An examination of the impact Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs have on high school graduation rates

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2021-04-16

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Abstract

The purpose of this study focuses on the effects of enrollment in Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses on high school graduation rates. The study utilized archival data from 16,953 high school students from the Drowsy Willow Independent School District (DWISD), a large suburban school district in southeast Texas. Archived transcript and demographic data were collected of each high school student enrolled in DWISD between 2010-2016. Chi-square Tests of Independence and Logistic Regression were used to evaluate the relationship between the students’ enrollment in CTE coursework and their probability for graduating high school. Additionally, 12 CTE educators were interviewed to determine their perceptions of how CTE coursework influence and affect students at-risk of dropping out of school.

The results of this study reveal that a significant relation exists between CTE enrollment and student dropout behavior. These findings offer new insight regarding the extent to which students should enroll in CTE coursework and as to how CTE educators can engage students at-risk of dropping out

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Keywords

Career and Technical Education, High School, Graduation Rates

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