This study explored high school communication (i.e., policy translation) of Louisiana statutes pertaining to postsecondary opportunities aligned with the CTE graduation pathway and the implementation of curriculum tracks through high school track-shifting policies. Two research questions guided this study: 1) To what extent do diploma policies listed on high school websites in the Louisiana Acadiana region describe the actual postsecondary opportunities available to students in a CTE program? and 2) What information do high school websites reveal about curriculum track-shifting policies? To answer these questions, I conducted a manifest content analysis (Kleinheksel et al., 2020) of websites for 29 traditional public high schools operated by school districts in Louisiana's Acadiana region. My analysis was guided by a conceptual framework that included horizontal differentiation, track shifting, and misinformation (Rosenbaum, 1978; Sørensen, 1970). Two major themes emerged in the findings: Inconsistent and Incomplete Information about Postsecondary Options for CTE Diploma Pathway Students and Limited Flexibility (Semi-Closed) Curriculum System. These themes and their respective subthemes revealed that high school websites contained inconsistent and incomplete information about graduation pathways that constrains students' postsecondary options. Findings from this study offer implications for practice, policy and policy translation, and future research regarding high school diploma policies, curriculum tracks, track-shifting policies, and curriculum enrollment decisions. This study also offers recommendations for officials at the state level and school leaders at the local level. / Doctor of Philosophy / Postsecondary opportunities means the career and college options students have after high school. This research looked into how high school websites in Louisiana's Acadiana region communicate information about postsecondary opportunities for students who choose the Career and Technical Education (CTE) graduation pathway. It also studied how they handle curriculum track-shifting policies for students. Two research questions guided this study: 1) To what extent do diploma policies listed on high school websites in the Louisiana Acadiana region describe the actual postsecondary opportunities available to students in a CTE program? and 2) What information do high school websites reveal about curriculum track-shifting policies? To answer these questions, I used a specific type of analysis to examine websites for 29 traditional public high schools operated by school districts in the region. My analysis was guided by a framework that included three aspects of policy research related to graduation pathways. Two major themes emerged in the findings: Inconsistent and Incomplete Information about Postsecondary Options for CTE Diploma Pathway Students and Limited Flexibility (Semi-Closed) Curriculum System. My findings showed that high school websites contained inconsistent and incomplete information about graduation pathways that limit students' postsecondary options. This study concludes with recommendations for school and state officials and future researchers to clarify communication about the career and college opportunities available to CTE students once they graduate from high school.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119486 |
| Date | 21 June 2024 |
| Creators | Adams, Venice Marie |
| Contributors | Higher Education, Robbins, Claire Kathleen, Knight, David B., Sanders, Karen Eley, Lane, Tonisha B. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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