Enhancing literacy among rural, work-oriented youth: A cultural analysis

This dissertation focuses on educational reform in New York State in relation to two policies that I term "dual reform." The 1996 Regents graduation policy required all students to participate in the college-prep curriculum and attain a Regents diploma, while the 2001 Career and Technical Education (CTE) policy promoted integrative approaches to teach academic topics within CTE. The central study questions were: How has literacy reform been constituted in relation to CTE within two rural communities? How does CTE enable and constrain youth literacy learning and development?;Participants included educators and students in two rural CTE schools. Data, collected over one year (2006-2007), included semi-structured interviews, classroom observation field notes, curriculum and policy documents, and student writing samples. Grounded theory (Strauss, 1978) and situational analysis (Clarke, 2005) techniques were used to examine data across experiential/ethnographic and institutional/policy levels. "Risk society" (Beck, 1992) theory and research connected to youth development, individualization processes, and youth-adult transitions offered analytic perspective as well.;Four central findings emerged through this study: (1) Dual reform appears to prioritize and reward a single approach to CTE change, focused on CTE-academic curriculum integration and the creation of courses that awarded both academic and occupational credit. Yet, fiscal and structural constraints make realization of this model a challenge for some rural schools. Different types of support would be beneficial. (2) Better balance is needed between curriculum integration and attention to individual students' literacy needs in CTE. Adolescent literacy specialists, as well as English teachers, could enhance student learning and offer literacy coaching support to CTE teachers. (3) Multiple activity systems (CTE, academic classes, worksites, recreational literacy practices) are relevant to CTE youths' literacy learning and could be profitably "networked" (Ivanic, et al., 2009) to enhance development. (4) CTE educators are vigilant and creative in their support of working class youth, and CTE schools fulfill multiple roles in rural communities. They can serve important functions for youth development, even after youth graduate from high school. A central goal of dual reform should be to strengthen the role of CTE as a community institution, as well as a secondary school option.