CTER v31n1 - Editor's Note
Editor’s Note
Steven R. Aragon
University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignI am pleased to welcome you to Volume 31 of Career and Technical Education Research (CTER) . We had a bit of a rough first year with the name changes taking place of both the journal and the research organization. If you had an opportunity to read my editor's note included in 30(3), I discussed some of the challenges I faced during my first year as editor in terms of the quality of the submitted manuscripts. I won't say that we are completely over that hump but I can say we are moving forward very well at this point.
Over the past few months, my staff, the reviewers, and I have seen a vast improvement in the manuscripts received. In fact, enough quality manuscripts were submitted within the same window of time that issues 1, 2, and 3 will be coming out back-to-back. I have been very pleased with the scope of these papers. The recent manuscripts examine career and technical education in different international settings, use a variety of methodological perspectives, and help expand the definition of the field. The manuscripts have strong theoretical frameworks, methods, conclusions, and discussions. I want to thank the reviewers for their informative and timely feedback that have allowed us to publish a great first issue for 2006. I would like to highlight the articles that appear in this issue.
In the first manuscript, Sang Hoon Bae and Ji Hoon Song examine youth unemployment in the Korean labor market and the role that CTE can play in reducing this gap. Using national jobless data and educational statistics, Bae and Song found that CTE graduates perform better than non-CTE graduates and that high school graduates without occupational skills are the highest at-risk group for unemployment. The authors conclude that labor market advantage comes not from the length of schooling but from the occupational skills that youth possess upon entering the job market. Bae and Song propose that CTE can be effective in preventing joblessness among youth.
Joo Ho Park and Jay Rojewski examine the applicability of the learning organization concept for vocational and academic teachers in Korean high schools. While their results provide strong evidence that the learning organization model can be applied to different teacher groups, I my opinion, a second contribution of the article lies in the method. The study utilized a large sample of teachers that was randomly selected thus, increasing the generalizability of the study. The instrument used had reliability coefficients ranging from .86 to .90 for each of the subscales. Finally, the data were analyzed using advanced statistical analyses. While all of the manuscripts published in CTER are of high quality, I do feel it brings a new level of credibility to the field to have research that uses more advanced methods. I believe at a time when CTE often gets criticized for lack of rigor, studies like Park and Rojewski's help to dispute that argument.
In the final article of this issue, Amy Ryken examines the ways in which CTE programs support and constrain urban youths' career decision-making. Using a case study method, Ryken tells the story of three African American female students who entered biotechnology programs at the community college and how each reached different career and educational destinations. A major implication of the study suggests that while programs that link school and work settings can provide resources for students within the context of long-term planning, it is important that program designers help students see multiple options for their futures. In addition to the findings related to the career pathways, this article represents a well-designed and executed case study. It provides the detail, description, and format to serve as an excellent model for others interested in developing qualitative manuscripts.
I think you will enjoy reading all three articles included in this issue. I encourage you to submit manuscripts for publication consideration in CTER .