National CTE Research Center Outlines Projects

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education, has outlined an aggressive research agenda focused on areas such as programs of study, literacy in career and technical education (CTE), and using data to assess student performance.

“The focus of the Research Center will be on three major components of effective education,” said Director James R. Stone III. “Those components are: engagement - reducing dropouts and increasing school completion; achievement - strengthening academic and technical knowledge and skills; and transition - increasing the movement of students from high school to postsecondary education and from education into the workplace. All of these will be done in a balanced agenda of high school and postsecondary research.”

The new National Center for Career and Technical Education (NRCCTE) at the University of Louisville has several partner institutions and organizations that will work with them to achieve the goals of the grant. These partner institutions include the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, Clemson University, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI), the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the Academy for Educational Development (AED), and the National Association of State Directors of Career and Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc).

The work of the Research Center will:

• Use practitioner-driven approaches in the planning, development, conduct, and evaluation of all research, dissemination, and professional development activities;
• Develop a program that is national in scope, reflecting the strengths and needs of diverse national, state, and local practitioners across a range of geographic, socioeconomic, and cultural settings; and
• Present a balanced research, dissemination, and professional development program for secondary and postsecondary practitioners and institutions.

The currently funded projects include:

• A Longitudinal Study of the South Carolina Personal Pathways to Success Initiative led by Clemson University
• A Longitudinal Analysis of Programs of Study led by AED
• Rigorous Tests of Student Outcomes in CTE Programs of Study led by the University of Louisville
• Relative Impact of Interventions to Improve Achievement and Retention in Postsecondary Occupational Programs led by the University of Minnesota
• Authentic Literacy Applications in CTE: Helping All Students Learn led by Cornell University
• Professional Development for Educators on the Use of Assessment Data led by NOCTI
• Harvesting State Postsecondary Career and Technical Administrative Record Data to Assess Student Performance led by the University of Louisville
• Alternative Licensure Career/Technical Teacher Induction Model led by SREB
• Identifying Best, Promising and Practitioner Wisdom Practices led by ACTE

Brief overviews of all of these studies can be found on the Center’s Web site at http://www.nrccte.org.

While conducting rigorous research in the CTE field remains the focus of the NRCCTE, the Center will also work with ACTE to share the results of that research and help schools, districts, and states improve their CTE delivery.

Regular podcasts and webcasts keep the education and CTE communities informed of the results of the Center’s research. The NRCCTE will also begin to disseminate Research Snapshots, which are designed to put the often difficult-to-understand research into practical and understandable language. The Snapshots will begin to be released this month and continue as new research emerges.

The NRCCTE has identified and begun implementing a technical assistance academy and continues to work with states to help schools and districts integrate curriculum through its popular and well-known Math-in-CTE model.

About the NRCCTE

The National Research Center for Career and Technical Education is the primary agent for generating scientifically based knowledge, dissemination, professional development, and technical assistance to improve career and technical education (CTE) in the United States. The NRCCTE works to improve the engagement, achievement, and transition of high school and postsecondary CTE students through technical assistance to states, professional development for CTE practitioners, and dissemination of knowledge derived from scientifically based research. The NRCCTE is funded by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education.

SOURCE National Research Center for Career and Technical Education