Career and Technical Education in High School: Does It Improve Student Outcomes?

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Editor’s Note: The following, co-authored by Shaun M. Dougherty, assistant professor in the Neag School, and Dara Zeehandelaar, national research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, is an excerpt from an article featured in ACSD Express, a newsletter published by the nonprofit educational leadership organization ACSD — formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 

Ask any group of high school teachers, and they will report that the most frequently asked question in their classrooms is, “When are we ever gonna use this?” In a traditional college prep program, the honest answer is usually, “Maybe when you get to the university.” But in the real world? Depending on the class, students may not find their learning as useful.

In high-quality Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, however, that question is moot. Students learn skills that will help them prepare for stable careers and success in a modern, global, and competitive economy. A student who wants a future in architecture doesn’t question his first drafting course in high school. One interested in aerospace sees value in her introduction to engineering design class. An aspiring medical professional is enthusiastic, not indifferent, about high school anatomy.

We owe it to America’s students to prepare them for whatever comes after high school, not just academic programs at four-year universities.

A Damaged Brand

Unfortunately, for millions of American students, CTE is not a meaningful part of their high school experience. In large part, this is because CTE has been chronically neglected by American education leaders and policymakers. Many CTE advocates suspect that this oversight has happened because of the damaged “brand” of vocational education. And it’s damaged for a reason; there was a time when the “vo-tech” track was a pathway to nowhere. “Tracking,” as practiced in the 20th century, was pernicious. It sent a lot of kids —especially low-income and minority students — into low-paying, menial jobs, or worse.

America’s failure to prioritize CTE is an anomaly. In most industrialized countries — nearly all of which outperform us on measures of academic achievement, such as PISA and TIMSS — students begin preparing for a career while still in high school. These countries see the value in developing career and college-based competencies that all students need in our increasingly interconnected world. In short, CTE around the globe is not a track away from a successful adulthood, but rather a path towards it.

American students face a double-whammy: They not only lack access to high-quality secondary CTE, but are also subject to a “bachelor’s degree or bust” mentality. And many do bust, dropping out of college with no degree, no work skills, no work experience, and a fair amount of debt. That’s a terrible way to begin adult life. We owe it to America’s students to prepare them for whatever comes after high school, not just academic programs at four-year universities.

ASCD Express, Vol. 12, No. 9. Copyright 2017 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

5 Ways Schools Can Positively and Proactively Support All Students

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OSEP Center on PBISEditor’s Note: The following PBIS Practitioners Guide[1] — titled “Addressing School Climate: 5 Ways Schools Can Positively and Proactively Support All Students”[2],[3] — originally appeared on the OSEP Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports website and is authored by the following faculty members in the Center for Behavioral Education and Research at the Neag School: Brandi Simonsen, George Sugai, Jennifer Freeman, and Tamika La Salle. To access this and other resources related to positive behavioral interventions and supports, please visit pbis.org/whats-new. 

 

School Climate Challenges

Bullying incidents and other concerning behaviors present educators with significant, immediate challenges in supporting students. Rather than waiting for these behaviors to occur and reacting, we encourage educators to adopt positive and proactive practices to support students and prevent these behaviors from occurring.

Three Reasons to Invest NOW in Positive and Proactive Practices

  1. Schools often serve as the de-facto mental health support system for students. Providing all students with a safe, predictable, and positive environment is critical in effectively addressing many mental health concerns.
  1. Implementing basic positive and proactive practices works. When these key practices are implemented well, students’ social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes improve.
  1. By implementing positive, proactive practices, schools can more effectively support students who may experience greater difficulties and require additional support.

A Call for Positive and Proactive Practices

School leaders and educators must not wait until students demonstrate signs of stress or report bullying incidents. We must act now and proactively address students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs; bolster positive school climates so that learning can occur; and firm up our relationships with students to ensure they feel safe, appreciated, and respected.

Specifically, educators must increase their investment in and use of five empirically supported, high-impact practices:

  1. Establish positively stated expectations that explicitly communicate respect for all students and that value and embrace diversity among students as well as adults. Clearly describe how students and adults can display observable expectations in each classroom routine and school setting that contribute to a common language and a predictable, respectful, and safe experience for all.
  2. Explicitly and purposefully teach expectations across all classroom routines and school settings. Specifically define, model, and practice each expectation, and use positive and negative examples so that students see the line between appropriate and inappropriate behavior and actions. Also, teach students specific problem-solving strategies for instances in which they experience or see disrespectful behavior. Create a school-wide “stop signal” for disrespect. Teach students to use that signal to walk away from disrespectful acts. Show students how to use that signal when standing with a peer who is experiencing disrespectful behavior. And, help students identify how and when they should report disrespectful actions to an adult.

If simple instruction is not sufficient, adopt a structured social skills program. For example, Bully Prevention is a free, empirically supported curriculum that may be used to supplement school-specific lessons. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning is a useful guide to other curricula. Consider explicitly teaching expectations in the context of the national dialogue through practice and mini-lessons on how to interact respectfully with others who supported different political positions.

School leaders and educators must not wait until students demonstrate signs of stress or report bullying incidents. We must act now and proactively address students’ social, emotional, and behavioral needs

  1. Give specific praise for displays of appropriate behavior. Actively supervise students to catch as many instances of appropriate behavior as possible. When disrespectful behavior occurs, provide a specific error correction to identify the mistake and to teach and practice the correct response. Give feedback so that praise exceeds corrections (e.g., 4 to 1 ratio).
  1. Use data to monitor implementation, and screen for students who require more intensive support. Monitor how lessons are provided and how students respond to the behavior of their peers. Although published screening and progress monitoring tools are available, start regularly examining existing data sources (e.g., office referrals, school nurse visits, academic failure, attendance) to identify students who may require more targeted or intensive supports. Look for students who display interpersonal (e.g., teasing, intimidation, harassment) as well as personal (e.g., withdrawal, anxiety, self-harm) challenges.

Utilize school climate data to examine experiences of groups of students who may be more personally affected by the national conversation, including students who identify as Muslim, Jewish, Black, Latinx, or LGBTQ; have disabilities, history of trauma, or mental health challenges; have recently immigrated to the United States or have family members who are immigrants; or represent other diverse backgrounds. Diversity is a positive quality; embracing and valuing diversity requires a safe, respectful environment and a deliberate approach that supports all students, families, and staff members.

  1. Provide a differentiated continuum of positive support for students that integrates and addresses academic, behavioral, social, and emotional needs and expectations within a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework, such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports or Response to Intervention. Work as teams within MTSS to identify and deliver appropriate practices for students who require targeted or intensive support. Use student responsiveness to intervention to move to more or less specialized supports.

Schools and/or classrooms that use these five practices on an ongoing basis tend to have positive climates and the capacity to be proactive in addressing the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of their students.

[1] The purpose of “PBIS Practitioner’s Guides” is to suggest PBIS-based strategies for educators in classrooms and schools, especially, in the context of contemporary priorities, initiatives, and concerns. Technical Guides are usually available to provide the theoretical, conceptual, and/or empirical background and support.
[2] The development and preparation of this PBIS Practitioner’s Guide was supported in part by a grant from the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education (H029D40055) and by the Center for Behavioral Education and Research in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. Opinions expressed herein are the author’s and do not reflect necessarily the position of the US Department of Education or University of Connecticut, and such endorsements should not be inferred. Contact: Brandi Simonsen (Brandi.simonsen@uconn.edu).
[3] Prepared for the PBIS Center by Brandi Simonsen, George Sugai, Jennifer Freeman, Tamika La Salle at Center for Behavioral Education and Research, Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut.

In Memoriam: Professor Emerita Alexinia Baldwin ’71 Ph.D.

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Professor Emerita Alexinia Baldwin
Alexinia Baldwin, professor emerita of curriculum and instruction, died Jan. 21, 2017. (Photo Credit: Shannon McAvoy)

Alexinia Young Baldwin ’71 Ph.D., professor emerita of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, died on Jan. 21, 2017. She was 91.

An internationally recognized expert in curriculum development and instructional theory for gifted and early childhood education, Baldwin earned a Ph.D. from the Neag School under Professor Joseph Renzulli. She began her teaching career at the height of the civil rights movement as an instructor of the first class of black gifted students in Birmingham, Ala.

Baldwin returned to the Neag School in 1988 as a professor of curriculum development and theory, where she remained until her retirement in 2003. She also served as department head from 1988 to 1994. Her research focused on the education of gifted students, specifically on the recognition and development of the academic talents of children from minority groups.

From 1998 to 2000, Baldwin served as a Consultant to the United States Office of Civil Rights and had a lifelong involvement in pursuing human rights and equity for all individuals — which included actively participating in civil rights marches during the 1960s. In addition, she served as chair of the UConn Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women and held offices in many professional organizations, including serving as president of the Capital District Chapter of 100 Black Women and as a board member of Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame Foundation.

“[Professor Baldwin’s] colleagues considered her a role model, a leader, and a pioneer in her field.” Professor Mary Anne Doyle

Baldwin served as a visiting professor of gifted education at numerous higher education institutions — including Purdue University, the University of Melbourne, and Tartu University in Estonia. She was an advisor and mentor to many students as well, and was instrumental in establishing and supporting the Philo T. Pritzkau Fund, a scholarship fund that supports graduate students in the Neag School.

In 2004, the Neag School honored her with the Distinguished Alumni Award. She also was named an outstanding Connecticut Woman Graduate in Leadership; a member of the Martin Luther King Colloquium of Scholars at Morehouse University; and a 2004 Distinguished Scholar by the National Association for Gifted Children. An active member of the community, Baldwin was involved with the UConn Foundation’s Close to Home Committee and the Mansfield Downtown Partnership.

“Alexinia was an enthusiastic professor who embraced her opportunities to teach our students, conduct research, and contribute to our School and her professional organizations,” says Mary Anne Doyle, professor and head of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Neag School. “Her colleagues considered her a role model, a leader, and a pioneer in her field. Always a woman of style and grace, she was valued for her mentorship and lovely sense of humor. And, if the Huskies were playing at home, Alexinia was there, cheering on her favorite team.”

She received master of arts from the University of Michigan and her bachelor’s degree from Tuskegee University.

Visitation hours are scheduled from 5-7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, at the Potter Funeral Home in Willimantic, Conn. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, at St. Mark’s Episcopal Chapel on the UConn Storrs campus, with burial to follow. Further details will be made available via the Potter Funeral Home website in the coming days.

Neag School Co-Sponsors Implicit Bias Exhibit Through Feb. 28

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The Implicit Bias exhibit will be featured at UConn’s Storrs campus through Feb. 28, 2017. (Photo: ThinkStock Images)

A new, interactive exhibit focused on implicit bias has arrived at the UConn Storrs campus. Created by the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the exhibit will be hosted at the Homer Babbidge Library through Feb. 28.

“Implicit bias is something that does impact our teacher education program, practicing teachers, and certainly students in classrooms today. So I felt like the Neag School was really well positioned to help bring in an exhibit that would work with our teacher candidates, our school and community partners, and the broader university,” says Mark Kohan, assistant clinical professor at the Neag School, who helped to coordinate UConn’s launch of the exhibit.

Admitting and identifying our own biases can be difficult and something we don’t know how to do. And yet two decades of scientific research has persuasively demonstrated that all of us harbor implicit bias even if we hold no explicit prejudice. These words open the description of the Implicit Bias exhibit, which invites participants the opportunity to attend to bias and other forms of discrimination, as well as to explore recent debates in the realm of implicit bias research.

An opening reception featuring Associate Professor Thomas Craemer of UConn’s Department of Public Policy will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 23, in the library’s staff lounge.

The exhibit is open to the public and is free of charge.

An Exhibit on Implicit Bias &
How It Affects Our Everyday Thoughts & Behaviors

Jan. 16 – Feb. 28, 2017
M-TH 8 a.m. – 9 p.m. | F 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. | S/S 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Homer D. Babbidge Library (Plaza Level Main Entrance)
UConn Storrs Campus

 

 

Exhibit co-sponsors include UConn’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Community Outreach, UConn Humanities Institute, Office of Public Engagement, UConn Law School, Human Rights Institute, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, Neag School of Education, Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA), School of Fine Arts, UConn Libraries, and the Connecticut Writing Project.

Learn more at thedoddcenter.uconn.edu/implicitbias.