Shaun M Dougherty
Biographic Data
| ID | 5742072 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Shaun M Dougherty |
| GIVEN NAMES | Shaun M |
| FAMILY NAME | Dougherty |
| SIGNATURE | DOUGHERTY S M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Vanderbilt University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3362-8948 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Fifteen Years of Change in High-Quality CTE Participation
In many states, including Massachusetts, demand for high-quality career and technical education (CTE) has grown faster than program supply, raising concerns about equitable access. Using 15 cohorts of administrative data, this brief examines how participation in high-quality CTE has changed across students’ demographic groups. While overall participation and concentration have increased, these gains are unbalanced: Female students have become bet…
Sector, Religious Affiliation, and the Risk of Closure Among Postsecondary Institutions
Using Predictive Analytics to Allocate Educational Resources: An Application to Career and Technical Education
Education leaders increasingly seek to integrate data into decision-making processes as they confront difficult choices about how to invest public resources. This paper assesses the consequences of data-driven decisions related to systems-level investments in career and technical education (CTE). Using Massachusetts administrative records, we evaluate various decision rules—from simple population-based approaches to sophisticated predictive model…
Can Technical Education in High School Smooth Postsecondary Transitions for Students With Disabilities
Career and technical education (CTE) programs have been proposed as a strategy for supporting transition to independence among students with disabilities. We exploit a discontinuity created by admissions thresholds to estimate the causal impact of attending a CTE high school on the short- and long-term outcomes of students with disabilities. Our findings suggest that attending CTE high schools has large positive effects on completing high school …
Technical Education: Boys and Men
Male students graduate from high school and enroll in college at lower rates than females. Male participation in the workforce has also declined over the past several decades. We present evidence on changing workforce demand and participation that highlights how opportunities for female-dominated employment have outstripped those for male-dominated occupations. We also show how several of the high-growth occupations that do not require a BA fall …
Teacher Exit and Educational Opportunity: Lessons From Career and Technical Education
Ensuring a stable pool of teachers is critical to building a pipeline of future workers, especially in career and technical education (CTE), where programming can lead to immediate post-school employment or postsecondary enrollment. We use longitudinal state data with unemployment insurance records to document workforce dynamics among CTE teachers. We find that teachers in hard-to-staff CTE areas are more likely to leave teaching and are difficul…
Principals’ Priorities, Teacher Evaluation, and Instructional Leadership
Instructional leadership has become the dominant paradigm in principal preparation and professional learning. In parallel, teacher evaluation has risen in prominence. Using interviews from 84 principals in 23 districts and three states, we asked how teacher evaluation influenced principals’ reported priorities and conceptions of instructional leadership. We found that although teacher evaluation loomed large in principals’ priorities, their imple…
Does High School STEMM Career Coursework Align With College Employment
Background/Context: Career and technical education (CTE) coursework in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical/health (STEMM) fields has been supported by policy makers as a way to align the secondary-to-postsecondary-to-career pipeline. Yet, in the research, the focus has been on whether STEMM CTE coursetaking in high school predicts college-going or whether it predicts employment for non–college goers. Little attention has be…
Bookshelf: Kappan authors on their favorite reads
Shaun M. Dougherty recommends the book Of Boys and Men by Richard V. Reeves. Louie F. Rodriguez recommends the article “Cultivating Una Persona Educada: A Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Vision of Education” by Laura I. Rendó, published in the Journal of College and Character
Putting evidence on CTE to work
Policy makers have taken more interest in career and technical education (CTE) in recent years, but evidence regarding what kinds of programs produce the most important outcomes is still emerging. Shaun M. Dougherty summarizes what recent research tells us about the impact of these programs. Evidence has shown that CTE-dedicated schools, career academies, and programs linked to workforce needs can improve high school graduation rates and workforc…
Motivating Leadership Change and Improvement: How Principal Evaluation Addresses Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sources of Motivation
Purpose: This mixed-methods study examined the association between the degree to which principal evaluation systems include intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation and principals’ perceptions of whether their district's evaluation system promotes leadership change and improvement. We also investigated how principals experience intrinsic sources of motivation in the context of principal evaluation. Research Methods/Approach: For our quantita…
The Effects of Career and Technical Education: Evidence from the Connecticut Technical High School System
We examine the effect of attending stand-alone technical high schools in Connecticut using regression discontinuity. Male students are 10 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school and have half a semester less time enrolled in college. Male students have 32% higher average quarterly earnings. Earnings effects may in part reflect general skills: male students have higher attendance rates and test scores, industry fixed effects exp…
Network Effectiveness in Context
Increasingly, scholars and practitioners are interested in evaluating the effectiveness of interorganizational networks. We use a configuration approach to study network effectiveness. This research is a mixed-method study of 26 education networks in the United States. We measure network effectiveness by comparing 4th-grade literacy, 8th-grade literacy, and high-school graduation rates. We compare these scores with all school districts in the sta…
Promoting persistence: Can computer science career and technical education courses support educational advancement for students with learning disabilities
Information technology and computer science represent one area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that have experienced significant growth in recent years. As such, federal policy has urged schools to embed new types of STEM courses into the curriculum. As one very prominent example, computer science (CS)-focused courses are a growing branch of career and technical education (CTE)—that is, CS-CTE. While previous research …
The Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic and Recession on Career Preparation during High School
School closings in response to COVID-19 reduced the opportunity for students to engage in all learning including career and technical education (CTE). As a result of the COVID-19 disruption student opportunities for work-based learning and completion of hours required for professional certification was severely reduced. The absence of these experiences had the potential to create disruptions in the skill and experience accumulation for youth and …
The overall and differential effects of a targeted prekindergarten program: Evidence from Connecticut
High School Football and the Athletic-Market Economy: Recruiting, Producing, and Manufacturing Talent
There are two cultural narratives often purported within the American sports cultures of basketball and football. First, those participating within these sports are African American athletes from poor communities lacking educational and economic opportunities. Second, the meritocratic myth perpetuating American society feeds the notion no matter where an individual is from their talent will elevate them to the next level. There have already been …
The Impact of Career and Technical Education on Students With Disabilities
Evidence suggests that participating in career and technical education (CTE) in high school, on average, positively affects general education students when transitioning from education to the workforce. Yet, almost no large-scale causal research has explored whether academic benefits also accrue to students with disabilities in CTE. This omission is glaring given that students with disabilities participate in high school CTE programs at high rate…
Students With Intellectual Disabilities and Career and Technical Education Opportunities: A Systematic Literature Review
Career and Technical Education (CTE) offers the potential for disadvantaged student subpopulations to utilize high school toward preparation for the workforce by encouraging specific career pathways. Yet, to date, very little is known about the intersection of CTE programs and disability. In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review of the vocational education and career readiness literatures, with a particular focus on students wit…
Not So Black and White: A Multi-Divisional Exploratory Analysis of Male Student-Athletes’ Experiences at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Institutions
The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and quality of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) male student-athletes’ college experiences across race, sport, and divisional classifications. In recent years, the NCAA and its member institutions have faced intense scrutiny regarding the purpose of intercollegiate athletics within their educational missions. Additional concerns have been levied at the NCAA for persistent academic…
High School Football and the Athletic-Market Economy: Recruiting, Producing, and Manufacturing Talent
There are two cultural narratives often purported within the American sports cultures of basketball and football. First, those participating within these sports are African American athletes from poor communities lacking educational and economic opportunities. Second, the meritocratic myth perpetuating American society feeds the notion no matter where an individual is from their talent will elevate them to the next level. There have already been …
The Impact of Career and Technical Education on Students With Disabilities
Evidence suggests that participating in career and technical education (CTE) in high school, on average, positively affects general education students when transitioning from education to the workforce. Yet, almost no large-scale causal research has explored whether academic benefits also accrue to students with disabilities in CTE. This omission is glaring given that students with disabilities participate in high school CTE programs at high rate…
Not So Black and White: A Multi-Divisional Exploratory Analysis of Male Student-Athletes’ Experiences at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Institutions
The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and quality of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) male student-athletes’ college experiences across race, sport, and divisional classifications. In recent years, the NCAA and its member institutions have faced intense scrutiny regarding the purpose of intercollegiate athletics within their educational missions. Additional concerns have been levied at the NCAA for persistent academic…
Principals’ Priorities, Teacher Evaluation, and Instructional Leadership
Instructional leadership has become the dominant paradigm in principal preparation and professional learning. In parallel, teacher evaluation has risen in prominence. Using interviews from 84 principals in 23 districts and three states, we asked how teacher evaluation influenced principals’ reported priorities and conceptions of instructional leadership. We found that although teacher evaluation loomed large in principals’ priorities, their imple…
The overall and differential effects of a targeted prekindergarten program: Evidence from Connecticut
Students With Intellectual Disabilities and Career and Technical Education Opportunities: A Systematic Literature Review
Career and Technical Education (CTE) offers the potential for disadvantaged student subpopulations to utilize high school toward preparation for the workforce by encouraging specific career pathways. Yet, to date, very little is known about the intersection of CTE programs and disability. In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review of the vocational education and career readiness literatures, with a particular focus on students wit…
Not So Black and White: A Multi-Divisional Exploratory Analysis of Male Student-Athletes’ Experiences at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Institutions
The purpose of this study was to examine the nature and quality of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) male student-athletes’ college experiences across race, sport, and divisional classifications. In recent years, the NCAA and its member institutions have faced intense scrutiny regarding the purpose of intercollegiate athletics within their educational missions. Additional concerns have been levied at the NCAA for persistent academic…
The Impact of Career and Technical Education on Students With Disabilities
Evidence suggests that participating in career and technical education (CTE) in high school, on average, positively affects general education students when transitioning from education to the workforce. Yet, almost no large-scale causal research has explored whether academic benefits also accrue to students with disabilities in CTE. This omission is glaring given that students with disabilities participate in high school CTE programs at high rate…
Students With Intellectual Disabilities and Career and Technical Education Opportunities: A Systematic Literature Review
Career and Technical Education (CTE) offers the potential for disadvantaged student subpopulations to utilize high school toward preparation for the workforce by encouraging specific career pathways. Yet, to date, very little is known about the intersection of CTE programs and disability. In this study, we conducted a systematic literature review of the vocational education and career readiness literatures, with a particular focus on students wit…
The overall and differential effects of a targeted prekindergarten program: Evidence from Connecticut
High School Football and the Athletic-Market Economy: Recruiting, Producing, and Manufacturing Talent
There are two cultural narratives often purported within the American sports cultures of basketball and football. First, those participating within these sports are African American athletes from poor communities lacking educational and economic opportunities. Second, the meritocratic myth perpetuating American society feeds the notion no matter where an individual is from their talent will elevate them to the next level. There have already been …
Promoting persistence: Can computer science career and technical education courses support educational advancement for students with learning disabilities
Information technology and computer science represent one area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) that have experienced significant growth in recent years. As such, federal policy has urged schools to embed new types of STEM courses into the curriculum. As one very prominent example, computer science (CS)-focused courses are a growing branch of career and technical education (CTE)—that is, CS-CTE. While previous research …
The Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic and Recession on Career Preparation during High School
School closings in response to COVID-19 reduced the opportunity for students to engage in all learning including career and technical education (CTE). As a result of the COVID-19 disruption student opportunities for work-based learning and completion of hours required for professional certification was severely reduced. The absence of these experiences had the potential to create disruptions in the skill and experience accumulation for youth and …
Does High School STEMM Career Coursework Align With College Employment
Background/Context: Career and technical education (CTE) coursework in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical/health (STEMM) fields has been supported by policy makers as a way to align the secondary-to-postsecondary-to-career pipeline. Yet, in the research, the focus has been on whether STEMM CTE coursetaking in high school predicts college-going or whether it predicts employment for non–college goers. Little attention has be…
Bookshelf: Kappan authors on their favorite reads
Shaun M. Dougherty recommends the book Of Boys and Men by Richard V. Reeves. Louie F. Rodriguez recommends the article “Cultivating Una Persona Educada: A Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Vision of Education” by Laura I. Rendó, published in the Journal of College and Character
Putting evidence on CTE to work
Policy makers have taken more interest in career and technical education (CTE) in recent years, but evidence regarding what kinds of programs produce the most important outcomes is still emerging. Shaun M. Dougherty summarizes what recent research tells us about the impact of these programs. Evidence has shown that CTE-dedicated schools, career academies, and programs linked to workforce needs can improve high school graduation rates and workforc…
Motivating Leadership Change and Improvement: How Principal Evaluation Addresses Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sources of Motivation
Purpose: This mixed-methods study examined the association between the degree to which principal evaluation systems include intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation and principals’ perceptions of whether their district's evaluation system promotes leadership change and improvement. We also investigated how principals experience intrinsic sources of motivation in the context of principal evaluation. Research Methods/Approach: For our quantita…
The Effects of Career and Technical Education: Evidence from the Connecticut Technical High School System
We examine the effect of attending stand-alone technical high schools in Connecticut using regression discontinuity. Male students are 10 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school and have half a semester less time enrolled in college. Male students have 32% higher average quarterly earnings. Earnings effects may in part reflect general skills: male students have higher attendance rates and test scores, industry fixed effects exp…
Network Effectiveness in Context
Increasingly, scholars and practitioners are interested in evaluating the effectiveness of interorganizational networks. We use a configuration approach to study network effectiveness. This research is a mixed-method study of 26 education networks in the United States. We measure network effectiveness by comparing 4th-grade literacy, 8th-grade literacy, and high-school graduation rates. We compare these scores with all school districts in the sta…
Technical Education: Boys and Men
Male students graduate from high school and enroll in college at lower rates than females. Male participation in the workforce has also declined over the past several decades. We present evidence on changing workforce demand and participation that highlights how opportunities for female-dominated employment have outstripped those for male-dominated occupations. We also show how several of the high-growth occupations that do not require a BA fall …
Teacher Exit and Educational Opportunity: Lessons From Career and Technical Education
Ensuring a stable pool of teachers is critical to building a pipeline of future workers, especially in career and technical education (CTE), where programming can lead to immediate post-school employment or postsecondary enrollment. We use longitudinal state data with unemployment insurance records to document workforce dynamics among CTE teachers. We find that teachers in hard-to-staff CTE areas are more likely to leave teaching and are difficul…
Principals’ Priorities, Teacher Evaluation, and Instructional Leadership
Instructional leadership has become the dominant paradigm in principal preparation and professional learning. In parallel, teacher evaluation has risen in prominence. Using interviews from 84 principals in 23 districts and three states, we asked how teacher evaluation influenced principals’ reported priorities and conceptions of instructional leadership. We found that although teacher evaluation loomed large in principals’ priorities, their imple…
Fifteen Years of Change in High-Quality CTE Participation
In many states, including Massachusetts, demand for high-quality career and technical education (CTE) has grown faster than program supply, raising concerns about equitable access. Using 15 cohorts of administrative data, this brief examines how participation in high-quality CTE has changed across students’ demographic groups. While overall participation and concentration have increased, these gains are unbalanced: Female students have become bet…
Sector, Religious Affiliation, and the Risk of Closure Among Postsecondary Institutions
Using Predictive Analytics to Allocate Educational Resources: An Application to Career and Technical Education
Education leaders increasingly seek to integrate data into decision-making processes as they confront difficult choices about how to invest public resources. This paper assesses the consequences of data-driven decisions related to systems-level investments in career and technical education (CTE). Using Massachusetts administrative records, we evaluate various decision rules—from simple population-based approaches to sophisticated predictive model…
Can Technical Education in High School Smooth Postsecondary Transitions for Students With Disabilities
Career and technical education (CTE) programs have been proposed as a strategy for supporting transition to independence among students with disabilities. We exploit a discontinuity created by admissions thresholds to estimate the causal impact of attending a CTE high school on the short- and long-term outcomes of students with disabilities. Our findings suggest that attending CTE high schools has large positive effects on completing high school …
Psychology (14 works) · Medicine (10 works) · Political science (10 works) · Pedagogy (9 works) · Medical education (8 works) · Sociology (8 works) · Disability Education and Employment (7 works) · Mathematics education (7 works) · Economics (6 works) · Vocational education (6 works)