Equity Framework for Research Design and Practice

Learn about the Equity Framework for CTE Research

While developed for Career and Technical Education (CTE), The Equity Framework is relevant to any researchers studying topics in pedagogy, curriculum design, education or professional development.

The Equity Working Group of the CTE Research Network (CTERN) has published a new framework for researchers on using an equity lens to do their research: The Equity Framework for CTE Research. CTERN is hosting a free webinar on February 21st at 3:00 EST, find your time zone here. The Equity Working Group will provide an overview of the framework and how people can use it. They will answer questions about the framework and why it is important. 

Many researchers want to use an equity lens to do their research but lack practical guidance in what that looks like. The framework developed by the CTERN’s Equity Working Group illustrates how researchers can infuse an equity approach into research from start to finish and provides real and hypothetical examples from CTE research.

The framework addresses equity at six stages of the research life cycle:

Stage 1: Project Management

Stage 2: Research Design

Stage 3: Measurement and Data Collection

Stage 4: Data Analysis

Stage 5: Cost and Resource Equity

Stage 6: Reporting and Dissemination

The descriptions of each stage include questions to help researchers infuse equity into their work.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) has a long and complicated history, including extensive tracking under its previous incarnation as vocational education. Despite CTE’s evolution, differences remain among student groups as to which students take CTE courses in high school, enroll and persist in postsecondary education, and complete postsecondary programs.  Deliberately using an equity-focused lens when developing, implementing, and evaluating program can help promote equitable learning experiences and outcomes for all students who participate in CTE.

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