Career Technical Education

The role of emotional intelligence as a significant factor contributing to academic achievement was central in the area of research for several years. In second language learning research, personal and social skills seems to be critical as individual differences in language production. In this regard, this study has attempted to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and speaking skills of Iranian advanced EFL learners. In order to achieve this goal, 96 advanced EFL learners including 48 males and 48 females were randomly selected from eight institutes in Tehran. The design of the study is a quantitative, non- experimental research utilizing a correlational approach. The data were gathered through an EQ questionnaire (namely EQ- i: S, designed by Bar- On), and speaking test (from ILETS samples of speaking tests in the form of individual interview). The value of Pearson correlation coefficient indicated that there was a significant relationship between emotional ...

A visit to the St. Sophia of Istanbul is like a visit to the nearly 2000 year old history of the city itself. The church is one the finest & most famous examples of Byzantine architecture in the world. It is located in the heart of old Istanbul, next to the also famous Blue Mosque, in the Sultan Ahmet Square of Istanbul. The above photograph above shows the actual view of the Hagia Sophia Church Museum (Aya Sofya Muzesi) as it appears in Istanbul today. Four minarets have been added to Hagia Sophia, after the Ottomans captured Constantinople at 1453 and converted the building from a church into the mosque. Today, Saint Sophia is neither a Church nor a Mosque, but a museum that is open to the public. The Hagia Sophia was built as a Constantinian Church by the emperor Justinian I, between A.D. 532 and 537 and at the time, it was estimated to be the largest covered space in the world. Its architects were Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. It was built in only five years. On May 558, the dome of the church collapsed due to a December 557 earthquake, and though a new dome was quickly rebuilt afterwards.Hagia Sophia is a Greek phrase that means 'Holy Wisdom'. This ancient basilica was also called Saint Sophia. The Turks call it 'Aya Sofya Muzesi' (Hagia Sophia Museum) or in short, Ayasofya. After its construction ended, Hagia Sophia served as a Church for the following nine centuries, until  Constantinople was invaded and taken over by the Ottomans on the 29th of May, 1453. After this date, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque.
Then in 1935, during the first years of the Republic of Turkey, the Mosque was secularized and made into a museum under the direction of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic.    It became a national museum, as it remains today.

The purpose of this study was to examine at-risk students’ satisfaction with an online credit recovery program, education2020, and its potential for providing equal opportunities to get students back on track toward graduation.  This study also determined the degree to which at-risk student characteristics such as socioeconomic status, gender, age, ethnicity, and academic behaviors affected experiences in education2020 as measured by student satisfaction and pace of credit recovery. 
This study consisted of 220 high school students enrolled in the education2020 online credit recovery program at a small, urban high school district.  Students came from three comprehensive high schools and one continuation school.  The sample included students who were identified for education2020 due to applicable credit deficiency.  A district-initiated survey gathered all demographic information and satisfaction levels.  De-identified credit recovery data from one quarter revealed credit recovery patterns of one group of 67 seniors from the original 220-student sample.  The survey data was analyzed using a hierarchical linear regression analysis to determine whether any student characteristics predicted satisfaction with education2020.  Credit recovery data was examined using anova and Chi-square analyses to determine the relationship between pace of recovery and specific variables such as school site, academic behaviors, age, and ethnicity.
The results of this study indicated that no demographic characteristic predicted satisfaction with education2020; the only significant variance was related to school site. There was no significant relationship between demographic characteristics and pace of credit recovery, but there was a positive correlation between academic behaviors such as prior credits earned and pass rate in concurrent face-to-face classes.
Because no demographic characteristic prevented or ensured success in e2020, these findings demonstrate equal opportunity for at-risk students to find satisfaction and to recover credits. However, learning environment factors and academic behaviors did, in fact, demonstrate a relationship to satisfaction and pace of credit recovery.  This information suggests that further research is needed to examine the specific components of the online learning environment and of programs for at-risk students, as well as their success in concurrent face-to-face classes and ability to recover credits in an online credit recovery program.

In the first instance, prior to getting deep into the most significant points of discussion with regard to environmental recycling; would be better to know what recycling is; subsequent to knowing the real concept would be easy to get onto the evocative arguments of discussion in order to come up with suggestive strategies and measures to put into action.
Accordingly, starting from layman’s perception recycling is the process of making or manufacturing new products from the product that has originally served its purpose. If these used products are disposed of in an appropriate environmentally friendly way, the process of recycling has been set in motion. Items that are made from material such as aluminum, plastic water bottles and certain kinds of paper can be separated from regular trash and put in an appropriate recycling bin. In this regard all steps in order to save the environment would certainly become the part of environmental cycling.

This study focused on defining and delineating core skills and tasks needed for successful CTE student educational growth and success through a curriculum and assessment alignment process. The context for this project lies within Automotive Service Technology (AST), which must additionally meet the National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) program certification standards. Unfortunately, two skill areas are not clearly defined or assessed by ASE: Basic Vehicle Interval Maintenance Skills and Basic Vehicle Repair Skills, which combine to form the Automotive Service Technology Foundational Skills (ASTFS). A qualitative analysis of emergent systems patterns was used to construct a table of specifications for ASTFS, which can facilitate curriculum development and assessment. Specifically, this process defined and delineated prerequisite technical skills and their associated ability domains of knowledge, concepts, and skills so they could be taught, learned, and assessed.

Calls for improvement in teacher quality have led to reform initiatives in teacher education. A variety of reports and organizations have classified teaching standards identifying what teachers should know and be able to accomplish. In 1986, the Carnegie Task Force on Teaching as a Profession released its response toA Nation at Risk(National Commission on Excellence in Education), a report distributed to congress in 1983. Its response, compiled inA Nation Prepared: Teachers for the 21stCentury, identified teaching standards and has been instrumental in defining and initiating teacher education reform efforts. Another report released in 1986,Tomorrow’s Teachers(Holmes Group, 1986) called for similar types of reform efforts. Two governing boards overseeing beginning and advanced teacher certification standards were established in 1987: (a) Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) (Council of Chief State School Officers, n.d.) and (b) National Board for Profess...

In this article I will discuss the challenges for the scholarship of teaching as a case-study at Laurea University of Applied Sciences with 8000 students and 500 of staff located in seven campuses around the larger Helsinki metropolitan area in Finland. At Laurea the focus has been shifted from teaching to learning during the past few years and the learning process has become student-centric. The students have genuinely been placed in the core of activities. The pedagogical framework for learning in all degree programmes is called Learning by Developing (LbD). Students' learning is linked to development projects that are rooted in the working life and the students are involved in these projects from the beginning of their studies. Learning by Developing –operational model is a process innovation developed by Laurea staff (see more inTaatila & Raij 2011;Kallioinen 2007;Pirinen & Fränti 2007;Raij 2007;2006;Learning by Developing Pedagogical strategy 2011).

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) recruitment programs are growing at post-secondary institutions in response to the national shortage of trained workers in STEM fields. Many programs prove effective in recruiting students into STEM majors with research indicating the benefits of experiential learning activities in program outcomes. This study qualitatively examined the experiences of first-year undergraduate students in a STEM-focused career planning class within a STEM recruitment program. Findings illuminated the importance of STEM faculty guest lectures and research lab visits in providing meaningful opportunities to learn more about specific STEM fields and to make career decisions. Recommendations for programmatic improvements are also made based on critical feedback on the structure and content of these experiential activities.

Post-recession Federal policy initiatives, such as secondary/postsecondary career pathways and gainful employment higher education accountability standards, prioritize the alignment of education practices with market-driven outcomes. Using longitudinal student record data merged from college and state K-12 data systems with the Unemployment Insurance wage records, this study examined the relationship between college and career success and the completion of dual credit courses in high school. During 2008-10, nearly 30% of graduates from 20 high schools who subsequently enrolled at a regional public technical college transferred an average of 6.0 dual high school and college credits. After controlling for several high school-level and individual-level factors, hierarchical linear models revealed that dual credit learners had significantly better outcomes than non-dual credit learners in terms of college course completion rates, second year retention, three-year graduation rate, as wel...

An ongoing shortage of secondary-level teachers is a problem, including career and technical educators who teach agriculture. The purposes of this study were to determine selected characteristics of entry-phase agriculture teachers, examine those characteristics for relationships, and determine which characteristics explain teachers' expectations of teaching longevity. Teachers responded to eight items describing personal, professional, and situational characteristics and to 51 items assessing their perceived competence. Significant relationships were found between the variable "additional years expect to teach" and the variables gender, agricultural work experience, and departmental size. Regression analysis identified gender and agricultural work experience as valuable predictors of additional years a teacher expected to teach. These variables explained 17% of the variation; work experience was the more substantial predictor.

Today’s school climate is saturated with accountability mandates at every level. For example, current federal legislation requires that by the end of the 2005-2006 academic school year all teachers are “Highly Qualified” (No Child Left Behind, 2002). The law operationalized “Highly Qualified” using three criteria: full certification, a bachelor’s degree, and competence in subject knowledge and teaching. Full certification and having a bachelor’s degree are easily determined. Competency in subject matter and pedagogy is more subjective, and thus more difficult to measure.

This study analyzed high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) enrollments in Illinois, with comparisons to national data when possible, by career cluster and pathway and with respect to gender and racial/ethnic makeup of students. Enrollment patterns in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) CTE programming were emphasized. Gender and ethnicity-based inequities were found in certain areas and more equitable patterns were apparent in others. Of concern, student enrollment in courses fitting within STEM pathways included substantially greater male than female participation (64.1% male vs. 35.9% female), whereas other pathways showed the reverse enrollment pattern (45.0% male and 55.0% female). With respect to ethnicity, all subgroups except White students were underrepresented in CTE programming in general. The underrepresentation was exacerbated for all but Asian students when concerning STEM CTE programming. Considering implications, we recommend heightened focus, ...

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships among teacher perception of the value of teacher inservice in preparation for a block schedule, teacher satisfaction with the opportunity to implement effective teaching practices, and student achievement. Volunteer teachers (N = 22), including 12 Modified A/B Block scheduled schools (189 students) and 10 Nine-Week (4X4) Block scheduled schools (136 students), provided the data. Teachers completed a questionnaire and administered a student examination. The value of inservice education was positively related to satisfaction with opportunity to use effective teaching practices; it was also positively related to achievement. This association was statistically significant and positive for lower-order and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), and overall achievement. Teacher satisfaction with opportunity to use effective teaching practices was also positively related to achievement. This relationship was statistically significant for ...

As a result of low achievement scores in academic subject matter by American students, policy makers at the federal and state levels have placed a priority on reforming the nation's educational system (Gordon, 2008). Federal legislation such asNo Child Left Behindand theCarl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006has placed an emphasis on higher standards of achievement, specifically in mathematics and science. Because of the reform effort, secondary teachers are being held to high levels of accountability in order to best prepare students for postsecondary education and the workforce.

The number of the students who are studying at the universities has markedly increases while million students have been taking online courses.The interaction of the data has rapidly improved due to the Internet ecosystems:therefore,big data mining and management play important and crucial role in the sustainable growth, success, and quality assurance of the universities.By measuring the students’ achievement, knowing the credits and courses taken by the students, assessing the professors’ success and qualifications,and analyzing the attendance lists, the ability to empower and improve the quality of the higher education has significantly become possible and strategic.By knowing the expenses,by studying the investments on research, education, and administration, the strategic planning and the effective and efficient allocation of the financial power can be much better than ever before.The confluence of higher education institutions, mainly those in the best ranking lists, and big data management represents an extraordinary change and transformation in the innovative ecosystem in which students, academics, admins, and entire university network would benefit because of the systematic and strategic revolution.The impacts of big data mining and management on higher education institutions’ sustainable funding, financing, planning, success, research and development,and innovation were critically studied. By studying the perceptions and the experiences of the managers (23), the experienced academics (32) who were responsible about the data mining and management at two state and two private universities, why the higher education institution need critically, crucially, and strategically the big data mining and management is answered.The phenomenological analysis was preferred in this study, in which twenty-eight research questions were answered through the semi-structured interactive interviews.The collected data of this study, which were analyzed in data analysis software-program NVivo 10, showed clearly that a few number of the participants (28%), who were active in planning, funding, investing, and performing according to the big data mining results, had significantly much better results in using their financial investments. However,those (78%), who could not be so successful in using big data mining and management, lose their vision and long-term strategy in making good investments.As the participants (45%) had declared that the best big data management reports had opened new dimension for the administration in developing better classes in which better professors were chosen at the right time and at the right places where the students’ achievements and happiness had markedly improved. In conclusion, the effective and efficient structure had been analyzed in order to improve the efficiency of the students, as well as the faculty and the administrations.According to the participants (76%), since the big data mining and management had clearly and crucially showed the drawbacks and benefits, the higher education administration had significantly found more opportunities to make right investments and improvements. In this way, they could invest in the right research and development projects, which accelerate both their sustainable growth, success, and reputation.However, those, who could not control and give feedbacks by means of big data mining and management, did not have good results and consequences as the other higher institutions had done.

Students in institutes of higher education widely vary by age, cultural background, disability, gender, ideology, linguistic difference, origin, racial and ethnic identity, religion, sexuality, and social class, which lead to culturally diverse classrooms across the nation. Given the demographic diversity of the 21st century classroom, it is critically important that faculty have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to meet the learning needs of all students regardless of background. Moreover, teacher educators have added responsibilities of modeling effective teaching practices to their prospective teachers. In regard to the roles and responsibilities of teacher educators,Hite, Fletcher, Bruening, Durr, Yontz, Zatezalo et al. (2009)pointed out:

Collaboration among Extension agents and agricultural science teachers has the potential to increase the reach of both organizations to serve clientele in obtaining critical skills and knowledge important to Career and Technical Education. However, successful collaboration requires barriers to be minimized and aspects of facilitation be maximized. In order to understand how to encourage collaboration among agents and teachers, one must first understand the history of both organizations.