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.
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