Abstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine characteristics of award winning Career and Technical Centers that may contribute to best practices in the integration of core academic concepts into the Career and Technical Education curriculum. These responses were compared to non-award winning schools in order to determine what award winning schools may have done differently that could have contributed to their success. Background: It is widely accepted that educators should place an increased emphasis on workforce readiness in secondary education to prepare students for a global economy that is becoming increasingly complex and knowledge-based. New participants must enter our nation’s workforce, properly equipped with the applied skills and knowledge to remain competitive throughout the twenty-first century. Methods: A researcher-developed questionnaire was used to collect data for this study. The questionnaire was based on related literature concerning integrating academic concepts into the CTE curriculum. Results: The data indicated that participants at award-winning schools perceived their school’s integration practices to be much more successful than these at non-award-winning schools in presage, process, and context variables. Conclusion: This study proved to be consistent with much of the previously published body of literature concerning the integration of academics in to the context of CTE and the value of properly supported and educated teachers and administrators. Application: The results do imply that previous researchers and practitioners were correct in their assumptions that an integrated CTE curriculum leads to higher student achievemen
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