College and Career Ready in a Changing Economy: Value Assessments of Career and Technical Education

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 09. Higher Education 2

Abstract

The college-for-all movement has become the default approach to preparing youth for careers in the shifting economic landscape of the 21st century. Yet in recent years, a revitalization of vocational education, rebranded as “career and technical education” (CTE), has gained momentum as an alternative to college-for-all. Despite both movements’ similar stated objectives of promoting “college and career readiness,” their underlying assumptions about the value of secondary education fundamentally differ. On the one hand, advocates of college-for-all tend to conceptualize education as a private good and argue that all individuals should have equal opportunity to compete for access to the highest rewards. On the other hand, the fiercest advocates of CTE tend to envision education as a public good, arguing that schools should operate to meet the basic economic needs of individuals and the community even if it means the highest-prestige jobs remain out of reach for some. Yet little research explores how institutional contexts influence the way youth themselves who select into CTE coursework conceptualize the value of education. The current ongoing study fills this gap through interviews with nine educators and industry representatives in a robust manufacturing region of the US. Preliminary findings reveal a climate of skepticism towards the college-for-all movement. Through the prioritization of economic stability and social efficiency over social mobility, these educators and employers seek to revalorize middle-skill labor and expand our view of what counts as intellectually stimulating, high-value learning and work.

Author

• Sarah Cashdollar, University of Chicago