A Cross-Study Examination of Programs of Study in Three States

• In Event: Programs of Study as Locally Adaptable High School Reforms

Abstract

Objectives
The purpose of A Cross-Site Study of Programs of Study was to examine particularly well developed programs in the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education’s (NRCCTE’s) three ongoing, longitudinal POS studies to identify common elements and/or attributes that lead to the successful implementation of the POS model.
The goal of this study was to review each site’s strengths, identify the contributing factors to their development of POS. A second goal, discussed in the full paper, was to examine their implementation of the office of Vocational and Adult Educations “Ten elements of POS” (OVAE, 2010).
Methods
The cross-study project developed five protocols for interviews and then used those instruments to interview key stakeholders in three exemplary POS sites, one from each of the longitudinal studies described earlier in this symposium.
All sites were visited by teams of five-to-eight researchers between December 2010 and February 2011. More than forty interviews were conducted with teachers, administrators, counselors, and business/industry people. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using conventional analytic approaches (Miles and Huberman, 1985; Maxwell & Loomis, 2002), as well as through the use of qualitative software (NVivo).
Data Sources
All data were either archival or qualitative, derived from interviews and focus groups. .
Results
Six themes captured the bulk of the information shared throughout the three sites:
1. Engagement. At every site educators and community people talked about the power of POS to engage students in learning through connecting academic learning to meaningful educational work.
2. Connecting secondary and postsecondary systems. The goal at each site was making middle school through to college or careera seamless system.
3. Focus on student learning. The POS were established to ensure that learning, both academic and skills-based, was the primary activity of students. To a striking degree, at every level and every situation discussion focused on how each program and course could promote learning.
4. Certification of knowledge and skills. The Perkins IV legislation intended that career and technical components result in specific certifications from business and industry. In addition to these vocational skills and knowledge, interviewees stressed that academic knowledge also had to meet outcomes measured against a set of standards. At each site the goal was that all forms of learning be verified through demonstration of knowledge and skills.
5. POS raised the understanding and respect for career and technical education among stakeholders.
6. Quality teachers made a difference in the delivery of the programs.

Based upon the six themes abstracted from the interviews and observations, several recommendations were made for future POS implementation.
A. Continue to develop increasingly flexible POS models.
B. Continue to concentrate on involving students in meaningful learning experiences.
C. Increase the investment in generating relationships. All sites identified the importance of two types of relationship building. First, academic and CTE teachers work together more closely in POS. Beyond the school walls, relationships with businesses and professions fostered collaborations that often proved key to students engagement and learning.

Authors

• Samuel C. Stringfield, University of Cincinnati

• Robert D. Shumer, University of Minnesota

• Natalie Kosine Stipanovic, University of Louisville

• Nora Murphy