Overview
As career and technical education (CTE) continues to expand in schools, research is needed to guide policy and practice. The FY 2023 Extending the Reach of CTE Research Network will build off of the momentum initiated under an earlier research network, the Expanding the Evidence Base for Career and Technical Education Network, which was established in FY 2018. The new network will continue to provide information and evidence to the CTE community about what works, for whom, and why.
This research network comprises a network lead team and six research teams. The network lead will not only conduct its own research but also engage its members in conversations and collaborations around CTE research issues, train new CTE researchers, and disseminate research findings to a wide variety of audiences. Each network research team will conduct an exploratory study of available career development opportunities (CDOs) for secondary students in a large school district, followed by an impact study to examine the effects of one or more of the CDOs on student outcomes. CDOs can include CTE coursework and programs of study, work-based learning (WBL), career technical competency assessments (such as CTE end-of-course exams, certifications, microcredentials), career advising, or tracking tools (such as digital credential wallets, digital transcripts, dashboards).
Network lead
Extending the Reach of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network-Research Network Lead 2.0
Principal Investigator: Katherine Hughes, American Institutes for Research (AIR)
The Extending the Reach of CTE Research network lead will move the CTE research field forward by coordinating the work of IES-funded CTE research teams and supporting the development and dissemination of new research knowledge. The network lead team will coordinate a learning community of its members, conduct an evidence review of work-based learning (WBL), offer a research training institute with a focus on equity, and bridge research and practice by developing and disseminating engaging products to share the new research findings broadly.
Research teams
Career Development Opportunities in Delaware: Implementation, Impact, and Cost
Principal Investigator: Benjamin Dalton, Research Triangle Institute
This network research team will explore and evaluate CDOs offered in New Castle County in metropolitan Wilmington, Delaware.
Career Development in Chicago Public Schools: Advancing Equity in Opportunities and Outcomes
Principal Investigator: Amy Arneson, University of Chicago
This network research team will explore and evaluate the CDOs offered in middle and high schools in Chicago Public Schools.
Career Development Opportunities in Los Angeles Unified School District
Principal Investigator: Miya Warner, SRI International
This network research team will explore and evaluate the CDOs offered in Los Angeles Unified School District.
Career Development Opportunities for High School Students in Baltimore City Public Schools
Principal Investigator: Jay S. Plasman, Ohio State University
This network research team will explore and evaluate CDOs offered in Baltimore City Public Schools.
Career Development Opportunities in a Midsize Florida School District
Principal Investigator: Walter Ecton, Florida State University
This network research team will explore and evaluate CDOs offered in secondary schools in Florida's Leon County Schools .
Career Development Opportunities in Washington, DC Public Schools
Principal Investigator: Dara Zeehandelaar Shaw, Urban Institute
This network research team will explore and evaluate CDOs for middle and high school students in Washington, D.C. Public Schools.
Background
Both CTE networks have been co-sponsored by IES and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Career Technical and Adult Education (OCTAE). OCTAE has supported the network leads' work in partial fulfillment of the requirement in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins Act). The Perkins Act requires a national research center [Section 114(d)(4)] to carry out scientifically based research and evaluation for the purpose of developing, improving, and identifying the most successful methods for addressing the education, employment, and training needs of CTE participants in CTE programs.
IES supports the research teams for the current CTE network through its Research Network Focused on Critical Problems of Policy and Practice grant program to build knowledge and understanding of education practice and policy. IES was established by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA – P.L. 107-279), in part to improve academic achievement and attainment and access to educational opportunities for all learners (ESRA, § 111.b.1.B), with a particular focus on low-performing learners (ESRA, § 115.a.1) and those lacking access to high-quality educational opportunities (ESRA, § 115.a.2.A and 115.a.2.B).