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Career and Technical Education Teachers’ Beliefs About Developing Students’ Motivation to Write
Abstract
Students in the U.S. write poorly. Although postsecondary and workplace writing expectations continue to rise, writing instruction has largely remained unchanged over time. As a result, student writing outcomes continue to fall below expectations from both an assessment and hirable proficiency standpoint. Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides a unique opportunity to motivate students who are otherwise disengaged in writing (ACTE, 2009). The benefits of helping students develop their writing-self efficacy has well-documented support (Bruning & Horn, 2009; Bandura, 1997; Pajares 2003; Pajares & Valiante, 2006). However, little is known about the writing opportunities provided in CTE classes or CTE teachers’ beliefs about their role in developing students’ motivation to write. In order to address these gaps and better describe the shared experiences of CTE teachers and their beliefs about developing students’ motivation to write, this study employed an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodological approach as described by Smith and Osborn (2013). Using a constructivist lens, the shared life experiences of six CTE teachers, one from each of the six recognized career fields (Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Business, Marketing, and Management; Communication and Information Systems; Health Sciences; Human Sciences and Education; and Skilled and Technical Sciences) were explored. As a result of implementing IPA protocols for data analysis, four overarching themes emerged. These themes reflected overlapping concepts and included a driving purpose behind each CTE teachers’ instructional practices, an appreciation for the uniqueness of CTE, a declaration that writing is important, and articulated conditions that are necessary for CTE writing. Findings from this study contribute to the limited understanding of the writing instruction taking place in CTE courses, the affordances CTE may provide to positively impact student writing motivation, and the nature of CTE teacher self-efficacy beliefs and their impact on pedagogical decision-making.
Subject Area
Education|Educational psychology|Vocational education
Recommended Citation
Graham, Katie M, "Career and Technical Education Teachers’ Beliefs About Developing Students’ Motivation to Write" (2020). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI28157644.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI28157644