(Mis)communicating postsecondary opportunities through diploma policies: A content analysis of Louisiana public high school websites

This study explored high school communication (i.e., policy translation) of Louisiana statutes pertaining to postsecondary opportunities aligned with the CTE graduation pathway and the implementation of curriculum tracks through high school track-shifting policies. Two research questions guided this study: 1) To what extent do diploma policies listed on high school websites in the Louisiana Acadiana region describe the actual postsecondary opportunities available to students in a CTE program? and 2) What information do high school websites reveal about curriculum track-shifting policies? To answer these questions, I conducted a manifest content analysis (Kleinheksel et al., 2020) of websites for 29 traditional public high schools operated by school districts in Louisiana's Acadiana region. My analysis was guided by a conceptual framework that included horizontal differentiation, track shifting, and misinformation (Rosenbaum, 1978; Sørensen, 1970). Two major themes emerged in the findings: Inconsistent and Incomplete Information about Postsecondary Options for CTE Diploma Pathway Students and Limited Flexibility (Semi-Closed) Curriculum System. These themes and their respective subthemes revealed that high school websites contained inconsistent and incomplete information about graduation pathways that constrains students' postsecondary options. Findings from this study offer implications for practice, policy and policy translation, and future research regarding high school diploma policies, curriculum tracks, track-shifting policies, and curriculum enrollment decisions. This study also offers recommendations for officials at the state level and school leaders at the local level.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Higher Education

Department dc:contributor.department

Higher Education

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Adams, Venice Marie

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Robbins, Claire Kathleen

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Knight, David B.
• Sanders, Karen Eley
• Lane, Tonisha B.

• Diploma policies
• Curriculum tracks
• Policy translation
• Track shifting policies
• High schools
• Louisiana
• Content analysis

Statement dc:rights

• Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:40827

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119486