Student Engagement and Social Capital in an Outperforming Urban High School Career Academy Mode

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived factors that contribute to academic achievement and student engagement in an outperforming urban high school with a career academy model of high school reform. The study was designed to determine the combined effect of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive student engagement while also assessing the influence of social capital on academic achievement.;The academic outcomes of the nation's students are marked by a significant and persistent achievement gap closely aligned to students' race. Nevertheless, certain urban schools have successfully diminished the achievement gap and have outperformed their counterparts across the country. Although some research has been conducted that examines achievement in smaller, career-themed learning communities, few have focused on the integrated effects of student engagement and transmission of social capital on student performance.;This case study focused on an outperforming urban high school in the Trojan Union High School District. The Los Angeles Career Academy High School met the multiple criteria defining an urban school as well as the measures used to indicate that it was outperforming its state counterparts. A qualitative analysis was applied to uncover patterns and themes that emerged from the triangulated data. The data that was collected consisted of student and teacher interviews, student and teacher surveys, observations, and document analysis. The factors influencing student engagement and academic achievement existed within a system of layered contexts of the students' school culture. The contributive factors were found to include a school culture that promoted academic achievement through student connectivity. In addition to the culture, the structure of the school day supported achievement by maximizing student connections to campus adults and their peers. On the level of the smaller, career-themed learning community, the factors influencing engagement and achievement revolved around clearly communicated school-to-career connections, opportunities for collaborative learning and leadership, and the deliberate and systematic transmission of social capital through nested layers of support and mentorship.