The Louisiana Alternative Career Diploma As Institutionalized Cultural Capital: High School Principals' Perceptions of Its Value Marcil C
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2011 The Louisiana alternative Career Diploma as institutionalized cultural capital: high school principals' perceptions of its value Marcil C. Seals Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Seals, Marcil C., "The Louisiana alternative Career Diploma as institutionalized cultural capital: high school principals' perceptions of its value" (2011). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1646. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1646 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE LOUISIANA ALTERNATIVE CAREER DIPLOMA AS INSTITUTIONALIZED CULTURAL CAPITAL: HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPALS‘ PERCEPTIONS OF ITS VALUE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Counseling of the Graduate School of Education by Marcil C. Seals B.A., University of Louisiana, Lafayette, 1997 M.Ed., University of Louisiana, Lafayette, 2002 May 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to gratefully acknowledge the time and efforts made by my dissertation committee to guide me toward my doctorate. Dr. Sarah Raines and Dr. Roland Mitchell provided constant guidance, encouragement, and friendship that I could not have completed this degree without. Additionally, each and every one of my professors has provided me with incredible learning experiences that I will rely upon throughout my career. I would also like to thank my teachers and mentors at the Louisiana Department of Education, Mrs. Ellen Spears and Mrs. Evelyn Johnson. It was these two educational leaders who insisted that I return to school and complete this degree. They have been great friends and even greater role models. Most of all, I would like to share this accomplishment with my wife, Marcia. Without her patience, encouragement, and support, none of this would have been possible. It is by God‘s grace that I have been able to complete this degree, and I am truly grateful. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…....…………………………………………………...……ii LIST OF TABLES.……………………………………………………………………....vi LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………….....viii ABSTRACT.………………………………………………………………………..….....ix CHAPTER 1. STATEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROBLEM...…………....…......1 Background………………..………………………………….……...…...........…...1 Theoretical Framework……………………………………….…………….…...….6 Statement of the Problem……………...………………………….………………...7 Purpose of the Study……………...…………………….…………………………..8 Research Questions……………….…………………….……………………….….8 Study Design……………………………………………………………….…...…..9 Definition of Terms……………………………………………..……....…………..9 Assumptions……………………………………………………………..…….…..11 Limitations……………………………………………………...….…..…….…....11 Delimitations…………………………………………………………..…………..12 Organization of Study…………………………………...……………..….………12 Summary…………………...………………………………………..…………….12 2. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE…..…………...………..……………....13 Cultural Capital Theory……………………………………………………………13 Bourdieu‘s Theory of Cultural Capital……………………..…………….…….14 Cultural Capital Theory and Education……………………………………...…16 Social Reproduction in Schools……………………………………….....……..17 The Career Diploma as Institutionalized Cultural Capital.……...…….…....….18 Dropout………………………………………………………..……………..….…19 Demographic Factors..........................................................................................19 Student Disengagement……………………………………………..…….……20 Family Factors………………………………….……..………………....……..22 Socioeconomic Inequalities……………………………………………...…..…22 School Environment……………………………...…………………....……….23 Consequences for Dropouts………………………………………………….....24 Social Costs of Dropout…………………………………………………….…..24 Dropout in Louisiana…………………………………………………….……..25 High Stakes Testing in Louisiana…………………………………………..…..26 Grade Retention and Dropout…………………………………….....………….27 High Stakes Testing………………………………………………...…..………….28 Events Leading to High Stakes Testing in Louisiana……………...……...……28 Louisiana‘s Response to Standards-Based Education Reform…….……..…….31 The History and Development of Vocational / Technical Education in Schools….34 iii Smith-Hughes Act of 1917 (PL 347)………...………………………...………35 The Vocational Education Act of 1963 (PL 88-20)……………….………..….36 Amendments to Vocational Education Act of 1968 (PL 90-576)……..……….37 The Educational Amendments of 1976 (PL 94-482)……………………..…....37 The Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984 (PL 98-524)…………38 Perkins II: The Amendment to Carl D. Perkins Act of 1990 (PL 101-392)…..38 The School to Work Opportunities Act (STWOA) of 1994 (PL 103-239)....…38 Perkins III: Amendment to Carl D. Perkins Act of 1998 (PL 105-332)...…….39 Perkins IV: Amendment to Carl D. Perkins Act (2006) (PL 109-270)…….….40 Louisiana‘s Career Diploma…………………………..……………..………...….40 Discourse around the Career Diploma………………………….…………..….43 Historical Debate Concerning Vocational Education………………………….44 Summary………………………………………….……………………..…….…..48 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, DESIGN, AND PROCEDURES.……...…..…..50 Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………….50 Research Questions……………………………………….…………..……..…….50 Methodology…………………………...…………………………...….….……....50 Research Design………………………………………...…………..……..……...51 Population…………………………………………..………………….………….51 Sample…………………………….…………………..……………………..…....51 Instrumentation………………………………………..…………………..………51 Content Validity………………………………………………………..………….52 Reliability………………………….………………………..………..……………57 Procedures for Data Collection……………………...…………….…..……..……58 Data Analysis………………………………………………..…………….………58 Summary………………………………………...………………………………...59 4. FINDINGS……..…………………………………...…………………………......…..60 Data Collection and Procedures………………………………………………………..60 Research Question 1……………………………………………………...…………64 Research Question 2…………………………………………………………...……70 Research Question 3…………………………………………………………...……75 Research Question 4…………………………………………………………...……80 Summary………………………………………………………………………….…….85 5. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS…………...….…………..87 Design………………………………………………………………………….……….87 Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………….87 Symbolic Value……………………… …………………………………………….88 Value as a Solution to Underlying Causes of Dropout……………………………..90 Value as a Mitigator of Consequences……………………………………………...91 Relative Value………………………………………………………………………92 Implications…………………………………………………………………………….93 Limitations………………………………………………..……….………………...….97 Recommendations for Further Study………………...……………………….….…..98 Summary………………………………………………………………….....……….99 iv REFERENCES…...………………………………………………………...………....101 APPENDIX A: CAREER DIPLOMA COURSE REQUIREMENTS…......………………...115 B: LOUISIANA CORE 4 COURSE REQUIREMENTS……..…..……………116 C: LOUISIANA BASIC CORE COURSE REQUIREMENTS…………….….117 D: POLICIES RELATED TO G.E.D. TESTING……….…….……………..…118 E: ACADEMIC ENDORSEMENT COURSE REQUIREMENTS…..….….....119 F: CAREER/TECHNICAL COURSE REQUIREMENTS……….…………....120 G: SURVEY INSTRUMENT…………...…………………….…………………..121 H: INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (I.R.B.) APPROVAL………………124 I: PRINCIPAL CONSENT FORM…………….………………………………..125 J: LIST OF TRADITIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS…...………...…………………126 VITA………………………………….…………………….…………………………..129 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Dropout Rates by Family Income……….………………………………............20 Table 2. Goals of America 2000……………………………………………………….…30 Table 3. Overview of No Child Left Behind Requirements……………………………...31 Table 4. States Offering Vocational/Technical Diplomas………..………………………42 Table 5. Content Validity of Survey……………………………………………………...53 Table 6. Reliability Analysis – Scale (Alpha) for Value of Career Diploma Clusters…..58 Table 7. Demographic Information on Survey Respondents……………...……………..61 Table 8. Descriptive Statistics……………………………………………………………62 Table 9. Range of Mean Values………………………………………………………….64 Table 10. Reliability Analysis Criterion Rating Scale……………………………………64 Table 11. Case Processing Summary (Cluster 1)….……….……………..………………65 Table 12. Summary Item Statistics (Cluster 1) ………….….………………………….…66 Table 13. Item Summary Statistics (Cluster 1) …………...……………….……………...66 Table 14. Scale Item Analyses (Cluster 1 )…….………….……………………………...66 Table 15. Inter-Item Correlation Matrix (Cluster 1) ……………….……………………..69 Table 16. Reliability Statistics (Cluster 1) …………………..……………………………70 Table 17. Case Processing Summary (Cluster 2) …………….……………..……………71 Table 18. Summary of Item Statistics (Cluster 2) ………….………….…………………71 Table 19. Scale Item Summary (Cluster 2)……………...………………………………..71 Table 20. Scale Item Analyses (Cluster 2)….………………………...…………………..72 Table 21. Inter-Item Correlation Matrix (Cluster 2)……...……………………………….74 Table 22. Reliability Statistics (Cluster 2)……………...…………………………………74 vi Table 23. Case Processing Summary (Cluster 3).………….……………..………………76 Table 24. Summary Item Statistics (Cluster 3) ………….……………………………….76 Table 25. Scale Item Summary (Cluster 3)...…………...………………………………...76 Table 26. Scale Item Analyses (Cluster 3)...……………………………………………...77 Table 27. Inter-Item Correlation Matrix (Cluster 3)………..………………………….....79 Table 28. Reliability