UC Irvine

The silo structure and neoliberal rationality of Career Technical Education (CTE) secondary pathways limit student learning and propagate the purpose of education as the creation of human capital, not a socially aware citizenry (Brown, 2017; Jacobs, 2010). Despite its history of racial tracking, CTE pathways still neglect critical thinking/dialogue around social/environmental justice issues, drastically hurting workers’ ability to confront these inequities (Darder, 2017; Oakes & Saunders, 2011; Shor & Freire, 1987). Using a qualitative research design that employs ethnographic elements, this study found that constructivism, critical pedagogy, and interdisciplinary collaboration can positively impact the experience, participation, and critical consciousness of students and educators in a CTE building and construction pathway; however, more research is required to fully understand how these pedagogical shifts can be more effectively integrated into other CTE pathways.