A Survey of Faculty Perceptions of Community College Career and Technical Education

Abstract

Community colleges are the leaders in facilitating career and technical education (CTE), and faculty help develop program offerings on campus. This study explored faculty perceptions of community college CTE programs using the survey research method. Participants included 36 faculty members from various disciplines from 15 state colleges in Florida. Participants were sent a digital survey and asked to use a scale from 0 (do not agree) to 8 (agree) to score their agreement level with 43 statements of opinion. Data revealed that community college faculty perceive CTE as beneficial, but CTE programs must include the habits of mind and support students’ social and emotional development. The findings also indicated that CTE programs should be credit-bearing and offer students a holistic education. Implications of the study are concerned with community college development and implementation of CTE programs such that these programs must include industry-required competencies to prepare students for work. However, they must also offer students an equitable education to promote life-long learning, sustainable employability, and growth.

Keywords

• survey research
• community college
• career and technical education
• stigmatization
• postsecondary
• quantitative research