The U.S. Government and Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a study on how CTE programs are supporting learners. Researchers interviewed state education officials in Delaware, Georgia, Ohio and Washington; representatives from eight CTE program providers; 14 stakeholders such as employer partners; and individuals from six national CTE organizations. This blog post summarizes the report’s key findings on funding sources and strategies that states and programs use to assist CTE learners and challenges faced in supporting CTE learners.
Funding Sources and General Support Strategies: In addition to Perkins V grants, the majority of CTE providers interviewed reported using other federal education grants, such as Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants, Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants and Adult Education State Grants, to fund programs. Half of providers stated they primarily use state and local education funds to service CTE classrooms and labs. Additionally, a few providers reported utilizing philanthropic donations and other federal grant funding, such as Department of Labor grants, the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technical Education Program and the Department of Defense’s Manufacturing and Engineering Education Program.
CTE providers also employed non-funding strategies to assist CTE learners through the comprehensive local needs assessment and business and industry partnerships, among other methods.
Programmatic Challenges: The report also outlined programmatic challenges to supporting CTE learners. The following are three key areas respondents identified as challenges:
Delivery: Respondents cited major delivery challenges related to limited funding; limited staff capacity, including a lack of racially and ethnically diverse educators; and negative perceptions of CTE. To address these challenges, providers and officials described braiding different sources of funding; recruiting CTE graduates of Tribal schools to return as teachers; and conducting outreach activities to inform parents about the benefits of CTE.
Access: Interviewees also identified access challenges in CTE for work-based learning, mostly due to lack of transportation options; limited social supports, including language barriers; inflexible scheduling; a lack of childcare services; and difficulties accessing aid for postsecondary nondegree programs. Respondents cited efforts to increase student access including hiring a work-based learning coordinator to identify opportunities and transportation options; translating CTE materials into multiple languages; and offering online instruction.
Replication: State officials and CTE providers reported difficulties in identifying and replicating effective CTE program strategies due to a lack of data, particularly longitudinal data that crosses systems, and evidence-based strategies. Some ways interviewees addressed replication challenges include developing a data-sharing partnership with federal and state agencies; creating a postsecondary data system; and researching existing evidence-based strategies that demonstrate positive outcomes for special populations.
The GAO report also outlines ways in which the U.S. Department of Education supports CTE programs. These strategies include administering grants, providing technical assistance, partnering with other federal agencies and expanding research.
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