Career academies are increasingly important in preparing pre-collegiate high school students for STEM pathways by connecting academic learning, technical skill development, career identity, and postsecondary readiness. STEM-focused career academies function as structured bridges between secondary education, higher education, and the labor market. Through small learning communities, interdisciplinary curricula, employer partnerships, work-based learning, and early exposure to college and career expectations, career academies help students understand STEM not only as school subjects but as possible futures. Research suggests that career academies can improve student engagement, support school persistence, and strengthen labor market outcomes when implemented with fidelity. The article concludes that career academies are vital equity-centered mechanisms for expanding STEM participation.
This paper details a measurement development study conducted in multiple phases to establish the reliability and validity of scores from a measure of career knowledge that can be specified to career fields. The initial development study focused on surveying and mapping careers in the engineering technician cluster, in alignment with a larger intervention study on career exploration of STEM technician and technologist careers. A short seven-item measure of perceived career knowledge was developed and piloted to address the need for empirical data on students' career knowledge, an outcome of interest to practitioners and researchers in career development. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to evaluate the function of this new measure iteratively, and the results presented here support it as a short tool for use in career development research and practice.
The purpose of this study was to identify the professional development preferences, needs, and engagement of family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers in Illinois. Signature pedagogy and its three theoretical elements served as a foundational framework for structuring respondents' professional development considerations. Using a descriptive research design, data were collected through an online survey completed by 45 (42%) Illinois FCS teachers. Findings indicated that teachers preferred professional development that was offered in person, located within geographical proximity, and scheduled during contracted working hours. Respondents identified discipline-specific FCS content, effective lab management, and the integration of AI in an FCS classroom that could be readily applied in the classroom as their primary professional development needs and source of motivation for engagement. Time and financial constraints were identified as key barriers to professional development participation. Collectively, these findings provide timely and actionable insights that can inform the design of professional development and better equip FCS teachers to prepare students for success in an evolving workforce.
Employability skills are continually changing, and the workforce provides the transparency needed for the success of business employment. Workplace readiness skills and human capital theory form the backbone for organizational success and sustainability. This study examined employers’ perceptions of workplace readiness skills at the expected proficiency level of an entry-level employee, the average level of skill for an entry-level employee, and the level of importance of the skill to their industry. The Virginia Workplace Readiness Skills have impacted employers and prepared students for the workplace. The results indicated that the workplace readiness skills mentioned in the literature align with the required workplace readiness skills taught in all CTE courses in Virginia. However, employers did mention additions such as empathy.
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is critical and indispensable in ensuring that the socio-economic inequalities and challenges facing not only South Africa, but also Africa, are reduced. This can be achieved by providing access to skills development, particularly for previously and historically marginalized sections of society, such as the youth. The main aim of this examination was to explore TVET collaboration with industry in promoting social justice. Social justice is deployed as a theoretical lens since social justice and education are characterized by a symbiotic relationship. In its investigation, we employed the qualitative case study approach, which involved interviews with academic support officers and business studies and engineering interns to explore lived experiences. These participants were drawn from the experiences of three different categories, selected for their direct involvement in the TVET system. The first group was made up of the three academic support service staff members: The second group consisted of six business studies interns: The third group included five engineering studies interns. The main finding of the study highlights, among others, structural and pedagogical challenges, a weak TVET-industry partnership, a lack of industry involvement in curriculum design, the absence of relevant resources from TVET colleges for industry-ready student placement, and underqualified lecturers.
Postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) institutions are confronted with growing demands to improve efficiency while boosting student outcomes and achieving performance metrics for funding. As enrollment competition grows and funding sources change, technical colleges are looking to develop new programs and identify untapped student populations such as incarcerated individuals. Instructors of postsecondary CTE technical programs often bring industry experience but typically lack formal teaching training unlike their secondary CTE instructors which may create variable teaching success and impacts both teacher confidence and student achievement, especially for at-risk populations such as incarcerated individuals. This research explores faculty perspectives on human-centered design thinking (HCDT) as an approach to student-centered program design and faculty interest in teaching in carceral settings that were captured by a survey instrument validated across two technical college campuses in Utah. The instrument assessed 10 competencies in 4 design thinking areas utilizing a Likert scale ranging from Not Important to Very Important. Phase one of the pilot study included responses from 14 participants. Phase two of the study, collected responses from nine participants. The findings of this study suggest that faculty members understand the value of adaptive teaching methods centered on students but lack sufficient training to apply HCDT principles effectively. The research demonstrates the necessity for faculty professional development programs that match industry requirements while promoting interactive teaching models which center around student needs. Postsecondary institutions can develop more effective learning environments that support student success and workforce preparedness by incorporating HCDT into faculty training.
To address the increasing diversity in schools and the monolithic culture of teachers, researchers have called for pedagogies that reflect the diverse and pluralistic identities of students. While core academic areas have long adopted culturally relevant pedagogy, school-based agricultural education (SBAE) has lagged behind. This study aimed to determine the views of agricultural education teachers in Virginia on culturally responsive pedagogy dispositions and identify areas of professional development need. Teachers valued the differences among students and the communities in which their schools are located. However, results revealed a need for professional development in using the local community as a resource and incorporating students’ cultural identities into instruction. Mean weighted discrepancy scores indicated that teachers found these practices necessary, but they lacked confidence in their implementation. While teachers did not indicate a need for training in understanding their own identities, findings support the need for programs that foster cultural competence and build inclusive curricula in SBAE.
This scoping review investigates the integration of OEL into Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s five-step scoping review framework, articles were identified through ERIC and Google Scholar and managed in Zotero. MAXQDA was used for coding, revealing thematic clusters related to modalities (synchronous, asynchronous, hybrid), technologies (LMS, AR/VR, simulation tools), and learner characteristics (nontraditional students, CTE-specific learning styles). The review highlights the conceptual anchors of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, Carver et al.’s Experiential E-Learning Model, and Baasanjav’s online experiential design. Findings reveal that while OEL in CTE remains underexplored, it offers potential to increase accessibility, inclusivity, and workforce alignment. Implications suggest the need for standardized definitions, expanded instructor training, and targeted empirical studies to assess outcomes. This review contributes to emerging scholarship at the intersection of experiential and online learning in CTE.
This study investigates the characteristics and uses of school farms within Northern California, focusing on their role in school-based agricultural education (SBAE). The research aims to determine the structural and operational attributes of these facilities and to identify their primary uses as experiential learning tools. Utilizing a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 74 agricultural educators. Findings reveal that school farms, averaging 21.27 acres, are predominantly managed by agriculture teachers and are primarily used for housing market animals, supporting Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) projects. The study highlights the need for diversified school farm facilities to enhance experiential learning across all components of the SBAE model. Recommendations include targeted training for teachers, strategic facility planning through community partnerships, and innovative management approaches to optimize the educational potential of school farms.
This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of female leaders in postsecondary education, focusing on how intersecting identities influence their leadership and decision-making processes. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach and the theoretical framework of intersectionality, the research explored the relationships between gender, leadership, career decision-making, and other social identities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and demographic surveys with 11 female leaders. The findings revealed seven key themes: Identity Influenced Experiences, Unintentional Navigation, Institutional Bias, Playing the Game, Institutional Champion, Supportive Mechanisms for Career Advancement, and Value Alignment. These themes illustrate how gender and intersecting identities shape career decisions and leadership experiences. The study highlights the impact of identity on career progression and offers insights into the strategies women employ to navigate leadership roles. It contributes to the intersectionality and leadership literature and provides practical implications for enhancing institutional support for female leaders in postsecondary education.
Using the Parental Socialization Framework, this research provides a detailed analysis of how early STEM exposure, parental confidence in abilities, and gender-neutral upbringing contribute to the development of STEM identities among women. Employing a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, six undergraduate women engineering majors were interviewed in-depth about their parents' influence on their STEM pathways. The findings reveal that parents' high academic expectations, confidence in their daughters' abilities, verbal and non-verbal encouragement, and early STEM opportunities are pivotal in steering female participants toward engineering. The study also underscores the importance of creating a gender-neutral environment that allows girls to explore and develop an interest in STEM from an early age. Our research offers novel insights by applying a structured framework to analyze parental influence, which has not been sufficiently explored in existing literature. These findings have significant practical implications for educators, policymakers, and parents. Recommendations include integrating hands-on STEM activities in early education, fostering parental confidence in daughters’ abilities, promoting gender-neutral upbringing, facilitating mentorship programs, and developing supportive policies to enhance parental involvement in STEM education. By addressing these factors, stakeholders can create an environment that nurtures female students' interest and success in engineering, contributing to greater diversity and innovation in STEM fields.
This study explored the challenges impeding the implementation of lecturer professionalisation at selected public Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges in Gauteng Province, South Africa. A qualitative research approach was followed, and a case study research design was adopted. Fifteen (15) participants were selected from five colleges through a purposive sampling technique. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, which was analysed through thematic analysis on Atlas.ti. This study found that lecturer professionalisation faced personal, institutional, and systemic challenges, namely, a professional identity crisis, lack of management support, lack of pedagogical knowledge, lack of self-directedness, negative public perception, and inadequate professional ethics. This study highlights the need for South African TVET leadership to expedite lecturers’ professional development to ensure that lecturers function optimally and contribute to institutional, sectoral, and national development imperatives.
The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teacher Technological Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge and teachers’ technology integration self-efficacy through the use of TPACK and the Intrapersonal Technology Integration Scale (ITIS). In-service SBAE teachers from four upper-Midwest states were surveyed to assess their current self-efficacy related to the integration and utilization of the educational technology available in their classroom and curriculum. According to the findings of this study, SBAE teachers are using educational technology in their classrooms and curriculum daily but are only slightly confident in their ability to use it effectively. Additionally, the findings identified an association between the amount of professional development and higher levels of technology integration self-efficacy, as well as a significant positive correlation between technology integration self-efficacy and technological content knowledge, technological pedagogical knowledge, and pedagogical content knowledge. Thus, to increase the utilization of instructional technology in SBAE classrooms, we recommend teachers participate in professional development which is focused on not only how to use educational technology, but also on how to teach agriculture content using the educational technology specific to their accessible devices.
This case study examined the extent to which the two implemented manufacturing pathways of the NIMM project successfully facilitated access and engaged high school students from rural regions in two manufacturing curricula. The program consisted of two tracks or career pathways for manufacturing technicians: Mechanical CADD technician and Electro-Mechanical technician. The Mechanical CADD program was delivered online, and the Electro-Mechanical program was delivered online and through a summer skills academy. Findings include, students showed less preference for CTE manufacturing courses in an online asynchronous format, CTE instructors need to be trained to teach online, proper IT infrastructure is needed for a successful online course in rural regions, teaching CTE online will be more effective when it is hybridized, students have opportunity for hands-on experience and manufacturing tours, and offering CTE online can be an alternative to produce career pathways in manufacturing for rural students.
The Virginia Department of Education allows for various paths to teacher licensure. Teachers may graduate from an approved teacher preparation program or obtain a teaching license through alternative pathways. This study identified the professional development needs of traditionally and alternatively certified CTE teachers in Virginia by administering a statewide survey. The participants were divided into three groups: alternatively certified CTE teachers (Group 1), traditionally certified teachers in a non-CTE area and then received a CTE endorsement (Group 2), and traditionally certified teachers in CTE (Group 3). By comparing how teachers from each of these certification pathways reported their level of preparation for different aspects of teaching to the perceived importance of those aspects, conclusions can be drawn regarding the aspects of teaching that need more attention to help better prepare traditionally and alternatively certified teachers. The results demonstrate that while there are slight differences in how traditional and alternatively certified teachers report the data, there are many similarities in how these different groups of teachers feel about their teacher training. All teachers in all three groups ranked managing stress as the highest need. Other highly ranked items were balancing work and personal life, managing time, and motivating students. The Virginia Department of Education has identified Career and Technical Education (CTE) as a critical needs area for more qualified teachers due to a teacher shortage, as such it is important to understand how teachers feel about their preparation within these different licensure pathways, and resources to help teachers be better prepared can be improved.
Preparing pre-service students to teach agricultural mechanics is a difficult task due to the career pathway including a great variety of topics (Byrd et al., 2015). This study examined the trend in requirements in 1862 land-grant universities for number of courses, course credit hours, and course topics related to agricultural mechanics, as well as the total credit hours needed for degree completion in agricultural education, teacher education. Overall, the universities examined had lessened the total course credit hours related to agricultural mechanics courses from 8.33 to 11.83 credit hour requirements in 1980, to a range of 6.67 to 8.33 credit hours in 2021. As such, the total credit hours required for teacher education degree completion in agricultural education had decreased from an average of 128.4 total credit hours to 125.0 credit hours over the same time period. Course topics found to be the most common from 1980 to 2021 were Intro to Ag Mechanics, Welding, and Construction/Structures. It is recommended that qualitative interviews be conducted with cognizant university faculty to ascertain the importance of the various course topics and analyze how topics were identified as priorities in their respective programs, including whether the views of industry stakeholders were considered and addressed.
Since its inception, agricultural education has been instrumental in equipping secondary graduates with the necessary skills to be successful in their future career endeavors. While this has remained a priority over time, many employers claim that secondary graduates do not possess the necessary skills to be successful in the workforce. This study sought to assess the perceptions of school-district superintendents on the importance of integrating employability skills into agricultural education courses and evaluate differences in the perceptions of male and female superintendents. We used a descriptive research design to collect the data. The instrument assessed 41 individual skills in nine employability skill areas utilizing a Likert scale ranging from 1 = Not Important at All to 5 = Extremely Important. The first research objective determined that participating superintendents valued skills like critical thinking, personal qualities, and resource management the most. The second research objective suggested that female superintendents value applied academic skills, critical thinking skills, and systems thinking skills significantly more than male superintendents. The findings of this study suggest that superintendents believe employability skill integration is an important priority for CTE and SBAE. Based on the findings of this study, we recommend providing professional development to superintendents on the benefits of SBAE. Additionally, qualitative research should be conducted with male and female superintendents to further explore the differences in their perceptions.
As demand for college graduates grows (Times Higher Education, 2023) persistence rates for first-generation students continue to lag (Toutkoushain et al., 2018, 2021). Complicating our understanding of this opportunity gap is the diversity of how first-generation student status is defined (Jo Peralta & Klonowski, 2017). We argue that while notable differences exist between first-generation students whose parents have no college experience (FGS-none), and those from families with collegiate backgrounds (continuing-generation), the distinctions between first-generation students with parents who have some college experience (FGS-some), and the other two groups are unclear. As such, this study investigates the implications of varying definitions of first-generation college student status through the lens of student social capital and retention. Using a comprehensive survey and data analysis, the study reveals no significant differences in students’ cumulative social capital. However, examining social capital through principal component analysis revealed disparities in family social capital (FGS-none and FGS-some) and peer social capital (FGS-none). Further, lower levels of cumulative social capital and family social capital were significantly related to lower retention. The findings underscore the importance of academic support tailored to first-generation students, particularly FGS-none, and incorporating strategies within curriculum aimed at bolstering the social capital of first-generation students, especially during their critical freshman year. We argue that while post-secondary institutions should continue to use a broad definition of first-generation student status to catch the most at-risk students, research should continue to collect and explore the nuances between first-generation student populations and the role of social capital in student success.
The need for qualified school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers is often discussed in terms of teacher recruitment; however, retaining those teachers is also necessary to ensure the stability and longevity of SBAE programming. Through the lens of teacher resilience, this qualitative study sought to answer the question: What individual and social-ecological characteristics of Tennessee career agriculture teachers contributed to their resiliency and longevity in the profession? In response, we conducted a phenomenological study of Tennessee agriculture teachers with 15 or more years in the profession. After coding data from 15 interviews, six themes emerged: (1) Passion, (2) Support, (3) Adaptability, (4) Positivity, (5) Boundary Setting and Time Management, and (6) Autonomy. We concluded that multiple personal and social-ecological characteristics influenced the teachers in this study to remain in the profession. Our findings aligned with similar research on teacher resilience, demonstrating that a combination of personal development and support systems can enhance resilience. Based on these findings, we recommend preservice training and professional development related to growth mindsets and normalizing work-life balance among SBAE teachers. Because the participants emphasized the importance of both support and autonomy, we also recommend researchers investigate the roles of support organizations in SBAE retention. Additionally, we recommend training for SBAE stakeholders to learn more about how to best support teachers and the programs they manage.
