The case-study was designed to identify the processes of engagement in learning of students when they first transferred from their academic schools to a vocational school. The students were periodically assessed over the course of a school year to determine whether their processes of engagement were affected by their placements in the vocational program and the students' selected 'career choices'. Researchers indicated the necessity for student engagement in to ensure a positive learning environment. There were strong correlations in the literature between the students' academic successes and their higher levels of student-initiated, active engagement.
Two objectives were obtained in the study. The first objective was to understand what processes of engagement students have from their perspectives as learners, and specifically, what the term 'student engagement' meant to them. The second objective was to determine if there was a correlation between the students' processes of engagement and their placements in the vocational schools.
There had been increased placements of students in vocational schools who have educationally disadvantages, learning disabilities, or students who were classified as /'at-risk' for graduation from high school. The interviews of the new vocational students provided information about the reasons for the students' placements in vocational programs, the students' interests and career goals, and how hands on learning and work-based experiences affected the students' academic achievements and career preparations.
Interviews of the vocational teachers from the study school contained the teachers' perceptions about the students' processes of engagement and other relevant issues about the backgrounds of students who entered the vocational education school. Synergistic and antagonistic perspectives were identified between the students' and the vocational teachers' about students' processes of engagement and other considerations related to current vocational education policies. These perspectives were considered relevant to the planning and implementation of vocational education initiatives in the future.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04122007-151256 |
| Date | 27 June 2007 |
| Creators | Diamond, Martha |
| Contributors | Richard Secklinger, Emeritus Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies, Charles Gorman, Emeritus Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies, Maureen McClure, Associate Professor, Adminstrative and Policy Studies, Sean Hughes, Associate Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04122007-151256/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds