Despite the fact that Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares students for high-wage careers and in-demand jobs (Gordon & Schultz, 2020), it silences the voices it aims to empower by focusing on career alignment rather than community. This dissertation examines perceptions in rural communities in Wyoming to determine how CTE programs can…

Community colleges serve a crucial role in providing higher education access for U.S. English learner (EL) populations. Many ELs are placed in community college academic ESL programs in order to prepare them to transition to taking courses in the wider college. Yet, the success of academic ESL programs has been mixed at best, with these programs…

Studies show a need for career and technical education (CTE) faculty to have more instructional training. Greater use of evidence based instructional practices (EBIPs) would likely improve community college CTE program instruction by providing research-based guidance for effective instruction. Use of EBIPs remains low across all levels of…

This brief highlights lessons from the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) Centers of Excellence model, which has redesigned each of the system's seven campuses as a "college-to-career center" and consolidated academic programs in high-demand industries at particular campuses. The model incorporates features of sectoral training programs,…

Career Technical Education (CTE), including Career Technical Agricultural Education (CTAE) in Georgia, are experiencing difficulty retaining quality teachers. This problem is exacerbated in rural communities, which have a smaller workforce pool and fewer nearby colleges to certify CTE/CTAE teachers (Morton, 2021). A potential solution to offset…

Career technical education and skilled trades have been the subject of a social stigma that continues to make it a habit of mind that career technical education is inferior to a 4-year college education. This stigma is partially responsible for a shortage of skilled labor. This study aimed to explore how educators describe and understand the…

This article reports the results of a qualitative study whose purpose was to explore the teacher identity construction experiences of one group of vocational education English language teachers in China. The study uses narrative methods of inquiry to examine how English language teachers construct their professional identities within a…

Objective/Research Question: The purpose of this grounded theory study is to explore how community college CTE faculty members aim to support disabled students in their career pursuits. Methods: This constructivist grounded theory study entailed interviewing 20 faculty members across two southeastern United States community colleges. Results:…

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the experiences of community college career technical education (CTE) faculty that used extended reality to improve their program of study and prepare students for proficiency and skill attainment in workforce development. How faculty adapted to learning various pedagogical practices for distance learning,…

Increased attention toward filling skills gaps have prompted community colleges to prepare a new wave of employees. Community colleges have long turned to former industry professionals, now serving as career and technical education (CTE) faculty, to train students for fruitful careers. This narrative inquiry study featured interviews with 20…

School attendance is a valuable key element in promoting academic achievement and determining student success inside and outside the classroom. However, due to the unforeseen circumstances of a deadly contagious, airborne disease, known as COVID-19, the pandemic has created the largest disruption within the education system in history, affecting…

This research project sought to evaluate potential barriers limiting the use of augmented reality welding simulators into career and technical education welding curricula. This study used quantitative and qualitative case studies to address five objectives: (1) What is the operating cost of a CTE welding program, (2) Are there cost savings on…

This dissertation investigated the perceptions of community college and secondary employee perceptions on the benefits of dual enrollment and career and technical education pathways. This study examined the differences between the perceptions by roles and years of experience. This topic was chosen as dual enrollment career and technical education…

Technical literacy instruction and authentic learning opportunities need to be implemented through cross-curricular collaboration into secondary ELA curriculums to bridge the disconnect between K-12 education and the demands of the 21st-century workforce. The Common Core State Standards as well as newly adopted legislation in Maryland, Blueprint…

Evidence today shows that there is a skills gap among employable young adults. This study was based on a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program evaluation that was conducted in a rural school district in northwest North Carolina. The study examined the perceptions of the program by CTE high school teachers, CTE community college instructors,…