Benefits of Career and Technical Student Organizations’ on Female and Racial Minority Students’ Psychosocial and Achievement Outcomes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent do CTSOs affect student psychosocial and achievement outcomes (above and beyond stand-alone CTE programs) when controlling for gender and race. Using a cross-sectional descriptive research design, a total of 5,677 students from 10 states were surveyed regarding their high school experiences. Students were recruited from CTSO, CTE, and non-CTE (general education) classrooms. Within the boundaries of the research design, results reveal that the CTSO and CTE experiences do provide benefits above those offered through general education alone. Furthermore, this study found that girls tend to receive more of the benefits of the CTSO and CTE experience compared to boys. Finally, the study offers reason to believe that students of color do benefit more from a CTE experience compared to their White counterparts, albeit this benefit is small.

Dogs in the Hall: A Case Study of Affective Skill Development in an Urban Veterinary Program

“…Affective skill development, which includes a wide array of immersive skills and topics, has become an increasingly important topic in education in recent years (Heydenberk & Heydenberk, 2005). Affective skill development has been of special interest to those researching Career and Technical Education (Aragon, Alfeld, & Hansen, 2013;Bailey, Hughes, & Barr, 2000;Boatwright & Slate, 2002;Crittenden, 2009). Allen (1999) analyzed the effects of career education in magnet schools where the study focused on intensive career preparation in large metropolitan areas.…”