The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent do CTSOs affect student psychosocial and achievement outcomes (above and beyond stand-alone CTE programs) when controlling for gender and race. Using a cross-sectional descriptive research design, a total of 5,677 students from 10 states were surveyed regarding their high school…

Sparked by the current economic situation in the U.S., policymakers have begun to shift their concern from solely concentrating on the preparation of students for college to preparing them for the workforce as well. Thus, it is time for CTE to understand its impact on students' long-term trajectories. The purpose of this study was to predict…

Data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 database was used to determine the effects of career academy participation in grades 9 or 10 on educational aspirations. Propensity score matching was used to obtain initially equivalent groups for analysis. No statistically significant differences in postsecondary educational aspirations were…

In times of uncertainty and change where the job market is fluid and the U.S. economy is weak, students need to feel empowered to construct their lives and forge their career paths. Constructivism has been suggested as one way to empower people. The current study explored outcomes in constructivist career courses using a quasi-experimental…

This study examined differences in the awareness, use, and perceived impact of educators, employers, and workforce training providers toward skills standards implementation in the State of Illinois. Group differences were revealed on the use of skills standards, with educators displaying significantly higher levels of use than employers or…

The federal career and technical legislation reauthorized in 2006 required the recipients of its funding to offer at least one Program of Study (POS). All states have developed some components of POS through earlier initiatives, primarily Tech Prep, career pathways, and youth apprenticeship, that attempted to ease the transition of students from…

Dual and concurrent enrollments enable students to earn postsecondary credits while still in high school. The 2006 Perkins legislation encourages such enrollments as a component of programs of study. There is evidence that students who earn dual enrollment credits have slightly (typically 4% to 5%) more positive outcomes in postsecondary education…

As career clusters and pathways are being implemented within the program of study requirement of the Perkins IV legislation, the current linkages between entry level occupations and careers requiring advanced certifications or degrees should be examined by career and technical education (CTE). This study examined the linkage in the healthcare…

This study explored the hypothesis that Career Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) provide a variety of experiences that either directly or indirectly affect three important outcomes of secondary education: achievement, transition to postsecondary education and training, and employability. A pre-post-test comparison study of high school…

We examined participation in the Career and Technical Education concentration (CTE), and School-to-Work activities at the end of the century following more than a decade of education reform in the United States. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we also explored whether school-to-work activities have extended beyond…