The “Getting to Know” blog series will feature the work of State CTE Directors, state and federal policies, innovative programs and new initiatives from the Advance CTE staff. Learn more about each one of these topics and the unique contributions to advancing Career Technical Education (CTE) that Advance CTE’s members work on every day.

Meet Stacy Whitehouse! Stacy is the Senior Associate for Communications and State Engagement at Advance CTE and supports strategic communications for the organization’s initiatives. Stacy oversees the organization’s media relations strategy and provides communications guidance to states through technical assistance. She serves as the project lead for Advance CTE’s most recent round of communications research on communicating CTE to families and learners, supported by the Siemens Foundation.

Q: Recently, Advance CTE released new research that tested messages for attracting students and families to CTE, particularly those from historically marginalized communities. How was this research conducted with equity in mind?

A: The most recent release of our communications research followed up on similar work released in 2017. For the second round of research, we intentionally designed the national survey to elevate equity considerations by disaggregating all questions and oversampling Black and Latinx families and families experiencing low income. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic forced all focus groups into a virtual environment, allowing for a more equitable pool of participants to be sampled.

The research analysis matters as much as the research design. Our research analysis didn’t shy away from finding and elevating existing equity considerations both in message tailoring and in identifying equity and access gaps. Overall, we were pleased to see that many of the findings and messages resonated across race, ethnicity, gender, income and participation in CTE. 

Q: Which key messages from the research are most important to elevate with learners from historically marginalized communities? 

A: The top messages in this research resonated with families and learners across race, ethnicity and income: CTE learners gain real-world skills, explore careers to find their passion, and have more options for college and career success. 

However, the findings indicate that some messages should be elevated more than others. In particular, the value of CTE in jumpstarting and preparing learners for postsecondary education is important because our findings indicate historically marginalized populations participating in CTE were significantly more likely to plan to complete a two or four year degree than those considering CTE. 

Additionally, messages about CTE’s value in making connections with like-minded peers, instructors and employers resonated more strongly with Black and Latinx learners than White learners. This is especially encouraging for CTE’s potential to close historic equity gaps that are crucial to career advancement. 

Q: What did the research findings identify as one area of opportunity for CTE to meet the needs of Black and Latinx learners?

A: We were pleased to find that families participating in CTE achieved equitable levels of satisfaction across almost all aspects of their education experience, including quality of classes and teachers, opportunities for advanced classes, and opportunities to explore careers and build skills. 

However, one area that emerged as needing significant improvement for Black and Latinx learners were opportunities for internships, as well as opportunities to make connections and network with employers. While White learners in CTE achieved satisfaction levels 30 percentage points higher than White learners not in CTE, Latinx learners were only about 10 percentage points more satisfied and Black learners achieved no increase at all. This is concerning considering that “making connections” is a popular message among Black and Latinx learners; that message cannot fully resonate unless we improve the quality and equity of opportunities to make connections and network with employers. 

Earlier this year we released a framework that provides five action areas for states to focus on when working to advance equity in work-based learning systems. 

Q: There are a variety of avenues for families to get information about CTE both in and outside of school. Was there a difference between trusted sources for varying learner populations? 

A: Teachers and school counselors were consistently chosen as the top sources for information about CTE by families both considering and participating in CTE. However, there were a couple of slight nuances that emerged in the findings. 

First, Black and Latinx families were more likely to identify online sources of information, such as Google searches and school searches, as a top source for information about CTE than White families. Local and state leaders can capitalize on this finding by using accessible terminology, offering language translation, providing access for all abilities, and utilizing multiple platforms to ensure information about CTE is accessible to each family at any time. 

Second, Black and Latinx parents/guardians were significantly more likely to choose school counselors as a top source than Black and Latinx learners. The research doesn’t provide concrete answers for this gap, but it does reinforce the importance of relationship building and diversity for these trusted sources. 

Q: Are there any further considerations for CTE leaders when communicating with historically marginalized populations? 

A: I’d like to elevate two points: 1) the importance of representation in trusted messengers and 2) incorporating learner voice in the communications process. Our research showed teachers and school counselors are top sources, but historically marginalized learners need to see themselves in these sources so each learner can feel welcome and heard in these programs, particularly career pathways with historically large representation gaps. 

Just as these findings came directly from families and learners, CTE programs, outreach events, materials and communication campaigns need to include learners in the design, execution and evaluation to ensure the initiatives are reaching and resonating with their intended audiences. I’m excited that this research is another opportunity to build routines for learner-centered systems.

Brittany Cannady, Senior Associate Digital Media

Today, Advance CTE and the Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) released With Learners, Not for Learners: A Toolkit for Elevating Learner Voice in CTE. This toolkit provides state Career Technical Education (CTE) leaders with actionable resources, guidance and tools to ensure CTE learner voices are elevated and heard for the improvement of CTE policies and practices.

Learner voice is often neglected even though learners themselves are affected directly by decisions made about CTE programs and have invaluable first-hand experiences. It is therefore critical that learners be engaged as key stakeholders in the decision making process within CTE programs. By empowering learners to share feedback regarding their CTE experiences through intentional and ongoing feedback loops, CTE programs can better address learner needs, break down barriers — particularly for historically marginalized populations — and improve quality. 

Meet Autumn Steffens, CTE learner from Wisconsin! Autumn was part of the CTE Learner Voice Shared Solutions Workgroup composed of national and state leaders and learners from across the country to co-develop this toolkit. Autumn and the other learners in the workgroup shared their critical perspectives with the group to inform the toolkit’s content.

Q: Why is incorporating learner voice into CTE program design and delivery important?

Autumn: CTE learners are the people that you [state leaders] are trying to help. Including our voices and letting us be heard is vital to see improvement in the current CTE program. You need first-hand experience from learners in the modern school system to give input and ideas of how we can improve the CTE program. Having learners in the program design area is important because we need people behind the curtain to make the decisions and put out a plan to make the CTE program better. Also, having learners at the front lines in the delivery of the program is vital because other learners need someone to set an example and be the face of the new CTE program. 

Q: What impact do you hope this toolkit has on the CTE field?

Autumn: This new toolkit will hopefully impact all of the learners who are not as confident in their CTE program, yet. Having a toolkit that will directly affect learners whose voices were not heard originally will inspire them to continue in their CTE journey. More learners will be motivated to join the CTE program and they will grow as not just learners, but people as well.

The full resource and supplemental tools can be found here. 

Christina Koch, Policy Associate

This summer, Advance CTE is pleased to partner with experts from supporting organizations of Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits) to conduct video panels to delve into four of the five foundational commitments that connect the vision principles. 

Our fourth panel featuring Credential Engine and the Data Quality Campaign builds on previous episodes that named data infrastructure as a priority to advance the vision principles and foundational commitments. Each panelist identified first steps for policy and process, states with promising practices, and organizational culture changes necessary to ensure data advances rather than impedes equitable outcomes for CTE learners. 

Both speakers agreed that policy infrastructure that removes silos and allows for the collection of more data on learner outcomes, particularly beyond K-12, must be present before any meaningful technical infrastructure investments occur. The need for leadership-level cross agency governance incorporating diverse voices beyond data ‘owners’ across K-12, postsecondary and workforce systems to advance data connectivity; and data capture and reporting conducted ‘in the sunshine’ were recurring first step themes. Promising practices for data system connectivity and transparency in California, Texas and Connecticut were also elevated. 

Episode Quotes: 

“Data system silos follow the silos that we have in our institutions. It’s already challenging for a learner to be in K-12 and take postsecondary courses [at the same time] while also holding an internship…those silos are going to be reflected at the data infrastructure at the state and local level as well.” – Brennan McMahon Parton, Vice President, Policy and Advocacy, Data Quality Campaign

“CTE lives in that intersection between K-12, postsecondary and industry and we have to get everyone to the table to share information in secure ways when it comes to individual student records, but in very open ways when it is around what people earning and learning so that we can give the best picture to that student when they are navigating their own pathway.” – Scott Cheney, CEO, Credential Engine 

Thank you to Advance CTE’s Austin Estes for serving as a facilitator and to our panelists for their expertise and insights. 

Watch previous episodes that discuss steps CTE leaders can take to prioritize quality,  diversity, equity and inclusion and effective public-private partnerships in realizing CTE Without Limits. We hope this series has been helpful in identifying and connecting priorities in vision implementation across all five principles. 

Visit our vision page to read the full vision, access vision communication and implementation resources, and view recordings of our summer Lunch and Learn webinar series focused on the five vision principles. Don’t forget to register for our next lunch and learn session featuring The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), KnowledgeWorks, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation on August 17. 

Vision the Learning that Works Resource Center for additional reports and tools to guide next steps to enhance data and accountability and credentials and assessments. 

Stacy Whitehouse, Senior Associate Communications and State Engagement 

Advance CTE continues to host sessions for a five-part summer lunch and learn series delving into each of the five principles of Without Limits: A Shared Vision for the Future of Career Technical Education (CTE Without Limits). Each session features a panel of leading voices from organizations across learning and work followed by interactive group discussions on the information shared and next steps. Last month, the session delved into the second and third principles of the vision. 

The second principle of CTE Without Limits aims to support Career Technical Education (CTE)  leaders as they to identify and dismantle systems that perpetuate systemic barriers and discrimination that limit access, opportunity and outcomes for learners across every aspect of CTE design, delivery and evaluation. This panel featured Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, Senior Fellow for National Skills Coalition; Mimi Lufkin, CEO Emerita of National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE); and Dr. Stephanie McGencey, Executive Director of American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF). 

Key Themes 

• Equity Investments in Self and System: The moderator and panelists each acknowledged throughout the session that success in this principle requires an individual learning journey on equity and realizing what lenses are missing from your and the collective table before examining and collaborating on systems change.  
• Elevating Learner Voice and Diversity is a Win-Win: Dr. McGencey emphasized that learners can teach us what they are living, gaps in CTE experiences, and what they need from systems if they are given the spaces to do so. Bergson-Shilcock offered the example of an airport faucet sensor that did not recognize high-melanin skin tones as a simple but powerful analogy of the lifelong impacts systems have on learners when diverse voices are not at the table.  

Recommendations for Implementation

• Expanding DEI in CTE: Each panelist offered tangible steps for state CTE leaders to build diverse and culturally competent CTE workforce and experiences, including intentional outreach to leaders of color such as employers and Greek life organizations to build connections and gain valuable perspectives; increased flexibility in on-ramps and licensure for teaching professions; and prioritizing cultural competence in professional development. 
• Utilizing Equity Impact Phases: Lufkin offered a modified change management model, UA2  used by NAPE on their continual journey of equity education: Unaware -> Aware -> Understand -> Action. 
• Getting Started Matters: “neutrality is the side of the status quo” and “it’s not about winning, but about moving forward” are two powerful statements that emerged from multiple comments about the importance of just getting started on advancing equity  while also building consistent checkpoints to revisit and re-center learner voice, marginalized learners and ‘known unknowns’ of equity perspectives. 

Visit the CTE Without Limits web page to read the full vision and access resources to communicate  the vision to stakeholders, including full recordings of each session and a new vision partner initiative repository documenting national initiatives across the five principles. 

Register for Advance CTE’s fourth lunch and learn scheduled for August 17 at 3:00PM ET featuring Jonathan Alfuth, State Policy Director for KnowledgeWorks; Molly Bashay, Senior Policy Analyst – Education, Labor & Worker Justice for The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); and Niki DaSilva, Manager for Programs and Policy a the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Center for Education and Workforce.  A recap of the first session of the series can be found here. 

February’s Advance CTE Research Review shared how the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic impacted the postsecondary education plans of more than 19 million Americans, with learners from low-income households being most impacted. As the United States begins to turn from the pandemic, state and postsecondary leaders will begin to develop and implement plans to reconnect learners with postsecondary college and career programs. Two new reports identify strategies states can take to effectively reengage learners with the postsecondary system. First, new data from the Strada Network illustrates how the postsecondary plans of high school learners who graduated in 2020 and 2021 were affected and what it will take to reconnect these learners with college and career pathways. Also, a series of research studies from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) identifies successful approaches by community colleges to support adult learners of color to postsecondary program completion and into high-wage, in-demand careers.

Disruption to High School Post-Graduation Plans

According to Strada Network’s survey of more than 1,000 high school graduates in the class of 2020 and 2021, many learners had started the process of planning for their postsecondary futures before disconnecting. About three-fourths of learners had at least spoken to a school counselor or other adult about their postsecondary options. Many had applied and even received acceptance letters into a college or other postsecondary education program, although the data show the class of 2021 disconnected earlier at this stage of the process than the class of 2020. Furthermore, Black and Latinx learners were more likely to report having applied and received acceptance into a postsecondary program than White learners before deciding to change their education plans.

Despite being further along in the postsecondary planning process than their White peers, Black and Latinx learners were more likely to report having their plans disrupted. Overall, the primary reasons given for disruption of postsecondary plans were stress and anxiety and financial pressures. This is unsurprising given that learners were dealing with the challenges of remote instruction for much of 2020 and 2021 in addition to the stressors brought on by the pandemic and its impact on the economy, which disproportionately impacted people of color. Latinx learners were more likely than any other racial/ethnic group to indicate that financial pressures disrupted their postsecondary plans while Black learners were more likely to cite health concerns.

Re-Engaging and Supporting Learners

Learners understand the importance of postsecondary education to their future career and life success; however, they will need support in order to get back on track. The survey data revealed the most important supports learners will need:

• Advising – Learners need someone who can help them navigate the financial aid process and determine the best career path.
• Ability to Earn and Learn – Learners need opportunities to get an education while earning money. Flexible scheduling and opportunities such as Registered Apprenticeship programs can support them in this regard.
• Easier Process for Financial Aid – Sixty-one percent of learners with low income say it has become more difficult to find information about how to pay for postsecondary education. Learners need better information on how to apply for financial aid that is easy to understand and not burdensome.
• Labor Market Information and its Alignment to Postsecondary Credentials – Learners want clear information on the jobs available to them and the postsecondary credentials necessary to obtain them.

Supporting Postsecondary and Adult Learners at Community Colleges

While high school graduates struggle to navigate their postsecondary plans as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of adults over 25 years of age who are enrolling at a community college to continue their postsecondary education or pursue a postsecondary credential for the first time has declined by 11 percent according to a new series of studies by CCRC. This is most concerning for Black, Latinx and Native American learners who are less likely than White and Asian learners to have obtained a credential beyond a high school diploma. A September 2020 Advance CTE Research Review illustrated the importance of postsecondary CTE and the role of community colleges in an equitable coronavirus economic recovery. The studies presented by CCRC address key challenges facing adult learners of color including career development, job placement, and articulation and transfer policies; support to learners who are part-time students and balancing family, work and other responsibilities; and, efforts to ensure that learners of color feel fully welcomed, recognized and included in all campus-based services and programs. 

Study 1, Aligning Short-Term Credentials with Community College Degree Programs, suggests that state and institutional leaders should ensure short-term credential and certificate programs are stackable and can articulate to a degreed program. For example, the Wisconsin Technical College System leveraged the 2009 federal Trade Adjustment Act Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program to build career pathways into existing associate degree programs, developing and expanding new and modified pathways that begin with learners earning short-term certificates upon completion of coursework that is connected to a longer-term “parent” program leading to an associate or even a bachelor’s degree.  

Study 2, Bundling and Sequencing Student Support Services, encourages institutions to integrate the delivery of academic and non-academic supports (bundle) and align support with student needs through each stage of their postsecondary journey (sequence).The table below (from the study) illustrates what this would look like in practice:

Lastly, study 3, Culturally Sustaining Supports and Instruction, encourages institutions to use a Culturally Engaging College Environments framework to shift responsibility for integration into the postsecondary institution’s culture away from learners and on to the institution itself, thus building and maintaining an environment that intentionally rectifies historical and current discrimination and neglect experienced by historically marginalized learner groups so that each learner feels welcomed, prepared and supported to achieve their college and career goals. For example, at Salish Kootenai College, a private tribal land-grant community college in Montana, leaders have integrated Native American and Salish/Kootenai culture into the school’s curriculum by designing courses to meet the unique needs of the community including teaching learners in the forestry program how to address water resource challenges on tribal lands or teaching learners in the education program how to prepare for the specific education needs of Native elementary and middle school learners using traditional Native American teaching methods.

Conclusion

As state CTE and postsecondary education leaders address the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, it is critically important to re-engage and support learners, particularly learners of color, who have been most impacted. This research offers strategies to support learner access to and success in postsecondary college and career pathways. Incorporating one or more of these strategies can help ensure an equitable economic recovery leveraging the power of CTE. 

Brian Robinson, Policy Associate

For more information on access and equity in Career Technical Education, and other great topics, please visit the Learning that Works Resource Center!