Research has consistently revealed that adolescents with a migration background are more likely to drop out from vocational education and training (VET) at the upper-secondary level than their native peers. While recent research has provided rich empirical evidence of mechanisms leading to dropouts from VET, little is known about such mechanisms…

Purpose: This paper explores teacher perceptions of agriculture and the subsequent influence of these perceptions on student career pursual in the sector. Design/methodology/approach: This quantitative study used a post-workshop survey to evaluate 185 Technology Mandatory teachers' knowledge, experience and perceptions of the agricultural sector.…

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic began to substantially disrupt the educational experiences of high school students. In addition to experiencing the pandemic disruption in high schools, students were also likely aware of disruptions in colleges and in the labor market. Fast-forward to the spring of 2023. The students who are now…

The call to increase student interest in science and related careers continues to receive national attention in the United States. While many current efforts have focused on infrastructure support and innovative pedagogies to better reach and engage students, research suggests that having a career role model can influence adolescents' interest in…

Initial vocational training (VT) in high school consists of short-term programs leading to employment in a skilled trade. To better align training with employment opportunities and to encourage students to stay in the programs until they graduate, most programs include traineeship. Since traineeships involve acquiring skills directly on the job,…

The manufacturing industry is crucial to the United States economy, constituting more than 10% of the gross domestic product (National Association of Manufacturing [NAM], 2022). However, the sector faces challenges such as a shortage of skilled labor and underrepresentation of women, which threaten its sustainability (NAM, 2023). Various…

The perceptions of students interested in STEM, particularly those too often excluded due to race and/or gender, are necessary to create educational experiences that additively contribute to students' access and inclusion in STEM. The purpose of this inquiry was to understand the perceptions of 34 high-school students about race and gender…

The quality of care children receive from birth to kindergarten sets them on a trajectory for successful entry to school. Children who receive high-quality care, which is provided by qualified early educators with demonstrated mastery of the essential early learning core competencies, enter school ready to learn. Shortages of credentialed early…

Ethnic minority women in rural parts of China remain excluded from many pathways to economic and social success, including most forms of traditional education. While technical and vocational education and training (TVET) offers an alternative, it carries a degree of stigma and its benefits for these communities are not well-documented. This study…

Disparity in educational and career outcomes between rural, regional and remote (RRR) students and their metropolitan counterparts persists despite successive federal and state government initiatives. In this paper, we will present a study that highlights one important, yet overlooked, avenue to improve outcomes for RRR students: early-stage…

Increasing diversity in engineering, which is a goal of the profession, education and government, starts with increasing the diversity of those choosing to study the discipline. This paper focuses on girls' engagement in engineering. Data is from a survey of girls attending a university open day and interviews with practising female engineers. The…

When Black and Latino students are given advanced opportunities, they thrive alongside their peers. However, only a fraction of eligible students is enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) Biology, Chemistry, and Physics courses, which means that most Black and Latino students are being denied vital learning opportunities that can set them up for…

A multiple study mixed methods research design was used to examine how gifted English as a Foreign Language (EFL) high school students in Vietnam form their career intentions. In the first study, interview data collected from 25 participants were analyzed using grounded theory to develop models that describe the formation of career intentions. In…

The research was motivated by the necessity to examine the perspectives of STEM professions in Serbia. The aim of this research was to study students' motives for career choices and their attitudes towards STEM sciences. The empirical scientific approach was applied, i.e. the quantitative and qualitative research method. The most frequently chosen…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields are in high demand for qualified personnel worldwide, yet drop-out rates of a career path in STEM occur at various points in lifespan. Based on a big-data analysis of 534,590 records retrieved from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics for several points in time over one and a half…