Student and Educator Perceptions of the Value of CTE (Career and Technical Education) and IBCs (Industry-Based Certifications)

• In Event: Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Federal and state policy have increasingly emphasized the development of structured career and technical education (CTE) programs of study where students have opportunities to earn industry-based certifications (IBCs). However, research has yet to examine how schools have implemented CTE and IBC opportunities or the value that students and educators ascribe to them. Informed by our prior work with quantitative data from Texas’s statewide longitudinal data system [1, 2] and expectancy-value theory (EVT), we conducted pilot focus groups with students (n=17) and educators (n=8) at Texas high schools. The preliminary observations of our pilot data shed light on disparate perceptions of value amongst students and educators, and highlight the disconnects between CTE’s actors and beneficiaries (i.e., students and educators) and policymakers.

Authors

• Madison E. Andrews, University of Texas at Austin

• Kait Ogden, University of Texas at Austin

• Matthew S. Giani, University of Texas at Austin