CTE programs in community colleges are striving to achieve equity goals and reduce equity gaps, finds MDRC in their report Voices from the Field: How Community Colleges Are Advancing Equity in Career and Technical Education. In 2019, MDRC did a scan of 17 CTE programs in community colleges and interviewed CTE administrators, state level CTE administrators, instructors, employer and community partners, and students. The report provides best practices on how CTE stakeholders can improve equity in their CTE programs.
First, four main findings from the scan of CTE programs in community colleges are presented. The four findings are:
- New and innovative ways of outreach must be introduced, such as peer recruiters and community partners.
- To increase retention and completion of programs, individualized and targeted coaching, support networks and non-tuition support are needed.
- Increased post-graduation services may help underrepresented students in the labor market and increased earning potential.
- Community colleges working on equity are coming up with ways to uncover inequities regarding race, ethnicity, gender and other characteristics relevant to their local context.
The researchers then go through the lifecycle of a student and identify where inequities may occur. This lifecycle is broken down into three stages: recruitment and enrollment (access); support during the program (persistence and completion); and after graduation (outcomes). For each stage, the researchers provide examples and strategies of best practices of current approaches that are addressing inequities.
Finally, four policy and practice ideas are recommended for other CTE programs to follow when facing inequities. First, if funding is limited, focus funds on access before completion because it is less expensive and bound by regulation. Also, supporting prospective students through possible challenging application and enrollment processes is essential for equitable access and outcomes. Community colleges also need to ensure that a pipeline is being created so strategies learned in classrooms translate to equitable initial employment. The last policy recommendation is offering postemployment services to encourage retention in current jobs as well as creating opportunities for career advancement.
To implement these innovative practices and policies, the researchers state that programs will need both financial resources and data to provide more equitable CTE programs. Both of these will help highlight current gaps as well as provide solutions to help address equity issues in CTE programs.
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