An Investigation into the Barriers to Enrollment in New Hampshire Secondary Career and Technical Education
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Authors
Carr, Pamela
Date
2022-05
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Career and Technical Education (CTE), Federally funded, public education, New Hampshire public high school, data analysis consisted of frequency tables and qualitative coding of the open-ended questions, information/marketing techniques
Alternative Title
Abstract
Description
BARRIERS TO CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION
AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF
Pamela Carr for the degree of Doctor of Education in Education, Learning, Leadership
& Community
Presented on March 9, 2022
Title: An Investigation into the Barriers to Enrollment in New Hampshire Secondary
Career and Technical Education
Abstract approved:
Christie Sweeney, Ed.D. Dissertation Committee Chair
Career and Technical Education (CTE) is Federally funded, public education
that is hands-on and skills-based. The purpose of this study was to identify the barriers
that New Hampshire public high school students face when enrolling in a CTE
program so that school administrators will be able to address those barriers and
potentially increase enrollment. This study was a nonexperimental mixed methods
study with embedded design. Data collection for this study was one anonymous,
Internet survey distributed via email to NH school counselors. The survey consisted of
30 questions; four demographic questions, 24 quantitative questions based on a 7-
point Likert scale, and two qualitative, open-ended questions for a narrative response
from participants. The data analysis consisted of frequency tables and qualitative
coding of the open-ended questions. Through this study, the researcher identified the
following barriers that affect NH student enrollment in CTE: the time-of-day courses
are offered and/or schedule of courses; lack of time in students’ schedules; student and
BARRIERS TO CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION ii
parent perceptions of CTE; and lack of information or need for improved
information/marketing techniques. In addition, participants indicated three ideas for
increasing enrollment in CTE programs: expand marketing; add new programming;
and better alignment of schedule and/or school calendar. CTE has complex issues like
the barriers identified in this study, however, there are potential solutions that school
leaders can explore to ensure CTE is accessible to all students for many years to come.