Career and Technical Programs of Study and Early Indicators of Retention in the College of Engineering
Belinda McCharen, Oklahoma State University Karen High, Oklahoma State University
Abstract
The study examines the retention of pre-engineering students in the College of Engineering at Oklahoma State University entering college with a developed pre-engineering program of study from a regional career technology center as compared with the retention rates of general university students for the same time period. The conceptual framework of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 and the theoretical framework of Super’s Life Span-Life Space theory of career development form the foundation of the investigation of programs of study. The results of this foundational study suggest higher rates of persistence in the College of Engineering among Oklahoma regional technology center pre-engineering students with a defined, sequential, non-duplicative program of study.
Introduction/Conceptual Framework
The problem of producing college graduates and especially engineers in the United States has been a topic of concern documented in many reports and studies (National Academy of Science, 2007; Berkner & Cuccaro-Alamin, 1996). Today, much of everyday life in the United States and other industrialized nations, as evidenced in transportation, communication, agriculture, education, health and defense is the product of investments in research and in the education of scientists and engineers (Popper & Wagner, 2002) Within this discussion is a compounding problem of the inability to retain students in college, specifically colleges of engineering. An inability to maintain a healthy supply of trained engineers and scientists could negatively impact America‟s competitiveness in the global marketplace, which is characterized by a continued dependence on knowledge in science and technology (Association of Career and Technical Education, 2009). According to the National Center for Educational Statistics [NCES] (2004), over 90 percent of the 2002 high school sophomore cohort expected to attend college, with over 70 percent expecting to complete a four-year college degree. In actuality, 62 percent of the 2002 sophomore cohort enrolled in college, and nearly half of these students failed to return for a second year. Despite efforts to enhance access to and success in college by aligning and improving curricula, this study and others (NCES, 2005) revealed that students who do not achieve successful college outcomes are disproportionately minority, low income, and first-generation college students
While there is no agreement on the exact percentage of students who graduate with an engineering degree, this number is estimated to range between 44 percent and 64 percent (Adelman, 1998; U.S. Department of Education, 2000; Center for Institutional Data Exchange and Analysis, 2001; Berkner & Cuccaro-Alamin, 1996; and Ohland, et al, 2008)). It is generally accepted that there is a convergence of factors that lead to attrition. Program difficulty, lack of study skills, poor academic performance, and lack of knowledge about the skills needed to
succeed in the engineering program are some of the factors that play a role in this phenomenon. Identifying those factors that influence retention should be useful in suggesting approaches to improving student success in engineering. The identification of these factors will assist in developing meaningful admission procedures as well as aid the counseling and advising of students seeking an engineering degree (Zhang, G., Anderson, T.J., Ohland, M.W., & Thorndyke, B. R., 2004). Seymour and Hewitt (p. 3, 2000) reported that the students leaving engineering were academically no different than those that remained. They reported students left for reasons relating to perceptions of the institutional culture and career aspects.
Redefining Career and Technical Education
Career and technical education (CTE) has entered into a period of redefinition and reassessment of improving rigor and relevance to the 21st Century knowledge and skills. Project Lead the Way (PLTW) has emerged as one of the leading efforts to engage middle and high school students in pre-engineering courses to provide a vehicle to raise the engagement of students in mathematics and science. PLTW also provides an avenue for students to explore the field of engineering in an integrated, project-based curriculum. Project Lead the Way (PLTW) is a national program with partners in public schools, colleges and universities, and the private sector. The projecthas developed a 4-year sequence of courses that, when combined with college preparatory mathematics and science, introduces students to the scope, rigor, career exploration, and discipline of engineering and engineering technology. Students participating in PLTW courses are better prepared for college engineering programs than those exposed only to the more traditional curricula (National Academy of Sciences, p. 128, 2007). The four course sequence forms the foundation for a pre-engineering POS in CTE as the design model used in this study. In a study completed by Bottoms and Uhn (2007), 83 percent of PLTW students surveyed in the 2006 High Schools That Work national assessment said they planned to attend a two- or four-year college or university after they graduated, compared with 78 percent of CTE students from similar fields and 69 percent of CTE students from all fields. Attention to the need for more students to be engaged in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields provides a natural connection to the redefinition of the mission and expectation of CTE programs in the United States.
Demand for STEM
Two main factors are affecting the supply side of the STEM equation. First, the looming retirement of the baby boom generation will significantly affect the STEM labor force (National Academy of Sciences, 2007). First, the number of current scientists and engineers retiring will increase rapidly over the next decade with twenty-six percent of people with science and engineering degrees currently working are 50 years or older. Second, too few students are currently choosing to prepare for STEM careers. From 1985 to 2005, the number of bachelor‟s degrees earned in engineering fell from to 77,572 to 66,133, and the number of associate degrees in engineering technology fell from 53,700 to 28,800 (National Science Board, 2008) The State of Oklahoma decided to address the need to develop more engineers (Oklahoma Governor‟s Council for Workforce and Economic Development, 2007). Based on the analysis of the Aerospace Workforce Report, it is estimated thatOklahoma will likely experience shortages of approximately 200 Aerospace Engineers and 400 Electrical Engineers by 2014, with shortages of additional engineering specialties possible in that same time frame (Oklahoma Governor‟s Council for Workforce and Economic Development, 2007). Oklahoma CTE is embracing new
technical areas such as pre-engineering to address the needs of business and industry as career and technical education is being charged with a re-design that embodies the spirit and letter of the Perkins (2006) law.
Retention
Throughout the 1990s, fewer than half of undergraduate students who entered college intending to earn a science or engineering major completed a degree in one of those subjects. (Berkner, Cuccaro-Alamin, & McCormick, 1996; Smith, T., 2001). A National Center for Educational Statistics longitudinal study followed first-year students in 1990 who intended to complete an Science and Engineering (S&E) major and found that fewer than half had completed an S&E degree within 5 years. Approximately 20 percent of the students dropped out of college, and the others chose other fields (U.S. Department of Education, 2000). The study also found that underrepresented minorities were more likely than students from other groups to drop out of S&E programs. NCES did not collect data on students who moved into S&E from other fields. A more recent study focused on 1993 freshmen with a declared S&E major at 175 universities and colleges varying in size, selectivity, and highest degree level (Center for Institutional Data Exchange and Analysis, 2001). Like the NCES study, this study found that fewer than half of the students had completed an S&E degree after 6 years. It also documented that women and underrepresented minorities left S&E programs at higher rates than men and nonminority students, resulting in lower degree completion rates for women and minorities.
The role of CTE programs of study have not been examined as a contributor toward engineering program retention. The Science and Engineering Indicators Report (National Science Board, 2008) found S&E students in U.S. universities persist and complete undergraduate programs at about the same rate as non-S&E students. Six years after enrollment in a 4-year college or university in 1995–96, about 60 percent of both S&E and non-S&E students had completed a bachelor‟s degree. The overall retention rate at Oklahoma State University used in this study reported a retention rate of 83.8 percent for new freshmen in 2008 and a six-year graduation rate for those entering in 2001 of 60.6 percent. Undergraduate attrition may be due partly to a disconnection between the culture and curricula in high schools compared with those at colleges and universities. For example, poor mathematics preparation in high school may be an underlying issue contributing to attrition in undergraduate physics programs. Underrepresented groups such as African Americans and Native Americans, who are educated disproportionately in underserved communities, are on the whole less well prepared for college. These types of problems suggest transitional programs or intentional career development to bridge the gap between high school and college may be indicated, but the value of such strategies have not been compared with those at other levels in the educational system.
Career and Technical Education and Programs of Study
In facing these serious challenges of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) worker shortages, there is also reason for optimism in America‟s ability to ignite interest in STEM-related careers and strengthen the STEM literacy of the entire student population. The reason for that optimism stems from a growing level of STEM innovation that has evolved from the redesign of CTE nationally. CTE has long been engaged in pursuing
integration of high-level academics and technology. During the last decade literally thousands of new cutting-edge, STEM-intensive CTE programs have been launched or expanded in schools across the nation. As these programs move to larger-scale implementation, they have potential to help many additional students prepare for and pursue careers in STEM areas (Association for Career and Technical Education, 2009).
CTE programs and related initiatives provide key advantages in addressing the STEM challenge and securing America‟s leadership in innovation. CTE programs offer students a deeper understanding of STEM career pathways in order to facilitate student transitions into these areas, build interest in STEM and STEM-related careers by making math and science content more relevant and tangible to students through integration, and help grow the STEM workforce pipeline by encouraging more students from underrepresented populations to enter these career fields. According to a recent survey about teen attitudes toward STEM (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009) students are exhibiting a renewed openness toward pursuing STEM professions and showing more interest in developing marketable STEM skills as the nation‟s economic future becomes more tenuous. However, the survey also indicates that youths‟ lack of understanding of STEM creates a serious obstacle. “Nearly two-thirds of teens indicated that they may be discouraged from pursuing a career in STEM because they do not know anyone who works in these fields (31 percent) or understand what people in these fields do (28 percent).”
CTE programs in pre-engineering, integrated with active career exploration and career advising, help students understand the breadth of careers that have a relationship to STEM and the varied pathways that can lead to those careers. Embedded in CTE programs are the support services necessary to help students pursue these rigorous courses and career opportunities, including mentors, career and technical student organizations, robotics and other skill-based competitions, and work-based learning opportunities, such as job shadowing and internships, to connect youth with caring adult role models. STEM-intensive courses are being taught throughout CTE through the use of programs of study, an approach that gives students a broader understanding of the skills progression required for success in postsecondary education. Through coherent “programs of study,” authorized in the federal Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act OF 2006, CTE at the secondary level is linked to postsecondary experiences leading to certificates, associate degrees and bachelor‟s degrees.
Through programs of study, students can explore and then enter into a definitive career pathway with the assurance that knowledge and skills will provide a better preparatory foundation between secondary and postsecondary education, and then into a skill, high-wage, high-demand job opportunity such as engineering. The pre-engineering model in Oklahoma also requires high-level math and science courses taken simultaneously with the pre-engineering courses.
Conceptual Framework
The Perkins Act of 2006 advanced the concept of programs of study and called for states to offer “career and technical programs of study” which may be adopted by local education agencies and postsecondary institutions as an option to students and their parents as appropriate
when planning for and completing future coursework. Perkins (2006) requires that programs of study, at a minimum must:
“incorporate and align secondary and postsecondary education elements Include academic and CTE content in a coordinated, non-duplicative progression of courses
Offer the opportunity, when appropriate, for secondary students to acquire postsecondary credits, ,and
Lead to an industry-recognized credential or certificate at the postsecondary level, or an associate of baccalaureate degree”
The addition of the required alignment and planning for baccalaureate degrees is a crucial change the in the mission of CTE from previous legislation, with the exception of Tech Prep (Perkins, 1998). Elliott and Statelman (2000) (cited in Lekes, et al, 2007, p. 4) described Tech Prep as “offering students rigorous academics integrated with CTE coursework to prepare them for college and eventually employment, and furthered the notion that the two-year college can offer students the opportunity to transfer to four-year colleges and universities”. Tech Prep, an initiative in which high schools and community colleges form regional consortia with articulated CTE curricula, was first authorized to receive federal funding in 1990. According to the legislation, the components of Tech Prep were (1) a 2 + 2 designin which the last two years of high school courses were designed to seamlessly transition into the first two years of postsecondary education, in both academic and technical subject matter, (2) articulation agreements, which aligned secondary and postsecondary technical course sequences so as to eliminate duplication and promote students entering community colleges at more advanced levels, (3) preparatory services such as recruiting and counseling, and (4) curriculum development, particularly academic and technical integration of curricula and applied academics. Later changes to the law allowed Tech Prep course sequences to start as early as ninth grade and to continue through to baccalaureate degrees (National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, 2010)
Bragg (2001), Lynch (2000), and others (cited in Lekes, et al, 2007) have noted significant change in CTE wherein CTE is shifting its emphasis on curriculum alignment, articulation, and integration to facilitate student transition to college and ultimately employment. An underlying assumption is that, once students understand the relevance of their education, they will be motivated to stay in high school and improve their academic performance so college becomes a realistic option (Castellano, Stringfield, Stone, & Wayman, 2003). The College and Careers Transition Initiative (CCTI) project of the League for Innovation in Community Colleges (Warford, 2006 as cited in Lekes, et al, 2007) is a current initiative that is attempting to advance career pathways. It defines a career pathway as “a coherent, articulated sequence of rigorous academic and career courses, commencing in the ninth grade and leading to the associate degree, and/or an industry-recognized certificate or licensure, and/or a baccalaureate degree and beyond” (p. 8). Warford contends that career pathway programs emphasize courses that are increasingly academically challenging, stating that progressively advanced academic and CTE course-taking is integral to successful student transition to college and careers. Career pathways are sometimes considered a logical extension of technical preparation (tech prep) because they deliberately engage students who are college-bound as well as those who are
non-college bound (Bragg et al., 2002; Hershey, Silverberg, Owens, & Hulsey, 1998; Silverberg, Warner, Fong, & Goodwin, 2004 (cited in Lekes, et al, 2007).
Theoretical Framework
Super‟s Life-Span, Life-Space theory of career development (1990) is the theoretical framework used to inform this study, though the theory itself was not tested in this study. The point that career development is a process not an event was Super‟s great contribution to career theory. Career development as it relates to POS was used with a special focus on the stages Super labeled “growth” and “exploration.” Super‟s theory and others (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994) agree that virtually all high school students are in the exploratory stage of their careers. This means that in selecting and developing a POS, students are exploring career options as well as planning to enter defined careers. There is precedence for using Super as a theoretical framework as it relates to POS (Morgan & Kosine, 2008). Super‟s theory is an appropriate framework due to its capacity to address student needs at different stages and because it recognizes the need for intentional efforts toward career development over the life-span. After its original publication, the theory has evolved in response to research and social changes, resulting in its most recent iteration in Super, Savickas, and Super (1996). Rojewski and Kim (2003) examined the occupational aspirations, vocational preparation, and work experiences of students planning to enter the workplace and those planning to enter college through longitudinal data gathered while the participants were in the 8th and 10th grades. They compared their findings with the sample‟s post-school transition activities (e.g., college or employment) and found that the individuals planning to enter the workforce had exhibited poorer academic performance, had a higher sense of external locus of control, and had adopted lower level academic and occupational aspirations than their college-bound counterparts. Rojewski and Kim (2003) assert that these characteristics are “firmly established by grade 8" (p. 103). Furthermore, the gap between the college-bound group and those headed for the workforce widened through the 10th grade. The importance of these data, as explained by the researchers, is that students are “pretty well „locked in‟ to a particular orientation toward occupations and adult life early in their lives” (p. 104). Targeted career development interventions during the growth stage, as Super suggested, could widen the range of occupations compatible with children‟s emerging vocational self-concepts. This study demonstrates the need for career exposure and interventions earlier in childhood development. The POS may be an important tool in providing a structure for career exploration, preparation, and decision-making.
POS, as specified by Perkins IV (2006), require students to make decisions that, at a minimum, impact the last two years of high school and the first two years of postsecondary education. In Morgan and Kosine‟s (2008) review of the state Perkins (2006) plans they found that many states extend such educational and career planning to earlier grades. The theory and research suggest that virtually all high school students making these decisions are still in the exploratory stage of career development. Perkins IV emphasizes the need for career guidance, academic counseling, and professional development for educators in an effort to arm them with the knowledge and skills needed to assist students in the career exploration process. The High Schools That Work (Bottoms, 2009) initiative has long suggested that individual guidance and a plan of study are essential for effective preparation for postsecondary education and entrance into the workforce.
Purpose and Research Questions
The purpose of the study is to establish a baseline for continued study examining the performance of students engaging in a defined pre-engineering program of study. The research questions for the study were
1) To what degree do pre-engineering students from Oklahoma regional career technology centers persist in the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering;
2) To what extent does a defined pre-engineering program of study support students persisting in an engineering major at Oklahoma State University.
Methodology
Graduating high school senior students completing a pre-engineering program of study at regional career technical centers in Oklahoma were matched with college of engineering enrollment at Oklahoma State University. The factors of student name, high school, technology center, date entering the university, major, academic courses taken and last semester enrolled were collected and compared with university enrollment records. The study followed students by name from fall 2005 through fall 2009 with a rolling cohort to determine persistence in the College of Engineering. 2005 was the first year a pre-engineering program produced graduates matriculating to Oklahoma State University from a regional career and technical center using a defined and sequential program of study.
Table 1 indicates the growth of the number of students enrolling in Oklahoma State University from pre-engineering programs of study in regional Oklahoma career and technical centers by year.
Table 1
First Term Enrolled Distribution___
Semester N____ Fall 2005 3 Fall 2006 13 Fall 2007 23 Fall 2008 32 Fall 2009 38 Missing data 2 _________Total 111 __
Table 2 indicates the rate of retention by academic years completed in the college of engineering by pre-engineering students completing a program of study.
Table 2.
Number and Percentage of Students Enrolled by Year Completed in the College of Engineering
First Term Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Fall 2005 3 1 1 1 (100.0) (33.3) (33.3) (33.3) Fall 2006 12 10 10 (92.3) (76.9) (76.9) Fall 2007 22 18 (95.7) (78.3) Fall 2008 29 (90.6) ___________________________________________________________ Retention rate percentage noted below student count
Results/Findings
The rate of retention of entering freshmen at Oklahoma State University completing two semesters of undergraduate education is shown in Table 3. Table 3 indicates the rate of retention by year completed. The number of students was not provided in the data available. Table 3.
Percentage of Students Retained by Year Completed at Oklahoma State University
First Term Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
Fall 2005 79.3 71.0 67.0 31.5
Fall 2006 80.3 71.1 66.3
Fall 2007 77.1 69.2
Fall 2008 78.7
____________________________________________________________
This initial study of entering cohorts of students completing a pre-engineering POS in Oklahoma regional career technology centers appear to be persisting at a greater rate than students in the general population in the university. Year one of the study indicated a lower than
average retention rate of 33.3 percent. This result was based upon only three students. However, as Table 2 indicates, the number of high school pre-engineering students entering Oklahoma State University from Oklahoma regional career technology centers has shown an increase each year in the number attending Oklahoma State University and the rate of persistence as the program of study is more fully developed and evaluated against student performance at the university level.
Conclusions and Discussion
According to Lewis and Kosine (2008), POS can enhance the effectiveness of CTE especially by aligning technical instruction with rigorous academic standards. Lewis and Kosine (2008) also stated, “POS can provide that relevance by linking education with explicit occupational goals, thereby increasing students‟ engagement and attachment to school”. Lekes et al (2007) suggest that participation in CTE programs that provide high school students with a dual focus on CTE and academic preparation can facilitate student transition to college and a career without hindering academic performance. They also offer promising opportunities for high school students to develop academic and employability skills that then foster student success in preparing for careers in high demand occupational areas during college.
While this study is limited to a pre-engineering program of study in Oklahoma regional career technology centers, findings suggest that completing a pre-engineering program of study, with both academic and technical courses, may have a positive impact on enrollment and persistence in Oklahoma State University College of Engineering degree programs. Also, pre-engineering students from Oklahoma regional career technology centers appear to persist at Oklahoma State University at a higher rate than general students in the College of Engineering. While the exact data on the persistence of the College of Engineering students who did not complete a POS were not available at the time of this study, it is estimated by an analysis completed in 2004-05 of College of Engineering that students returning for the sophomore year who did not participate in a pre-engineering POS, were retained at a 60 percent average rate. This data excluded pre-engineering students with a POS. This data were provided by Virgil Nichols, retired Oklahoma State University faculty (2010). This average retention rate of College of Engineering students is consistent with national estimates (Adelman, 1998; U.S. Department of Education, 2000; Center for Institutional Data Exchange and Analysis, 2001; Berkner & Cuccaro-Alamin, 1996; and Ohland, et al, 2008).
Additional research is needed to compare Oklahoma State University students entering with a POS from Oklahoma regional career technology centers with engineering students in general to determine whether a POS makes a difference in persistence and performance. It is also recommended that an examination of the role of upper level math and science courses taken in a POS in College of Engineering enrollment, achievement and persistence. Additional POS must be examined for effects on postsecondary enrollment and persistence to begin to build a body of research on the effects of POS and effective contents of a POS for replication in CTE. The relationship between the development of a POS and student career development should also be examined.
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Authors
Belinda McCharen, Ed.D., NCC, LPC is an associate professor and holds the Francis Tuttle Endowed Chair for Occupational Education Studies in the College of Education, School of Leadership and Curriculum Studies, Occupational Education Department at Oklahoma State University, 255 Willard, Stillwater, OK 74078. Email: belinda.mccharen@okstate.edu. Phone: 405-744-9502. Fax: 405.744.6290. Karen High, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, Chemical Engineering Department at Oklahoma State University. 423 Engineering North, Stillwater, OK 74078. Email: karen.high@okstate.edu. Phone: 405-744-5280.
