| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to describe characteristics related to Self-Efficacy, Dual Enrollment and Career, Technical and Agricultural Education for secondary students in North Georgia High Schools in terms of their readiness to matriculate to an institution of higher learning. The first objective was to describe the personal characteristics of the target population (i.e., secondary students in Murray County, Georgia High Schools) by selected personal characteristics: (a) grade level; (b) high school attending; (c) primary influencing factor for participating in Dual Enrollment program; (d) secondary influencing factor for participating in Dual Enrollment program; (e) matriculation plans; (f) type of postsecondary institution plans; (g) anticipated postsecondary education taught online; (h) grade point average; (i) SAT plans, (j) ACT plans; (k) gender; (l) race; (m) enrollment in Career, Technical and Agriculture Education; (n) number of Dual Enrollment courses taken; (o) number of Career, Technical and Agriculture Education courses taken; (p) and overall readiness for postsecondary education. The second objective was to present a description of the target population by the Dual Enrollment attributes. Students were asked to provide their opinions on statements about these attributes (12 items) through the online questionnaire. The third objective was to present a summary of the target population’s opinions on statements about their experience with Career, Technical and Agriculture Education (11 items) through an online questionnaire.
The fourth objective was to present a description of the target population’s levels of Self-Efficacy based on agreement with 22 statements through the online questionnaire based on Solberg’s (1993) Self-Efficacy Inventory for college students. The fifth and six objectives were to assess the relationship between Dual Enrollment attributes and the personal characteristics identified above. The seventh objective was to assess the relationship between Self-Efficacy and Career, Technical and Agriculture Education. Specific objectives were developed to address the purpose of the study. The eighth objective was to compare groups based on mean scores for levels of agreement with statements related to Dual Enrollment, Career, Technical and Agricultural Education or Self-Efficacy and personal characteristics. A series of independent sample t-tests were conducted in SPSS to determine if there were statistically significant differences between mean levels of agreement with statements related to Dual Enrollment based on the personal characteristics listed above. The relationships between the variables were tested using independent sample t-tests and ANOVAs. Significant differences were found between students who feel prepared for postsecondary education and those who don’t for perceptions of statements on Dual Enrollment, t(61) = 2.52, p = 0.015, d = .62., Career Technical and Agricultural Education, t(54) = 3.16, p = 0.003, d = .84 and on Self-Efficacy, t(61) = 2.50, p = 0.015, d = .42. This suggests there is a significant difference in attitudes based a student feeling prepared for postsecondary education or not. In all three questionnaires, students who expressed readiness were more likely to agree with the statements. In a related finding, older students (seniors) were more likely to agree with CTAE statements than younger students (juniors). This suggests that there is a significant difference in attitudes regarding factors related to CTAE based on current grade level (junior or senior) and that the effect size is between medium to large. This study indicates that dual credit participants can confidently approach post-secondary options, and that they are more likely to be successful in college due to level of self-efficacy as they matriculate into college. Recommendations from the study include continued research on the effects of Dual Enrollment and Career, Technical and Agricultural Education on preparedness for postsecondary education including a possible longitudinal study than incorporates a comprehensive set of variables related to students’ personal characteristics. | en_US |
