Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
8-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Scott Self
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Darin Martin
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Billie McConnell
Abstract
Attending a 4-year university is not a goal for all high school students. Some students, as early as their first year in high school, have chosen another direction by enrolling in a career and technical education (CTE) program of study (POS). The purpose of the study was to conduct a qualitative case study documenting the outcomes of past graduates of a CTE POS located on a public comprehensive high school campus in California. The participation of former graduates to share their insight and experience from being high school age students to working adults provided the real-life ramifications of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a CTE POS on research participants. There were 15 past graduates (over 7 to 14 years ago) of the Public Safety Academy (PSA) who agreed to be interviewed for the study. Most of the interviews were held by Zoom conferencing, with the remainder being held by telephone. The study results found a third of the participants were employed in law enforcement, along with two participants who, at the time of their interview, were undergoing an extensive background check prior to being offered a position in a law enforcement agency. Participants found the PSA provided a curriculum and delivery of instruction that included real-life interactions and experiences both on campus and off campus. Activities included guest speakers from the law enforcement community, mentorship and internship opportunities, community service hour requirements, and field trips to law enforcement or public safety facilities. The PSA was found to have provided students with life-long lessons participants utilize today. Through comments and examples shared by the former graduates, there was ample evidence of the PSA being effective in not only providing a path for students to pursue a career in law enforcement but instilling in their student’s skills that would be of benefit to them in choosing another career.
Keywords: career and technical education, program of study, mentorships, internships
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Vasquez, Rigoberto, "The Effectiveness of a Career and Technical Education Program of Study on Preparing Students for Their Chosen Career" (2022). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 507.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/507