High-quality CTE: Prepared and Effective Program Staff

Click the + sign next to each category below to explore resources that align with the Prepared and Effective Program Staff element of the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study FrameworkTM.

This report aims to advance the availability of research on secondary CTE teachers, specifically the quantification of teacher shortages in specific CTE content areas to properly inform effective recruitment and retention policies.

This report presents selected findings from the 2022 State of the American Teacher survey related to increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the teacher workforce. The authors surveyed and interviewed teachers and convened a panel of education policymakers to gain deeper insight into the policies and practices that could be most effective for recruiting, hiring, and retaining teachers of color.

This report explains the status quo of the landscape of teacher apprenticeships across the country, as well as why they are booming, how they benefit the learner and how localities and cities across the nation can take advantage of these programs.

This journal article examines the CTE teacher vacancy in the U.S, specifically how the lack of data and research is affecting the recruitment and retention of CTE teachers across the country.

This case study describes an Arizona high school that redesigned its teacher academy to have value for students and schools, no matter what career path students ultimately choose.

Based on interviews with more than 40 experts and practitioners in a wide range of roles and landscapes, this toolkit curates ideas and resources school leaders can put to use right away to improve teacher recruitment, hiring, and retention — even in challenging circumstances.

This report summarizes the approaches that five education agencies or institutions took to increase the number of CTE teachers by recruiting and supporting new teachers in their locales. The findings indicate that establishing broader regional or statewide professional or mentoring networks through which new CTE teachers can access support from peers and more experienced CTE teachers is particularly important.

This study examined how Virginia CTE teachers perceive their profession and found that teachers recommending the profession to their students in recent years has decreased considerably, largely owing to salary/benefits and school variables not in teachers’ control.

This report analyzes alternative teacher certification programs not operated by postsecondary institutions, including estimated number of programs, enrollment, student demographics and the types of operating organizations.

This article includes data on postsecondary faculty shortages in CTE fields of study.

This brief outlines common types of clinical experience in both traditional and alternative teacher preparation programs. It also points to research that highlights the role that clinical experience plays in retaining teachers and diversifying the workforce.

This research examines the relationship between the level of pedagogical knowledge and educational degree attainment of postsecondary CTE teachers and students’ passing an industry certification test.

This resource shares promising practices and strategies for state CTE leaders to leverage when implementing their state plans regarding recruiting and retaining high-quality instructors, as well as diversifying the CTE instructor workforce.

This study identified developmental experiences associated with teacher retention based on focus group interviews with mid-career (7-15 years) and veteran (20+ years) CTE teachers representing the fields of agriculture and family and consumer sciences.

In February 2020, ACTE held a national convening with 100 leaders from across multiple sectors to discuss CTE teacher recruitment, preparation and retention issues. This document provides a synopsis of the Summit and a set of recommendations derived from the event.

This research identified four themes related to the retention of mid-career CTE teachers: setting boundaries, shifting priorities/focus, building a professional support network and innovating in the classroom.

This brief describes the number of CTE administrators in each state and CTE administrator requirements by state.

This study analyzed demographic data and outcomes for CTE teachers who completed a summer workshop as part of alternative licensure.

In 2018, Region III was the recipient of funding through the ACTE Opportunity Fund to conduct research on teacher supply and demand. This document is a summary of the findings from one year of research and data collection.

This report presents results from a content analysis of state policies for dual enrollment instructor qualifications, compares the faculty qualification policies of regional accreditation organizations, and describes strategies to bolster graduate education programs and encourage teachers to complete relevant graduate coursework.

This report draws on recent nationally representative data as well as a body of research on recruiting and retaining teachers of color to summarize the primary barriers to recruitment and retention of teachers of color all along the teacher pipeline.

This exploratory study found that teachers who participated in an industry-based externship demonstrated an increased understanding of teaching problem solving, collaboration and communication skills.

This brief shares data about CTE teacher and faculty shortages.

This brief describes promising programs and strategies for strengthening the rural CTE teacher pipeline, with examples from states around the nation.

This brief describes the work of the Early College Expansion Project, a five-year initiative funded by an Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which aimed to address dual enrollment staffing challenges.

This article describes CTE administrator requirements in all 50 states and implications of these findings.

This study examined CTE teacher education programs, including undergraduate and graduate student enrollments, course delivery modes and curricular trends.

Industry experts are in short supply in secondary classrooms. This publication recommends ways to increase access to industry experts, including alternative certification and allowing experts to teach part-time or co-teach with a fully certified teacher of record.

The brief describes a vision for teacher preparation and beginning teacher professional development—a vision that embraces the opportunity of personalized project-based learning for all students.

This descriptive study examined the status of CTE teacher education programs, both undergraduate and graduate, across the nation.

The paper describes the processes used and lessons learned by those who researched, developed, and completed a redesign of the Indiana Workplace Specialist I teacher training program.

The study examined the perceptions of state directors of CTE about the state of administrator preparation programs and the needs for training administrators in CTE.

The brief describes various strategies states are exploring to ensure that CTE teachers can award academic credit to students for their classes.

This brief offers insight into three human capital management policies that are critical for CTE teachers: certification, performance evaluation and professional development.

This survey asked career and technical educators who are also AFT members from across the country about their experiences and challenges.

This study, conducted with support from the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education program, followed four community colleges for a year to understand local factors that facilitated or impeded faculty implementation of a bridge program in which basic skills were contextualized in biotechnology.

This document provides state-by-state information on licensure policies for CTE teachers.

This report describes a field-tested induction model from the Southern Regional Education Board and the National Research Center for CTE that builds the capacity of beginning CTE teachers to offer instruction that is intellectually demanding and standards-focused and thus more likely to improve CTE students’ academic achievement.

This study explored instructional strategies used by faculty teaching CTE teacher education programs.

This qualitative study focused on a CTE preservice teacher education program structured around the Georgia Framework. Findings support use of the Georgia Framework for Accomplished Teaching in CTE teacher preparation.

This article describes a three-round Delphi approach that identified leadership issues confronting career and technical administrators at the secondary and postsecondary levels.

This self-assessment can be used by CTE leaders to evaluate their technical, human and conceptual skills as leaders. It aligns with the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework.

The guide was designed to help CTE leaders make difficult decisions as they offer remote, blended and socially distanced learning during COVID-19. It is organized around the ACTE Quality CTE Program of Study Framework, including guidance related to staffing and educator needs.

This toolkit describes a community college faculty externship program and includes a sample schedule, evaluation and other tools.

This second edition of CTE standards from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards describes what accomplished CTE teachers should know and be able to do. The standards are meant to reflect the current professional consensus about the essential aspects of accomplished practice. They were developed by the Board’s CTE Standards Committee.

This rubric demonstrates how the Danielson Framework for Teaching can be adapted for CTE teachers.

This guide assists individuals entering the CTE teaching profession by describing the responsibilities of the teacher, student learning styles, lesson preparation, methods of instruction, classroom management and student success measurement.

This book series breaks down the key responsibilities involved in administering high-quality CTE programs and personnel, with practical advice and tips on how to get the job done.

The workbook includes activities for administrators to use for their own professional growth and with their staff. Each chapter explores one of the five topics that CTE administrators are responsible as overseers of high-quality CTE programs. The CTE Administrator Handbook can be used with ACTE’s free online course, CTE Administrator, or as a stand-alone resource.

Although there are many books focused on teaching strategies and tips for new teachers, there are few resources specifically for new CTE teachers. This book series fills that gap, particularly for individuals coming to the field from alternative teacher preparation programs.

This webinar highlights the benefits of educator diversity to learners and reviews recruitment strategies that attract diverse CTE instructors, administrators and leaders who reflect the learners they teach.

CTE leaders who thrive in the face of adversity are a different breed from those who flourish when resources are unlimited. This webinar discusses mindsets for turning adversity into advantage.

Join Tyra Pilgram, CTE director from Rutherford County Schools in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as she discusses how to have a CTE program with high-quality educators and staff, regardless of the size of the school district.

This virtual discussion addresses the importance of CTE teacher collaboration through the lens of a statewide professional development event in Iowa.

  • Your First Year as a CTE Teacher Part I and Part II ($) – CTE Learn

The first course in this series will help new teachers who are transitioning from their career fields into teaching gain a better understanding of CTE and their roles as educators. The second course provides five additional components that CTE teachers need to develop as professional educators.

This series of courses reviews classroom management strategies and how educators can cope with stressful classroom situations.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) provide systems of growth that can advance your teams and students to the next level. This course will discuss the organization of PLCs and strategies for participating in and benefiting from them.

This course describes the purpose of instructional frameworks, explores current instructional and teacher assessment frameworks, and introduces a newly developed CTE-specific teacher assessment framework.

This course discusses best practices in CTE teacher supervision and the purpose and use of instructional coaching in developing the content knowledge and pedagogical skills of CTE teachers.

This course series aims to improve the management skills of CTE leadership staff specifically as it pertains to hiring staff, delegating responsibilities, retaining employees, providing professional development and assessing employee performance.

This course series covers how CTE leadership staff can effectively oversee their team with strong management, motivation and leadership skills.

This series of coursework enables postsecondary CTE leadership staff to explore how their leadership impacts their programs and offers helpful tools to be a more effective leader.

This series helps CTE leadership staff to effectively manage workplace crises when they arise by setting goals and effectively implementing career, time, stress, change and crisis management strategies.

Tables include data on secondary CTE teacher demographics, teaching assignments and experience, certification routes and other topics.