Tuesday, December 15, 2015

How safe are Agricultural Education programs?

Dr. Mark D. Threeton, Penn
State University
Researchers at Penn State University have published the results of a study entitled “Occupational Safety and Health: A View of Current Practices in Agricultural Education” on the 2015 Issue of the Journal of Career and Technical Education (JCTE).

Authors Mark D. Threeton, John C. Ewing, and Danielle C. Evanoski, sought to explore safety and health practices within secondary Agricultural Mechanics Education. Threeton, the lead author, noted that, "while a multitude of studies have examined safety and health practices within the workforce, few have investigated this topic within Agricultural Education." In this regard, Threeton also reported "there is a need for concern related to occupational safety and health elements within some Agricultural Mechanics programs."

Based on the results, the authors concluded that although the majority of agricultural education programs in the study included a safety program, about of a fourth of programs did not. Further, the authors found that most of the students receive safety training, while a small fraction of teachers do not provide related instruction. Lack of adequate funding and classroom facilities combined with high student enrollment appeared to hinder the implementation of safety programs.

Therefore, Threeton suggested, "the results of this study should be viewed as an initial call to action, which promotes further research and professional development to advance proper occupational safety and health practices within Agricultural Education."

Reading/Downloading Full Articles
The full version of this article may be accessed as part of Volume 30, Issue 1 (Winter 2015) issue of the Journal of Career and Technical Education, available at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JCTE/v30n1/

Submitting Manuscripts for Publication
To submit manuscripts and preparation guidelines, please visit the JCTE's page at http://cwe-usf-ott.blogspot.com/p/jcte.html


High school predictors of a career in medicine: What makes a difference?

From left to right: Travis T. Fuchs, Dr. Phillip M. Sadler,
and Dr. Gerhard Sonnert
Researchers at Harvard University have published the results of a study entitled “High School Predictors of a Career in Medicine” on the Journal of Career and Technical Education (JCTE). The authors, Travis T. Fuchs, Philip M. Sadler, and Gerhard Sonnert, examined how background, academic, and motivation variables influenced students’ desire, at the end of high school, for a medical career, and, in particular, how these variables differed by race/ethnicity. The study aimed to add to the evidence base about students’ career interests in medicine at the end of high school to inform policy initiatives that are planned to support underrepresented minority (URM) students. Based on multiple logistic regression models the authors found that interest in a medical career at the beginning of high school strongly predicted interest in a medical career at the end of high school. 

According to the authors, this finding highlighted how early medical career intentions take shape and, thus, how important early strategies may be if one wants to foster students’ interest in medicine. In addition, the authors found almost no racial/ethnic differences when predicting end of high school interest in medicine, after controlling for other predictors. The exception was elevated medical career interest amongst Non-Hispanic Asian students. Furthermore, Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic students who wanted to become physicians tended to have low science performance. This limited proficiency may impede Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic students’ further progress through the medical pipeline. 

Based on the results of their study, the authors recommend for those wishing to develop intervention strategies that support URM students on the path toward medicine, that they strengthen the scientific achievement of high school students who already have an interest in medicine.

Reading/Downloading Full Articles
The full version of this article may be accessed as part of Volume 30, Issue 1 (Winter 2015) issue of the Journal of Career and Technical Education, available at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JCTE/v30n1/

Submitting Manuscripts for Publication
To submit manuscripts and preparation guidelines, please visit the JCTE's page at http://cwe-usf-ott.blogspot.com/p/jcte.html

Ethnic and gender-based inequities present in CTE clusters

From left to right: Dr. Joel R. Malin, Dr. Asia Fuller 
Hamilton, and Dr. Donald G. Hackmann
Researchers at the University of Illinois and Miami University have published the results of a study entitled “Racial/Ethnic and Gender Equity Patterns in Illinois High School Career and Technical Education” on the Journal of Career and Technical Education (JCTE).

The authors reported that creating racial/ethnic and gender equity in the workplace begins with the preparation that students receive in the PK-12 education system. While jobs are expanding in high-tech fields, postsecondary institutions are producing insufficient numbers of graduates within those fields. Focusing on historically marginalized populations within high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs is one way of addressing this problem.  Women, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics have consistently been underrepresented in STEM occupations (Beede, Julian, Langdon et al., 2011; Beede, Julian, Khan et al., 2011) and racial and ethnic inequities in CTE STEM course enrollments restrict access to STEM fields in postsecondary educational experiences and in STEM occupations.

Thus, in Racial/Ethnic and Gender Equity Patterns in Illinois High School Career and Technical Education, authors Asia Fuller Hamilton, Joel Malin, and Donald Hackmann examined Illinois high school student enrollments in Career and Technical Education courses in STEM career cluster areas and STEM pathways, as defined by the Illinois Race to the Top application parameters. The authors noted that the results of the study suggested that:
  1. Significant gender-based inequities were found in certain career cluster areas, with more equitable patterns in others.
  2. Student enrollments within STEM career clusters included substantially greater male than female participation (64.1% male, 35.9% female)
  3. Non-STEM clusters showed reverse enrollment patterns (55.0% female, 45.0% male).
  4. Conspicuous racial/ethnic participation differences in Illinois CTE enrollments were found in several career clusters, including an overrepresentation of White students in every career cluster and underrepresentation of Black students in all but one career cluster.
  5. Participation rates in Illinois CTE courses showed White and Asian participation rates were greater in STEM than non-STEM career clusters. However, reverse patterns were found for Black (12.1% STEM, 14.1% non-STEM), Hispanic (14.8% STEM, 16.3% non-STEM), and “other” racial/ethnic groups (2.6% STEM, 2.9% non-STEM). 
Based on the results of their study, the authors recommended examining and influencing changes in inequitable practices within CTE STEM areas provided for state, local, and federal policy makers and school practitioners. The authors indicated that these findings hold great importance because they draw attention to inequities within Illinois high school CTE programs with respect to gender and race/ethnicity, which they hope will ultimately lead to the expansion of access and opportunities for marginalized populations within these programs.

Reading/Downloading Full Articles
The full version of this article may be accessed as part of Volume 30, Issue 1 (Winter 2015) issue of the Journal of Career and Technical Education, available at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JCTE/v30n1/

Submitting Manuscripts for Publication
To submit manuscripts and preparation guidelines, please visit the JCTE's page at http://cwe-usf-ott.blogspot.com/p/jcte.html

2015 JCTE Issue is now available

In the recently released issue of the Journal of Career and Technical Education (JCTE), Volume 30, Number 1 / Winter 2015, three articles are featured. The articles represent two methodological approaches (correlational and descriptive), and address important issues related to career development, equity, and program practice.

In the first article, High School Predictors of a Career in Medicine, Fuchs, Sadler, and Sonnert reported the results of a study of high school students interested in medicine as a career. The authors noted the need to boost participation and equity in the medical career pathway and were particularly interested in determining whether interest at the end of high school is mediated by race/ethnicity. Using multiple logistic regression models, the authors determined there is a relationship between early and at the end of high school. The authors found no racial/ethnic differences in related interest although Asian students tended to show higher interest, while Black and Hispanic students showed high intrinsic motivation but lower science performance limiting the pursuit of related career pathways.

In the second article, Fuller Hamilton, Malin, and Hackman reported the results of a study entitled, Racial/Ethnic and Gender Equity Patterns in Illinois High School Career and Technical Education Course-work. In their study, the authors sought to analyze Career and Technical Education (CTE) student enrollments in Illinois by career cluster and pathway in terms of gender and racial/ethnic participation. The authors were particularly interested in determining participation trends in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) CTE pathways. This was an ex post facto descriptive study using state data to determine participation trends and the authors found gender and ethnicity-based inequities in certain areas, while more equitable patterns were apparent in others. For example, the authors described higher enrollment of male students within STEM pathways, but in other CTE pathways the trend was reversed. In general, based on the results of this study, White student participation was found to be more prevalent in CTE programs in the Illinois when compared to other students.

In turn, the third article features the results of the study, Occupational Safety and Health: A View of Current Practices in Agricultural Education, conducted by Threeton, Ewing, and Evanoski. In this study, the authors used descriptive research relying on a survey to document safety practices in the context of instruction in secondary agricultural education. Based on the results, the authors concluded that although the majority of agricultural education programs in the study included a safety program, about of a fourth of programs did not. Further, the authors found that most of the students receive safety training, while a small fraction of teachers do not provide related instruction. Lack of adequate funding and classroom facilities combined with high student enrollment appeared to hinder the implementation of safety programs.

The results of the first two studies confirm relevant literature in STEM related pathways, especially in the areas of engineering and computer science, noting the need for boosting the participation of underrepresented students in the education pipeline. In addition, the third article contributes to our understanding related to the creation of a safety environment for student participation that should be at the core of CTE programs.

Overall, we appreciate the work of researchers in the field and the opportunity to share their work with others in the CTE community through our journal.

Reading/Downloading Full Articles
Volume 30, Issue 1 (Winter 2015) issue of the Journal of Career and Technical Education may be accessed at http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JCTE/v30n1/

Submitting Manuscripts for Publication
To submit manuscripts and preparation guidelines, please visit the JCTE's page at http://cwe-usf-ott.blogspot.com/p/jcte.html