Project Activities
Researchers will begin by administering a statewide survey to describe and catalogue the institutional practices implemented at Florida two-year and district technical colleges that align CTE programs to the labor market. Then, they will use (1) county-level labor market data to understand labor market demand and (2) student-level data from the Florida Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) to empirically model the relationships between practices implemented at each institution, labor market demand, and student CTE course taking, CTE concentration and major declaration, and completion of a CTE credential. Finally, the research team will conduct 4-6 site visits as case studies to extend the findings from our quantitative analysis.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The study will take place at community colleges and district technical colleges across the state of Florida.
Sample
The analytic sample for the quantitative analysis will include four longitudinal cohorts of approximately 160,000students each, who enrolled in the Florida College System and District Technical Colleges in 2016-2017 through 2020-2021. The statewide institutional survey will include the universe of Florida community and technical colleges during academic year 2020-2021. The sample for the case studies will include 4-6 Florida two-year colleges and district technical colleges, sampled using findings from the institutional survey and information from the Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment (CLNA) that education agencies report to the state on their CTE programs.
This project will examine the relationship between institutional practices to align CTE programming to the labor market, county-level labor market demand, and student outcomes.
Research design and methods
The project uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect and analyze institutional practices gathered through a statewide survey of postsecondary institutions, student-level administrative data, region and CTE cluster-specific labor market data, and interview and focus group data collected from site visits. Researchers will use a series of descriptive analyses to describe and catalogue the institutional practices from the statewide survey. Descriptive analyses will also be conducted on the labor market and student-level data. A series of linear probability models will explore the relationships between the institutional practices, labor market demand, and student outcomes. Qualitative analysis of interview and focus groups collected during the site visits will be indexed, categorized, and thematically coded across a set of a priori institutional factors and practices, and then aggregated into case studies.
Control condition
The project employs an exploratory design without a formal, pre-defined control condition. Comparisons between institutions with greater/lesser degrees of alignment will be a key component of the research agenda.
Key measures
Region-specific labor market demand data within Florida will be supplied by Economic Modeling Specialists Incorporated (EMSI) and will be operationalized using either workforce reductions, competitive shift-share or net changes in employment, the latter of which is a standard measure of labor market demand for the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. From the Florida SLDS, researchers will construct student-level postsecondary outcome measures including course taking, CTE concentration (i.e., credit hours in a CTE Career Cluster) and major declaration, and attainment of a CTE credential.
Data analytic strategy
Researchers will use a sequence of linear probability models to estimate the relationships between institutional practices, labor market demand, and students' likelihood of enrolling, concentrating, and majoring in a CTE Career Cluster, and completing a CTE credential. The research team will analyze the case studies by coding transcripts of interviews and focus groups at site visits to explore themes that contextualize the findings from the quantitative analysis and provide opportunities for future research in this topic area.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: Researchers will produce evidence of the relationships between institutional practices, labor market demand, and student outcomes. Researchers will produce peer-reviewed publications, and research briefs, and disseminate their findings to practitioners and researchers.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigator: Sublett, Cameron
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
