{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119486"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/119486","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"(Mis)communicating postsecondary opportunities through diploma policies: A content analysis of Louisiana public high school websites","abstract":"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.","abstract_html":"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.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Adams, Venice Marie"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Higher Education","degree_department":"Higher Education","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Robbins, Claire Kathleen"],"committee_members":["Knight, David B.","Sanders, Karen Eley","Lane, Tonisha B."],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-06-21","date_published":"2024-06-21","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:41Z","subjects":["Diploma policies","Curriculum tracks","Policy translation","Track shifting policies","High schools","Louisiana","Content analysis"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:40827"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:40827","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119486","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Robbins, Claire Kathleen"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Knight, David B.","Sanders, Karen Eley","Lane, Tonisha B."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Higher Education"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Adams, Venice Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-06-22T08:00:23Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-06-22T08:00:23Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-06-21"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Higher Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Diploma policies","Curriculum tracks","Policy translation","Track shifting policies","High schools","Louisiana","Content analysis"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:40827"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119486"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["Postsecondary opportunities means the career and college options students have after high school. This research looked into how high school websites in Louisiana's Acadiana region communicate information about postsecondary opportunities for students who choose the Career and Technical Education (CTE) graduation pathway. It also studied how they handle curriculum track-shifting policies for students. 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 used a specific type of analysis to examine websites for 29 traditional public high schools operated by school districts in the region. My analysis was guided by a framework that included three aspects of policy research related to graduation pathways. 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. My findings showed that high school websites contained inconsistent and incomplete information about graduation pathways that limit students' postsecondary options. This study concludes with recommendations for school and state officials and future researchers to clarify communication about the career and college opportunities available to CTE students once they graduate from high school."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["(Mis)communicating postsecondary opportunities through diploma policies: A content analysis of Louisiana public high school websites"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Robbins, Claire Kathleen"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Knight, David B.","Sanders, Karen Eley","Lane, Tonisha B."],"dc:contributor.department":["Higher Education"],"dc:creator":["Adams, Venice Marie"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-06-22T08:00:23Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-06-22T08:00:23Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-06-21"],"dc:description.abstract":["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."],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["Postsecondary opportunities means the career and college options students have after high school. This research looked into how high school websites in Louisiana's Acadiana region communicate information about postsecondary opportunities for students who choose the Career and Technical Education (CTE) graduation pathway. It also studied how they handle curriculum track-shifting policies for students. 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 used a specific type of analysis to examine websites for 29 traditional public high schools operated by school districts in the region. My analysis was guided by a framework that included three aspects of policy research related to graduation pathways. 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. My findings showed that high school websites contained inconsistent and incomplete information about graduation pathways that limit students' postsecondary options. This study concludes with recommendations for school and state officials and future researchers to clarify communication about the career and college opportunities available to CTE students once they graduate from high school."],"dc:description.degree":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:40827"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119486"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["Diploma policies","Curriculum tracks","Policy translation","Track shifting policies","High schools","Louisiana","Content analysis"],"dc:title":["(Mis)communicating postsecondary opportunities through diploma policies: A content analysis of Louisiana public high school websites"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Higher Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:41Z"}