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College and Career Readiness: an Interview Study of High School

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College and Career Readiness: an Interview Study of High School COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS: AN INTERVIEW STUDY OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES AND THEIR DESCRIPTION OF POSTSECONDARY LIFE by Kenneth A. Bissell Bachelor of Arts, University of Pittsburgh, 2002 Master of Arts, Appalachian State University, 2004 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education University of Pittsburgh 2017 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF EDUCATION This dissertation was presented by Kenneth A. Bissell It was defended on May 15, 2017 and approved by Gennaro Piraino EdD, Superintendent of Schools, Franklin Regional School District Tanner LeBaron Wallace PhD, Associate Professor, Psychology Education Dissertation Advisor: Cynthia Tananis EdD, Associate Professor, Administrative and Policy Studies ii Copyright © by Kenneth A. Bissell 2017 iii COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS: AN INTERVIEW STUDY OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES, FOUR YEARS AFTER GRADUATION Kenneth A. Bissell, EdD University of Pittsburgh, 2017 The purpose of this research is three-fold: first, to build an understanding of how high school graduates describe their engagement in college and career ready skills, knowledge, and behaviors during and after high school. The second is to understand how graduates describe secondary school college and career development programs and initiatives. Finally, based on graduate descriptions of struggle after high school, the research uncovered gaps in college and career readiness upon graduation. The conceptual framework for the study was grounded in David Conley’s (2014) Four Keys to College and Career Readiness Model, and social cognitive career theory was explored throughout the study. A qualitative interview study was conducted to gain a better understanding of how students engage in the acquisition of college and career ready skills, and what college and career ready skills they struggle with upon graduation. Interviews of high school graduates from a southwestern Pennsylvania school district were conducted following Clara Hill’s (1997) Consensual Qualitative Research Method interview process. Analysis of the data included deductive coding using the Four Keys to College and Career Readiness (Conley, 2014), and the social cognitive career theory model of career self-management (Lent & Brown, 2013). Second iv cycle pattern coding revealed themes of how graduates engaged in college and career readiness, and how their secondary school experiences did or did not contribute to their readiness. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... X LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... XI 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Problem Area ....................................................................................................... 2 1.2 College and Career Readiness in Practice ......................................................... 4 1.3 Inquiry Questions ................................................................................................ 5 2.0 REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................................................................................... 7 2.1 Conceptual Framework ....................................................................................... 8 2.1.1 Key cognitive strategies ................................................................................... 9 2.1.2 Key content knowledge ................................................................................. 10 2.1.3 Key learning skills and techniques ............................................................... 11 2.1.4 Key transition knowledge and skills ............................................................ 12 2.2 Defining College and Career Readiness .......................................................... 13 2.2.1 College and career readiness definition: The college board ...................... 14 2.2.2 College and career readiness definition: ACT ............................................ 14 2.2.3 College and career readiness definition: Political influence ...................... 15 2.2.4 College and career readiness definition: PA department of education .... 16 2.3 College and Career Readiness Gaps ................................................................ 17 vi 2.3.1 Workforce CCR gaps .................................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Postsecondary education CCR gaps ............................................................ 19 2.4 Educational Shifts .............................................................................................. 20 2.5 Social Cognitive Career Theory ....................................................................... 21 2.6 Summary ............................................................................................................ 23 3.0 METHODS AND APPLIED INQUIRY PLAN ...................................................... 24 3.1 Inquiry Setting ................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Stakeholders ....................................................................................................... 27 3.3 Inquiry Approach .............................................................................................. 28 3.3.1 Interview design ............................................................................................. 29 3.3.2 Graduate selection ......................................................................................... 30 3.4 Data Collection and Analysis ............................................................................ 31 3.5 Study Limitations............................................................................................... 35 4.0 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS ........................................................................ 37 4.1 Research Participants ........................................................................................ 39 4.2 Inquiry Question #1: Engagement in CCR Acquisition ................................. 40 4.3 Inquiry Question #2: Reflections on GSHS College and Career Development Programs ............................................................................................................................. 42 4.4 Inquiry Question #3: Struggles with CCR Skills, Knowledge, and Understandings ................................................................................................................... 44 4.5 Stories of the Graduates .................................................................................... 46 5.0 ENGAGING WITH CCR: THE STORIES OF LORI, KATIE, ADAM, & MATT ………………………………………………………………………………………...47 vii 5.1 Interactions with adult mentors ....................................................................... 47 5.2 Autonomous Learning Experiences ................................................................. 52 5.3 CCR Engagement: Overview ............................................................................ 56 6.0 GSHS COLLEGE AND CAREER PROGRAMMING: THE STORIES OF BILL, STEPH, & JULIE ............................................................................................................ 57 6.1 GSHS Beneficial Career Experiences .............................................................. 57 6.2 Inconsistent College and Career Programming Structures ........................... 62 6.3 GSHS CCR Program Description: Overview ................................................. 66 7.0 CCR STRUGGLES: THE STORIES OF JOHN, NADINE, & CHRIS ............... 68 7.1 Difficulty Adapting to Postsecondary Norms .................................................. 68 7.2 Lacking Career Pathway Knowledge and Options ........................................ 72 7.3 Interests, Abilities, and Options Disconnect.................................................... 74 7.4 CCR Struggles: Overview ................................................................................. 76 8.0 CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................ 78 8.1 How Students Engage with & Acquire CCR Skills ........................................ 79 8.1.1 How do high school graduates describe their engagement in acquiring the skills, knowledge, and behaviors for post high school transitions; including who they engage with to help prepare for their transition? ........................................... 79 8.2 Descriptions of GSHS Career Programming .................................................. 81 8.2.1 How do high school graduates describe the value of secondary college and career development programs based on their experience? .................................... 81 8.3 Struggles with Postsecondary Transitions....................................................... 82 viii 8.3.1 How do high school graduates describe their struggles when transitioning beyond high school; and, what college and career skills and behaviors do they describe to be lacking in the most? ........................................................................... 82 8.4 Emerging Themes For Discussion .................................................................... 84 8.5 Conclusion .........................................................................................................
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