Questions from the field: How do we continue to increase numbers of male and female students in educational programs that are nontraditional for them?
I’m often asked the questions, “How can we affect changes in student selection decisions for career and technical education (CTE) programs of study?” and “How can I convince a girl entering high school to consider a program in manufacturing or building trades or a boy entering high school to consider a nursing program?” Because so many potential factors influence student course and program choices (e.g., parents, peers, prior learning, cultural bias, hormones, and more), how can educators ensure the all students have full access to any and all of the CTE programs? Equally important, how can educators ensure that progress toward increasing enrollment for traditionally underrepresented students continue over time?
To determine the success of any intervention that improves students’ academic opportunities and achievement, appropriate data must be collected. Although sometimes tedious, collecting and analyzing data are essential for decision-making and for gauging the value of any intervention. In addition, collecting and analyzing data helps schools and educators to avoid wasting time, resources, and talent on efforts that produce limited or no results.
Over decades, many educators have asked me why a specific strategy employed did not improve student enrollment in programs that are nontraditional by gender (male or female). They further explained that they were trying to address the entrenched gender bias that affects beliefs about the programs of study. This issue is a challenge. The good news is that schools are now achieving their recruitment goals for underrepresented students by gender in their nontraditional programs of study. Some schools have improved their numbers and percentages year over the course of 1 year!
How do schools do it? They evaluate the outcomes for a project or initiative by collecting and analyzing data. This process provides visibility to the project or initiative and helps the educators to understand the value of their implementations over time. The knowledge gained also informs modification of good projects to improve outcomes year over year. For example, CTE School A wants to recruit more females into its building trades program. It decides to use current female and male high school students to help recruit new students from feeder middle schools who are touring the school. It revises the brief tour script to focus less on the program and more on the aspirations of students in the program. It then provides activities that may develop interest among students who are familiar with the program (more often boys) and awaken interest in those who may be less familiar with the program (more often girls). CTE School A collects data about
How many students took the tour?
How many were male or female?
How many provided a completed interest card to the tour guide?
How many tour guides followed up by inviting the student to shadow them in their program for a day at CTE School A?
How many students agreed to attend the follow-up shadow day and how many subsequently enrolled in the building trades program?
Of those that enrolled, how many agreed to be tour guides?
All of these steps require simple number counts. The steps allow the educator to track enrollment progress, compare their progress to their initial goals, and identify corrections needed for further improvement. This is the continuous improvement process.
Often, programs with low enrollment by gender have low enrollment overall. Consider the variety of factors that affect enrollment for all students, including those who are underrepresented. For example,
Are students familiar with the CTE program or is this their first exposure to it?
Do students know someone in the career path (male or female) close to their age or a parent or sibling?
Is the instructor and the environment inviting and comfortable to students? In other words, when students walk into the room for a tour is the equipment they first see intimidating and unfamiliar or is there a connection to anything they already know or have experienced?
Do the instructor presentations during tours represent the diversity of student interests for Generation Z?
Are the presentations aspirational, or do they only represent the body of knowledge that the instructor plans to teach in the class?
Gathering data thoughtfully is essential for determining the success or growth opportunities of programs and initiatives. A strong process for improvement that includes the collection and analysis of data will help your school and your educators determine what improvements need to be made year over year to consistently improve your outcomes for all your students, and particularly those not yet represented in your great programs!