Student Interest and Equitable Access to Career and Technical Education High Schools of Choice

ABSTRACT

A growing body of evidence points to increased interest in and positive outcomes of participating in Career and Technical Education (CTE). We examine selection into CTE high schools of choice in Massachusetts, a state that has made large investments in CTE, and CTE-dedicated high schools, where interest in attending the schools regularly exceeds capacity. We use longitudinal data, surveys, focus groups, and interviews to understand which students plan to attend CTE-dedicated high schools, why they choose them, and what barriers or disparities exist in the school choice process. These findings raise important questions about the role of equity in access to CTE.

KEYWORDS:

• Career and technical education
• vocational education
• high school
• equity
• mixed methods

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education