Opportunities and Challenges in Secondary Career and Technical Education

1. Opportunities and Challenges in Secondary Career and Technical Education

2. Ilene Kantrov, Ph.D. Joyce Malyn-Smith, Ed.D. Pathways to College and Careers, Learning and Teaching Division, EDC Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is a global nonprofit organization that creates learning opportunities for people around the world, empowering them to pursue healthier, more productive lives. A leader in bridging career and technical education (CTE) and academic education, EDC commissioned a survey to explore the experiences and interests of CTE educators across the country and interviewed 11 state CTE leaders. A white paper, drawing on the survey and interviews, is available at http://ltd.edc.org/resource-library/CTEwhitepaper.

3. CTE Trends and Challenges Survey/Interviews Overview • Survey goal: To understand CTE trends and challenges in several areas • Survey was conducted from September 18, 2013 to October 9, 2013. • 850 district and school CTE leaders across the country responded to the survey • State CTE leaders interviewed were from 11 states. 3

4. Survey Respondents by Region *Source for K–12 enrollment distribution is National Center for Education Statistics 4

5. Exciting Time for CTE Advent of Common Core and increased interest in career readiness provide opportunity to: • Infuse academic programs with strengths of CTE • Increase stature of CTE • Leverage investments to enhance CTE 5

6. Historical and Forecasted CTE Enrollment Growth Select the option that best describes enrollment growth in your organization’s CTE program. Today • 40+% reported that enrollments had grown more than 5% over the past 5 years. • Continued expansion in enrollments (i.e., “Next Year”) indicates increased visibility and interest in CTE. n = 704+ 6

7. Historical and Projected CTE Budget Growth Select the option that best describes budget growth in your organization’s CTE program. Today • 73+% reported flat or declining budgets during past 5 years. • Across 3 time periods, CTE budgets seem to be stabilizing. • Of respondents indicating budget increases, only ~20% reported >5% increases for last year or anticipated for next year. n = 642+ 7

8. CTE and Academic Instruction How do CTE students experience academics? • About 7 out of 10 report academic courses are independent of CTE courses. • About 6 out of 10 indicate academics are integrated into CTE courses. CTE  Academic CTE  Academic Academic  CTE CTE ≠ Academic n = 778 8

9. Career Cluster Program Growth: Aligned with Workforce and Economic Development Trends • 36% cited STEM as area of anticipated expansion in the next one to two years • Four other top areas of anticipated expansion: • Health Science (26%) • Information Technology (26%) • Manufacturing (26%) • Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (25%) 9

10. Industry and Postsecondary Partnerships • 97% rated Alignment with industry standards and expectations “very important” or “important” • 85% rated Alignment with regional economic development opportunities“very important” or “important”---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Truly involved business/industry partners add to the curriculum and positioning of the school and program within the educational community. –Survey respondent 10

11. Industry and Postsecondary Partnerships • Biggest gap between level of importance (93%) and level of satisfaction (51%): Finding industry partners and mentors • ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Somewhat smaller gap between level of importance (93%) and level of satisfaction (68%): Connection to postsecondary education 11

12. Professional Development • Professional Development: Also significant gap between level of importance (92%) and level of satisfaction (60%) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- • Professional development identified as among highest priorities for investment, along with equipment, technology, and curriculum/instructional materials 12

13. Preferred Types of CTE-Related Professional Development How do you specifically prefer to access CTE-related professional development? • Respondents prefer accessing professional development faceto face rather than online. • Attending state or regional conferences is the most preferred type of professional development. n = 388 13

14. Current and Future Approach to Use of Digital/ Online Instructional Materials Which statement best describes your organization’s approach to use of digital/online instructional materials for your CTE programs? Next 1−2 Years Today • Significant expansion in percentage of respondents forecasting shift to primarily digital/online materials in next 1–2 years • Nearly 36% anticipate CTE programs using primarily digital/online materials n (today) = 743 n (1–2 years) = 486 14

15. Implications: How Can You Use This Information? • Demonstrate how your programs support implementation of Common Core and engage academic colleagues in collaboration • Use local/regional data that shows alignment of your programs with workforce and economic development trends in communities/regions to generate support • Promote investments in professional development

16. Acknowledgments EDC appreciates the assistance provided by the Association for Career & Technical Education. We thank the 850 survey participants and 11 CTE state leaders we interviewed for taking the time to share their insights on CTE trends and challenges.

17. White Paper Opportunities and Challenges in Secondary Career and Technical Education Ilene Kantrov Education Development Center, Inc. ikantrov@edc.org http://ltd.edc.org/resource-library/CTEwhitepaper