Conducting Statewide Needs Assessment and Creating New Paths Using Systems-Thinking, Systemic, Systematic, and Equity Principles

• In Event: Possibilities of Systems Thinking: Advancing Ideas in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe the methods and share the findings of a mixed-methods needs assessment and a co-creation process with education professionals, policymakers, and business communities to design (re-design) a state’s career and technical education (CTE) system spanning from K-12 through post-secondary education as part of the 2018 reauthorization of the federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act. The needs assessment and design process were anchored with the following principles: the extent to which CTE is operating as a system; is systemic in its reach across the state; is systematic in its structures and processes; and, is equitable in its access of opportunities and outcomes.

Authors

• Richard Choe Seder, University of Hawaii

• George M. Harrison, University of Hawaii at Manoa

• Kara Suzuka, University of Hawaii - Manoa