credentialing (agriculture, business, family and consumer sciences, marketing). The fields of nursing and welding had primary concerns at the Unconcerned level, while those in the agriculture, business, cosmetology, family and consumer sciences, and marketing subject areas peaked at the Personal level. Further research is recommended in relation to CTE stakeholder concerns and the implementation and use of the VCI. The implementation of new state legislation will affect CTE stakeholders as they adapt to the new graduation requirements for students pursuing a standard diploma. It is also recommended that qualitative research be conducted to ascertain specific avenues for addressing stakeholder needs and concerns, such as professional development. / Ed. D.