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Articulating clear and achievable expectations is fundamental to both education and organizational management. In this article, we provide a simple intervention for clarifying expectations--and establishing that these expectations have been understood--which proved beneficial both to community college interns and to their internship mentors in biotech-related undergraduate research experiences. Internship mentors were asked to utilize a simple Expectation Clarity Tool to outline the expectations, success metrics, baseline assessments, and training strategy and support that would be foundational to their intern's project. These included expectations around conceptual, technical, performance, and professional skills and behaviors. Concurrently, but independently, community college interns were asked to complete the same type of exercise as a way of identifying gaps in their knowledge and understanding of their mentor's expectations and their internship project. The mentor's completed Expectation Clarity Tool was then shared with their intern. As a result of completing this relatively simple intervention, the majority of mentors reported that it increased their confidence as a mentor, taught them a new mentoring skill, changed how they will mentor trainees moving forward, and positively impacted their relationship with their trainee. On the intern side, the majority of interns reported that engaging in this intervention, both as an independent exercise and in obtaining their mentor's completed Expectation Clarity Tool, increased their confidence as an intern and positively impacted the success of their internship.

Certified dietary managers (CDMs) lead their food services team by ensuring food quality, safety, and palatability while applying nutrition principles to food purchasing, storage, preparation, and service. Despite labor shortages and forecasted growth in both healthcare and food services management jobs, approximately 30% of credentialing exam candidates forego their exam within the first year after completing a didactic career technical education program approved by the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals. Moreover, very few return to pursue their exam after the first year. This study explored, through the lens of the theory of planned behavior, the perceived obstacles contributing to CDM program graduates' reluctance to sit for the national board certification. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive and convenience sample of eight participants from various regions of the United States to gain insight into internal and external factors contributing to their exam hesitancy. Thematic analysis yielded several themes, including a lack of control over internal and external barriers to taking the exam. Participants reported facing family and work constraints exacerbated by the pandemic and the lack of financial resources to meet exam preparation and registration costs. They expressed feelings of exam-related anxiety, being ill-prepared, unsupported by their programs and employers and discouraged by the observed stressful working conditions of current CDMs. This study helps establish a foundation for remedial action by stakeholders, educational program leaders, and CDM employers in support of certification candidates. Findings raise questions about the prevalence of credentialing exam barriers in other disciplines and pave the way for future investigations about exam hesitancy.

This study uses administrative student data from Chile to explore the transitions of urban and rural students to higher education. We find that urban students are more likely to register to take university entrance exams than rural students. Among those who do take the exams, urban students perform significantly better. Even though both groups of students enroll in higher education in similar proportions, urban students are more likely to enroll in universities, whereas rural students are more likely to enroll in technical education. We also explore differences in major choices for students who enroll in higher education and find that rural students are more likely to enroll in fields related to health, education, and agriculture, while they are less likely to enroll in social sciences or the humanities. Finally, both groups are as likely to choose STEM fields when enrolling in higher education. Our findings suggest that although rural students have similar access to higher education as their urban counterparts, they face different challenges, especially related to standardized tests, which have an impact when choosing which type of higher education institution to enroll in.

The present paper investigated how inclusive vocational excellence (IVE) practices specific to vocational education and training (VET) can be described in an effective and transparent manner. A framework for the description of such practices was proposed, and then 44 descriptions of practices were collected with this framework from an international sample of providers of such practices from four countries. Expert raters have rated the quality of these descriptions, in terms of how much they respect the proposed structure, provide relevant information about the proposed practice, provide relevant information about the manner in which the practice was implemented and offers a clear and explicit description, further usable by other interested VET institutions. Statistical analyses have then revealed that the framework generates more consistent descriptions for some domains than for others. Implications for practice are discussed. [Note: The volume and issue number (24, 1[47]) shown in the header on the PDF is incorrect. The correct volume and issue number are 25, 1(49).]

This research aims to identify factors predicting pre-service technical teachers' academic performance in a technical teacher training context. This study employed a predictive correlational design. We developed the conceptual framework by combining previous research, and then created a survey to gather data. Between August 1 and August 30, 2022, 109 undergraduates from the Faculty of Technical Education at Rajamangala University of Technology Krungthep (RMUTK) received an online self-administered questionnaire. The statistical analysis employed the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression. The findings of the research showed that there was a positive correlation between various factors such as gender, motivation and attitude towards learning, study habits, family support, curriculum quality, and teaching quality with pre-service technical teachers' academic performance, with the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.230 to 0.292 and were all statistically significant (p < 0.05). The multiple correlation coefficient (R) was 0.474 showed a significant relationship between the independent and dependent variables at the 0.05 level. The R-squared value was 0.225, indicating that these six variables combined explain 22.5% of the variation in academic performance. However, this also suggests that our model fails to explain around 77.5% of the variance. Some aspects of the findings derived from this study are expected to result in the creation of digital interventions to better track students' academic performance, aiming to provide equitable educational experiences that maximize the academic performance of each gender group in the future.

There is little empirical evidence that convinces the effectiveness of distributed leadership in contemporary educational research. Thus, many distinguished scholars suggest its' statistical examination. Considering this need, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of principals' distributed leadership practices on students' learning outcomes at Technical and Vocational Education Training schools in Eritrea. The study was conducted based on quantitative design and applied structural equation modelling. A sample of six hundred and three students was employed. The researcher developed the structural equation model to test a model that hypothesized the relationship between the major variables using path analysis. The study results demonstrate that the principals' distributed leadership practice has a direct and significant (0.883, p<0.001) effect on students' learning outcomes keeping other things constant. The strongest predictor of students' learning outcomes was capacity building, given it has the largest path coefficient ([beta]=0.346). Moreover, findings show gender disparity among the respondents and in terms of turnout rate; nevertheless, it was not statistically significant (p<0.001). One of the study's contributions is that it developed and assessed the validity of the principals' distributed leadership practice scale for Eritrea's TVET schools through CFA model. The study offered basic evidence that distributed type of leadership is a significant predictor of learning outcomes by exploring six factors of leadership practices, which shows a promising area for practice and future studies.

Context: For many businesses, one of the key indicators in their management is the adaptation of Information Technology in their operations. In Kenya, there has been a phenomenal growth in access to mobile phones, by June 2023, over 66 million mobile phones were connected to various telecommunication operators of which 58.3% were smart phones constituting 67.1% of internet connections. There are many digital technologies which can be adapted to facilitate the processing, dissemination, and access of information. The modern world has become competitive due to the uptake of Information Technology as one of the main business management skill, with the availability of smart phones and many applications that are easily available and easy to use. One of the main beneficiaries of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) is the Jua Kali artisans who are a key player in the Kenyan economy. Entrepreneurial competencies help the growth of businesses along the dimension of innovation. Kenya intends to entrench the use of Information Technology for public service delivery, business, skills, and innovation. The Jua Kali sector cannot be ignored, it contributes more than 80% of the total employment in Kenya. Approach: This research was carried out in the Eastlands of Nairobi, Kenya. Data were collected using a questionnaire, an interview and observation schedule. The study used an interview schedule to collect data from Jua Kali artisans carrying out their artisan businesses in the Eastlands of Nairobi and a questionnaire survey to collect data from a sample of identified Nairobi residents who had engaged an artisan to work for them six months prior to the research. Findings: The research established that most Jua Kali artisans acquired their skills in the Jua Kali sector by apprenticeship (86.3%) while a small percentage (12.7%) trained in Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) institutions while a further one percent were trained by their former employers. Most of the artisans had attained the basic formal education qualifications i.e. primary education (27.9%) and secondary education (47.6%). The Chi-square (?²) test was used to test the relationship between use of the basic social media digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by artisans owning artisan businesses. Conclusion: At 0.05 level of significance (a) the research established that there is a significant relationship between the adaptation of digital platforms in business management and the formal education attained by the artisans.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly prevalent, permeating various aspects of and spreading across education. However, a comprehensive understanding of AI applications and how to define AI literacy is under-investigated. On this note, teaching and evaluating AI literacy necessitates educators to integrate it into course content. The implementation and use of AI are reshaping college students' learning experiences. Limited efforts have been made to promote AI literacy for individuals at academic institutions. This study aims to investigate college instructors' perspectives on AI integration in curriculum design at a higher education institution, Palestine Technical University Kadoorie (PTUK). A mixed study approach is used with a pre-existing questionnaire containing 14 items in this study and 17 semi-structured interviews. The data were collected from nine different departments at PTUK. The target population consisted of 176 college instructors. The results revealed that college instructors perceive AI literacy as a weak element in the curriculum. Two themes merged from qualitative data: accomplishing educational goals, and lack of AI guidelines and concepts. Recommendations include the necessity to incorporate AI literacy curriculum design in higher education contexts in different disciplines.

The gender digital divide (GDD) is a social phenomenon that denies citizens access to technologies, the internet, and the services associated with Education 4.0. Reducing this gap requires communicative literacy, which allows scaling knowledge, skills, and attitudes to create forms of media expression to interact effectively in virtual environments. Education 4.0 is a modern approach to education that focuses on preparing students to thrive in a digital and technological world. Additionally, Education 4.0 is based on three pedagogical principles, including Cyber pedagogy, Heutagogy, and Peeragogy, which emphasize the use of technology, self-determined learning, and collaboration, respectively. A mixed study was conducted with the participation of 124 Mexican students of technical-professional education. The study's objective was to analyze how they scaled their communicative literacy and complex thinking through a formative experience based on the pedagogical framework of Education 4.0 in digital environments called metaverses to bridge the GDD in Mexico. Quantitative results show only significant differences in systemic thinking (z = -2.113, p = 0.035 < 0.05), where women had a slightly higher mean (M = 25.36) than men (M = 25.11). Qualitative results support the finding of women excelling in systemic thinking, as participants expressed comments related to systemic thinking (90%). This suggests that immersive digital environments can effectively enhance communicative literacy and complex thinking. Additionally, they can be spaces where both women and men achieve similar levels of digital literacy.

Purpose: This conceptual piece applies what we know about student success to introduce a faculty model of success called the Faculty Pathway to Excellence. The model elevates faculty voices in the conversation of student success in community colleges. Method: We collected qualitative data from interviews with faculty at two community colleges and focus groups with faculty from six community colleges to help inform a faculty-focused framework. Proposed model: By changing the conversation to a more comprehensive perspective of faculty success, the model emphasizes the connections, establishment, navigation and leadership, and teaching and learning excellence of faculty members throughout their career trajectories. We define faculty success as faculty retention, faculty satisfaction/sense of belonging, faculty productivity, and ultimately student success (e.g., learning, retention, completion, transfer). Contributions: The development of this Faculty Pathway to Excellence suggests a wider variety of strategies by administration to attract, support, and retain faculty. It also has the potential to help faculty members envision and prepare for the multiple and non-linear pathways in academia. Understanding faculty and their career progression is critical to advance student success conversations. Finding ways to enhance faculty growth and development across all career stages helps students and faculty succeed.

There is an increasing need to train and retrain personnel that would be saddled with the capabilities, professional and skill developmental requirement that meets societal needs. In this case, there is need for adequately trained personnel that will bridge the gap between societal needs; industrial needs with classroom instructions and vice versa. Therefore, this study examines the influence of building aspiring teachers' capabilities, professional and skill development as an auspice to quality teaching activities in technical vocational education and training institutions. Samples were selected using a multistage sampling technique. The collected data from 945 aspiring teachers was analysed using empirical analysis with AMOS SPSS v.23. Hayes PROCESS macro was used for mediation analyses. The result of the study indicated that self-efficacy and professional skills with knowledge of instructional delivery and personal capabilities have strong significant linkage. There is also a mediating interaction of attention to relationship on the relationship between constructive teaching and personal capabilities. TVET institutions should ensure continuous professional development by concentrating on the requirements concerning teaching and learning, individual resources and social support for coping with various requirements.

This study aims to understand how students manage higher technical education and contribute to research on institutional culture, STEM education, and students' educational strategies by identifying patterns of how students navigate within one university's engineering education. To achieve this, we define and use the concept of technical science capital and habitus reconstruction. We collected data through a survey sent to engineering students who have followed an engineering program's intended linear progression and those who have taken a 'detour' within the same cohort at one specific Swedish university. The survey had a high number of qualitative questions, including free text answers that captured students' narratives. The results indicate that having a large amount of technical science capital alone is not enough for students to be successful in their studies. The university culture has its own structure, which can be intolerant. Within this culture, specific social skills and experiences are desirable, which provides students from a particular background with a greater opportunity for success. Despite possessing high technical science capital, students from other social groups or cultures face challenges. We discuss various measures that could make higher technical education more engaging. This study is limited to one Swedish university, and future studies could include a broader sample that represents several universities.

Federal policy in the United States has urged high schools to expand offerings in career and technical education (CTE) coursework to address persistent gender inequities in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical (STEMM) fields. Unfortunately, gender composition in engineering and health sciences CTE enrollment is highly imbalanced and reflects postsecondary and labor market trends. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we use decomposition techniques to examine which student, family, and school factors explain gender-imbalanced enrollment in STEMM-focused CTE courses. The results indicate student occupational expectations were the largest contributor to gender gaps across content areas.

In studies on the motivational classroom climate the need to delve into socio-affective aspects that make up the pedagogical relationships -PR- between teachers and students that affect the closeness and communication is recognized. That is why this work seeks to validate the design of two evaluation instruments focused on PR (Closeness/Conflict Scale and Motivational Communicational Scale) applied to 459 students from technical secondary schools (Argentina) and establish links with the CMC as well as with the satisfaction and interest achieved in terms of the relevance of school learning. The results found to prove that the two assessment scales created meet measurement guarantees, showing encouraging reliability, internal, convergent and predictive validity data. Likewise, the relationships between the Motivational Communication and Closeness scales are strong since significant correlations were found. The relationship model between communication/closeness/conflict turned out to explain the satisfaction that students perceive of their teachers, demonstrating the importance of the main determinants of PR (closeness, communication and conflict) for the CMC and contributing to the evaluation of educational interventions focused on improving the climate.

Using critical race theory (CRT) as both our theory and analytical framework, we interrogated vocational, career, and technical education (VCTE) policy as a racial instrument. We applied key CRT themes to examine both primary sources; including historical and contemporary VCTE Acts (e.g., Perkins I-V) and Congressional reports; and secondary sources, including academic analyses of VCTE, its history, and related legislation. Findings demonstrate that VCTE policy upholds race-neutrality, which we argue is problematic because without being designated a special population, racially oppressed students stand to miss out on important funding opportunities that could dramatically alter and improve their lives.

This article examines secondary school learners' motivation to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in relation to two contextual factors: school type and school location. Data were collected from 352 Polish learners who attended English instruction in general and technical secondary schools in a large city and a small town in western Poland. Learners' motivation, conceptualized as a continuum from fully autonomous to fully controlled, was measured through a survey at two time points, 2 years apart, which provided an assessment of motivational change. The second measurement was followed by interviews with selected learners. Our results show that learners from general secondary schools in the two locations exhibited different motivational patterns, while those from technical schools were similarly motivated regardless of their schools' locations. A decrease in extrinsic motivation over time was observed in both types of small-town schools. Based on these results, we discuss the implications for EFL pedagogy.

Transitional engineering students are those who are academically ineligible to enter a bachelor's engineering program but are enrolled in an associate engineering program with a university. Successful completion of such an associate engineering program allows the higher achievers to transfer to a full bachelor's engineering program. The associate engineering program is taken commonly by self-employed tradesmen, technical workers, and young apprentices in regional, rural, and remote (RRR) areas. The foundation engineering mathematics course in the associate engineering program, particularly knowledge and skills in solving word problems involving triangles, plays a key role for the smooth transition of these students to the engineering disciplinary courses. However, there is little we have known about the performances of the transitional engineering students in solving problems involving triangles as the associate engineering programs are not among the mainstream of undergraduate programs. This study analyzed the 27 transitional engineering students' performances in solving word problems involving triangles assigned to the students in the foundation mathematics course at a regional Australian university and found that the RRR transitional engineering students demonstrated a higher level of study ethics and achievement in solving word problems involving triangles, compared with the RRR student mathematics teachers. This seems mainly due to the professional experiences in delivering real-world projects prior to the start of their mathematics learning. Further research should be expanded to more areas of mathematics to gauge the overall performances of the transitional engineering students in mathematics learning and progression.

This article reports on the self-perceived impacts of service-learning experiences from the perspective of alumni who graduated from a technical university in Taiwan. Drawing on the alumni responses in a focus group interview, the study investigated how the respondents perceived the impacts of participation in a service-learning project. Findings suggest that these experiences fostered a lasting change in the alumni personal development, communication skills, ability to adapt and persevere, learning attitude and commitment to service. In addition, the alumni reported not just these practical and personal benefits derived from the service-learning experiences, but also critical transformation that empowered them to face challenges after college.

The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the efficiency of blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application for Shunde Technical Vocational College, (2) compare students' achievements before and after learning through blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application, and (3) examine students' satisfaction with of using blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application. The sample comprised 30 students at Shunde Technical Vocational College in China, derived through purposive sampling. The instruments used to collect the data were (1) blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application for enhancing learning achievement, a student's pretest and a posttest, and a teacher's satisfaction form. The data analysis statistics were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the t-test for the dependent sample. The research findings revealed that applying blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer applications for enhanced learning achievement was efficient by E1/E2 (81.40/81.23). The evaluation of content blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application teaching by the experts was appropriate at the excellent level ([x-bar]=4.78, SD. = 0.58). The evaluation of students' satisfaction with blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer applications in China by 30 students. The overall students' satisfaction was a strongly agreeing level ([x-bar]=4.51, SD. = 0.50). When considering each item, it was found that blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application methods was strongly agreeing level ([x-bar]=4.67, SD. = 0.48) and combined teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer application was strongly agree level ([x-bar]= 4.60, SD. = 0.50), respectively. According to Shunde Technical Vocational College, teachers' satisfaction with blended teaching online according to the Super Star Learning Pass model on Basic computer applications for enhanced learning achievement was high, with a mean of 4.51.

Information technologies represent the main fields in vocational and technical education systems. Since the curricula of this field are technology-based, they need to be assessed and updated at shorter intervals compared to other curricula. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the framework curriculum in the field of Information Technologies in Turkey. The research was carried out based on a qualitative approach. The research design is a case study. The sample of the study was determined via maximum variation sampling. The sample determined for the study consists of Information Technology teachers working in vocational and technical upper-secondary schools in different provinces of Turkey. A semi-structured interview form was employed as a data collection tool. It has been found that the outcomes in the curriculum framework tend to be consistent, but they are above the student level. Timeliness, simplicity, and the availability of printed books are among the strengths of the curriculum framework. Insufficient physical conditions and lack of materials and equipment are among the aspects of the curriculum framework that need to be improved. Students' low level of readiness is stated as one of the main challenges in implementing the curriculum framework. Teachers have provided suggestions such as admitting students to vocational and technical upper secondary schools via exams, offering financial resources, establishing IT upper secondary schools, and transforming vocational upper secondary schools into project schools for an effective curriculum framework.

The rising costs of course materials have higher education stakeholders seeking alternative models to the traditional course materials acquisition model. One model of interest is Inclusive Access. Inclusive Access has had a sudden rise in adoption across the country which has left gaps in the literature as to the effectiveness of such programs. A review of the literature on the effectiveness of Inclusive Access course materials models returned only four published studies. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of an Inclusive Access course materials model and its effects on student success rates at a Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC). WCTC provided student outcome data for 7110 students across six courses. The analysis documented significant differences between the before and after Inclusive Access samples for five of the nine categories examined. Black students (+12.80 %), Female students (+3.93%), and Students [greater than or equal to] Age 25 (+3.40%) had the largest increase in success rates when comparing the before and after Inclusive Access implementation populations.

Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology (TCATs) are the primary providers of public postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) opportunities in the state. The purpose of this study was to determine which student demographic and enrollment characteristics significantly correlated with the completion of a postsecondary certificate or diploma at a TCAT. Using a state administrative dataset and employing multilevel modeling techniques, this study found students who enrolled on a full-time schedule, who had a prior postsecondary education background, and who received the state's need-based grant had significantly higher odds of credential completion. Students who had below a high school education, students who were classified as nontraditional based on gender and program of study, and Students of Color had significantly lower odds.