Examining the engagement of career academy and comprehensive high school students in the United States

The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of student engagement of career academy students to those at a traditional comprehensive high school using propensity score matching and structural equation modeling. We found that academy students had significantly higher levels of emotional engag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of educational research (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2020-09, Vol.113 (4), p.247-261
Main Authors: Fletcher, Edward C., D. Dumford, Amber, Hernandez-Gantes, Victor M., Minar, Nicholas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral engagement
Career Academies
career academy
cognitive engagement
Curriculum development
Differences
Educational psychology
emotional engagement
Extracurricular activities
High School Students
High Schools
Learner Engagement
Occupations
School Attitudes
Secondary school students
Secondary schools
Student Behavior
student engagement
Student participation
Student teacher relationship
Students
Traditional Schools
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of student engagement of career academy students to those at a traditional comprehensive high school using propensity score matching and structural equation modeling. We found that academy students had significantly higher levels of emotional engagement and significantly lower levels of behavioral engagement than those at comprehensive schools. We also found no statistically significant differences in the levels of cognitive engagement of academy students compared to comprehensive school students. We believe the academy model has the promise of transforming the high school experience for students as it relates to their attachment to the school, their relationships with peers and teachers, and their sense of belonging and safety. However, academies need to work with students to create and develop co-curricular and extracurricular activities of interest to engage students in their schools at a higher level.
ISSN:0022-0671
1940-0675
DOI:10.1080/00220671.2020.1787314