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Within Career and Technical Education (CTE), some students have the opportunity to participate in Work Based Learning (WBL) as a third-level course to achieve CTE completer status. Participation in WBL has proposed benefits beyond students learning technical skills to the more substantial development of employability skills. Although employers indicate that there is an employability skills gap in employees, information on how employability skills are developed in high school WBL environments is limited, which is the problem addressed through this research. A multi-site case study was conducted to address the purpose of exploring the WBL environment's impact on the development of CTE concentrators' employability skills of communication and work ethic. The study had one main research question: "What interactions occur in the WBL environment that develop employability skills of CTE completers?" Two sub-research questions were examined: "What interactions occur in the WBL environment that develop communication skills of CTE completers in Grade 12 in two rural, public high schools in Arkansas? What interactions occur in the WBL environment that develop work ethic of CTE completers in Grade 12 in two rural, public high schools in Arkansas?" Themes on how high school students' communication skills and work ethic were developed through WBL were determined through analysis of high school student data gathered via small group interviews and student observations at two rural high schools. Additional themes on how high school students' communication skills and work ethic were developed through WBL were determined through WBL supervisors via focus groups at two rural high schools. Recommendations based on the findings were for high schools to implement intentional training programs for communication skills, for high schools and other educational institutions to audit current in-person and digital communication systems for students, for instruction and classrooms to mimic the collaborative nature of authentic workplace environments, and for high schools to access WBL as a program through Perkins V. The study concluded that the WBL environment impacted the development of high school students' communication skills and work ethic to a high degree, and the study filled a significant gap in research on high school WBL environments. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The core foundation for higher education is learning. According to O'Banion (2019), "Learning is the core business of all educational institutions, a transcendent value that arches over research, teaching, and service…" (p. 4). However, not all students are afforded the opportunity to learn at their maximum potential. Accordingly, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an emergent framework used to design accessible learning communities. This framework provides the tools to train instructors for enhancing students' learning by capitalizing on their diverse abilities, including students with disabilities. UDL assists higher education strategic academic leaders in planning and designing curriculum proactively for teaching and scholarship. Presently, research is scarce regarding strategic academic leaders' awareness and readiness to adopt UDL at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As stated by CAST (2011), UDL provides a blueprint for creating instructional goals, methods, materials, and assessments that work for everyone because a "one-size-fits-all" solution does not work but instead requires flexible approaches that can be customized and adjusted for individual needs. As a means to minimize the barriers to UDL, this quantitative study was conducted to assist strategic academic leaders, specifically HBCUs, in assessing the awareness and readiness required for UDL adoption. Among the significant findings of the study included: (a) the deans and department chairs were aware of UDL; however, they lacked awareness of the foundational principles; (b) although the deans and department chairs were ready to adopt UDL, providing resources, seemingly would be a challenge; (c) there was no significant difference between the deans and department chairs awareness, although the department chairs were slightly more aware of UDL; and, (d) there was no significant difference between the deans and department chairs readiness to adopt UDL; however, the department chairs were again slightly more ready to adopt UDL. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]