I recently had the chance to see a large number of career and technical education (CTE) programs in the Washington, DC area. These included high school programs, community college programs, career colleges, and community-based training programs in Washington, Maryland, and Virginia. Subjects included construction, electronics, heating and air conditioning, health care, tourism, computer coding, cybersecurity, auto mechanics, video production, food preparation, pet care, and aeronautics.
I had more fun during these visits than I had in schools in a long time! The classrooms were vibrant, students and faculty alike were engaged, productive, learning, and creating. I wanted to be back at school!
Some facilities only had modest resources. They had retrofitted traditional warehouse space with car lifts and mock construction sites. Others were modern and cutting edge, with multi-million-dollar simulators and responsive, animatronic patients. One high school buys a piece of land each year, its architecture students compete for the best home design, its construction students build it to spec, the school sells it, and modest proceeds go back into the program.
One of the benefits of our CTE system in the United States is that it is completely responsive to local labor market needs. Community colleges in particular are the vanguard of workforce development. In addition to their academic programs, they have industry-specific certification programs and non-certificate courses that include internships, apprenticeships, and other hands-on project activities in addition to book work. Programs vary in length and requirements, and students can go in and out of the educational system as they have the need for advanced training. To outsiders the system looks confusing and unorganized, but it works brilliantly for feeding a labor market hungry for skilled workers.
In reflecting on my weeklong CTE tour, there were at least three reasons these education and training programs work so well. Each has implications for other parts of any educational system.
- Choice. Everyone involved in CTE chooses to be there. High school students must apply for and opt into these oversubscribed programs. And they must make choices about which CTE track to join. While some students participate in all-day programs, others have to bus to and from CTE facilities. Similarly, students in adult education and career and community college programs have to go out of their way to join their programs. Almost all have other jobs and participate in CTE in their evenings, weekends, and free time. Faculty, too, make explicit choices to join CTE programs. Almost all come from industry themselves and either teach in their own free time or have decided the change careers and teach full-time. The latter decision often includes a precipitous drop in income.
- Relevance. It goes without saying that students in CTE programs understand clearly how their programs apply to their lives. Every lesson, project, simulation, and exercise builds knowledge that deepens the skills that they will use regularly in their work. Every experience builds on the last, and all are cumulative in growing the foundation of a professional identity.
- Immediacy. Students can immediately see the benefits of their work. Whether learning to create an open electronic circuit, give a weather report, or reduce the temperature of a sick infant, students can see how their educational investments yield practical outcomes. Even more extended activities, such as rebuilding a car engine, have short-term milestones and indicators of success. And the longer-term success of the turning over of a newly built V6 engine is even sweeter as the culmination of the detailed steps along the way.
In many ways, CTE is unique among educational endeavors. Vocational programs usually begin at a later stage in an educational career, after students have more life experience. Programs are inherently project-based, and they require at least a modicum of equipment, manipulatives, and other infrastructure, if not a huge financial investment.
However, the principles of choice, relevance, and immediacy can be built into even the earliest educational experiences. Take early childhood education, for example, and the Montessori approach to education for young children. These programs are project-based, in which young children choose their tasks, are given parameters for completing a task, and are encouraged to figure out their own paths to success. Children have choices about the projects they undertake, the activities are linked directly to outcomes in their realm of worldly experiences, and they have clear metrics of success when completing short-term projects.
Educational planners should similarly think about ways to build these principles into other phases of education as well. Even the necessary routines of early grade reading and math could use bursts of choice, relevance, and immediacy. Students can be more inspired if they have at least some agency in their daily schedules and teachers can help students understand how the work that they are doing on any specific day can help them outside the classroom. Which letters and words should they learn today? What stories would they like to read? How can learning multiplication tables be used to make purchases at the store? How can a history lesson help a child think about how she gets along with her friends?
Please let us know if you agree or have other ideas for ways to make education and training more engaging!
Worth reading on funding agency. Verry composed points are mentioned. Thank you for sharing Cory.
Thank you, Cory, for the great article. From our experience, we’ve seen that each student has their unique learning style. Offering diverse and alternative learning fields, like those in CTE programs, is crucial in preventing student dropouts. Many students leave school because they can’t find their path in traditional academic settings. CTE programs provide those vital pathways, keeping students engaged and invested in their education. Your insights are spot on!
Thank you for your insights, Cory. I work with a program focused on enhancing youth life skills and understand CTE’s crucial role in this. Choice encourages ownership and commitment. Relevance ensures students grasp how CTE connects personal goals with practical skills for real-world application. Immediate feedback cultivates resilience and perseverance through tangible outcomes like project completion and skill mastery. I hope more funders recognize the importance of CTE and invest in this valuable educational pathway.