What Counts as STEM (and for Whom)? The Case of Secondary Career and Technical Education Engineering Courses

• In Event: Career and Technical Education SIG Paper Session: Trends and Findings Related to Secondary-Level Career and Technical Education Coursework

Abstract

Engineering, Design, and Production (EDP) CTE courses require STEM knowledge and teach skills aligned with high-demand, high-paying occupations requiring less than a bachelor’s degree in STEM. Secondary students who concentrate in these pathways are overwhelming White despite efforts to diversify STEM pathways. This research utilizes data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 to investigate the school- and student-level motivational factors which influence EDP concentration. The two-level logistic regression models indicate differences in associated factors between Black, Hispanic, and White students. Math and science situated expectancy-value constructs were only associated with concentration for White students indicating narrow definitions of STEM do not represent EDP-related tasks for historically minoritized students in this pathway.

Authors

• Anthony M. Perry, University of North Dakota
  Presenting Author

• Gina Childers, Texas Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jessica Gottlieb, Texas Tech University
  Non-Presenting Author