As a high school teacher in Pennsylvania, Shaun Dougherty noticed that students in career-focused programs seemed much more engaged than his other students. Now a researcher, Dougherty set out to see whether data backed up his experience. Could the programs not just prepare students for the workforce, but keep students from dropping out of school? To find out, Dougherty studied Massachusetts’ 36 vocational and technical high schools.
This is why — as researchers who have focused on absenteeism and better ways to keep students engaged — we found the recent report about students graduating from Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., despite missing large amounts of school so concerning.
Despite the education community’s clear polarization over the appointment of Betsy DeVos as the next U.S. secretary of education, there may be a silver lining in her confirmation—specifically, for those in the career and technical education (CTE) community.
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.
WNPR (AUDIO: Neag School’s Shaun Dougherty was a guest panelist regarding technical education in Connecticut and nationwide)
Two Neag School faculty members in the Department of Educational Leadership have recently received funding — totaling more than $2 million — from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), as part of the latest round of grants issued by the National Center for Education Research (NCER)’s Education Research Grants Program.
Connecticut is facing a steady decline in its school-age population, with the decline largest among high school students. The shrinking pool of high school students is expected to affect Connecticut school districts in many ways, from planning for school buildings, to class size, and even decisions about where students will attend school. Shaun Dougherty, assistant professor of education policy and leadership at the Neag School of Education, and an affiliated faculty member in UConn’s Department of Public Policy, recently discussed the potential impact. This story — written by David Bauman — originally appeared on UConn Today, the University of Connecticut’s news website.
A new study finds that some career and technical education students are more likely to graduate from high school, actually do better in college, and earn higher wages than their peers. The report’s author, Shaun Dougherty, joins this podcast to talk about his findings.
When students feel engaged and connected to their schoolwork, it’s no surprise that they tend to have better academic outcomes. But a new study of career and technical education programs suggests the benefits can extend well beyond high school graduation.
Research findings from Shaun Dougherty, assistant professor of educational leadership in the Neag School of Education, are the focus of two recently released reports focused on the topic of career and technical education (CTE), or what was once known as vocational education. Each report — the first of which was released in late March by the Manhattan Institute and a […]
