Bridging Rigor and Relevance Through CTE

By Victor M. Hernandez

At the end of the 20th Century it was clear we were losing our economic edge in the world due to global competition. At that time, it was evident for everyone—employers, educators, researchers, policymakers, and the general public—that we needed to better prepare our students for the demands of the new economy. The emerging calls from both academic and technical education converged in agreement that more rigorous and relevant education was needed in secondary schools to better prepare students for further education and work. Since the 1990s, this movement gave way to an entire line of research, curriculum integration efforts, alternative program designs in career and technical education (e.g., Tech Prep and the career academy model), and reforms in the way we approach teaching math and science. A consulting industry also emerged spreading the benefits of curriculum rigor and relevance among school districts for a fee. To be sure, there is plenty of documentation showing what students lack and what is needed, but we have not been able to generate clear curricular interventions and enough empirical evidence to support them. This is particularly true in career and technical education where much of what we know about curriculum rigor and relevance stems from developments in the learning sciences building upon notions of contextual teaching and learning. We have learned a lot about the difficulties integrating academic and technical education to emphasize relevance. However, the interface of rigor and relevance has been harder to document between technical and academic disciplines such as math and science. In mathematics, for instance, we know students do not have the math skills needed in today’s high-skill workplace or for pursuing further education. In this case, sometimes rigor has translated into more math courses, while relevance has been emphasized through a different type of math such as “applied math” or “contextual math.” These solutions may not be that effective in the absence of coherent and relevant contexts in academic education, and the tendency to focus on low-level math skills in technical education.

A recent study published by researchers at the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education and the National Institute for Work and Learning, offers empirical evidence to support the potential of a promising solution for addressing the need for more rigorous and relevant mathematics skills through career and technical education. The premise of this study was to capitalize on the occupational contexts featured in career and technical education to enhance students’ conceptual understanding of both math and technical skills. This was accomplished through a teaching approach involving seven elements including:

• Introduction of the CTE lesson as a means to set the context for targeted math skills.
• Assessment of math awareness to establish a baseline of conceptual understanding.
• Work through a math example in the context of technical applications focusing on underlying concepts and application (e.g., the use of proportions and ratios in health occupations).
• Work through related math examples bridging CTE and math concepts.
• Work through traditional math examples to check for general understanding and transferability to test situations.
• Provide students opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of math and CTE concepts.
• Conduct a formal assessment to determine level of understandings.

The significance of these results is important given the experimental research design, the large size of classrooms involved (n = 203), duration of the intervention (a full academic year), and the representation of occupational programs. This empirical evidence provides a useful platform for the translation of rigor and relevance in career and technical education if, as the researchers suggested, five conditions are met. First, CTE and math teachers need to work in teams in the development of math-enhanced curriculum for specific occupations. Second, it is important to maximize the use of contextual relevance offered by CTE curriculum to make math more explicit and relevant for students. Third, teachers and students should treat and understand math as an essential workplace skill rather than a separate academic skill. Fourth, teachers should bring to the forefront of instruction the relevance of math concepts across technical applications to encourage transfer of learning. Finally, the researchers suggested the promotion of collegial relationships among CTE and math teachers beyond curriculum development leading to the establishment of communities of practice.

While this instructional approach may not be the only way for effective promotion of both rigor and relevance in career and technical education, the empirical evidence resulting from this study supports promising implications for integration efforts involving math skills. To learn more about the study, review the full article Rigor and Relevance: Enhancing High School Students’ Math Skills through Career and Technical Education by James R. Stone III, Corinne Alfeld, & Donna Pearson. The article was published in September 2008 in the American Educational Research Journal and is available at: http://aer.sagepub.com/cgi/rapidpdf/0002831208317460v1.pdf.

Related Resources

COMPASS (Curricular Options in Mathematics Programs for All Secondary Students). This is a secondary school implementation project funded in part by the National Science Foundation with the goal of assisting those interested in improving secondary school mathematics opportunities and experiences for their students.

CSMC (Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum). The CSMC serves the K-12 educational community by focusing scholarly inquiry and professional development around issues of mathematics curriculum.

Developing authentic, integrated, standards-based mathematics curriculum: (More than just) an interdisciplinary collaborative approach. By Victor M. Hernández-Gantes & Jonathan Brendefur, Journal of Vocational Education Research, 2004.

Making mathematics work for all children: Issues of standards, testing and equity. By Alan H. Schoenfeld, Educational Researcher, 2002.

National Research Center for Career and Technical Education: Math-in-CTE. The Math-in-CTE Study tested the impact of a professional development/pedagogic model on the mathematical achievement of high school career and technical education (CTE) students in five occupational areas.

National Institute for Work and Learning. NIWL works at the nexus of the education and employment systems, promoting their integration to ensure lifelong learning and productivity for all Americans.

Retooling career [and] technical education. Issue Brief, National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices, June 2007.

Students find relevance in career and technical education programs. By Patty Cantu, Center for Educational Networking, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth.

Supporting high quality career and technical education through federal and state policy. By Betsy Brand, American Youth Policy Forum, May 2008.

Team planning to create an integrated curriculum. By John Burrill & Victor M. Hernández-Gantes. In S. A. McGraw (Ed.), Integrated mathematic: Choices and challenges. Washington, DC: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2003.

Victor M. Hernández-Gantes is Associate Professor of Career and Workforce Education at the University of South Florida.