Framing Public Opinion Toward Career and Technical Education

• In Event: Collaborations, Motivation, and Student Success in Career and Technical Education

Abstract

Career and Technical Education is currently playing an increasingly prominent role in America’s educational system, yet little is known about public attitudes towards Career and Technical Education (CTE) in the contemporary American context. This study uses a survey-based experiment to explore the impact of various framing arguments common in the long-running debates around CTE. Participants were randomly exposed to either positive and negative frames, some of which were based in economic arguments (such as “Workforce Alignment” or “Narrow Preparation”), and some of which were values-based (framing CTE around “Inequality” or “Individualism”). Results suggest, among other findings, that economic-based frames may be most impactful in influencing public attitudes towards CTE – in both positive and negative directions.

Author

• Walter G Ecton, The University of Pennsylvania