Felix O. Quayson, a Research Scholar from Workforce Development and Education program at Educational Studies Department, was named a 2022-23 ECMC Foundation Postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Fellow. The program is housed at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research at North Carolina State University and led by Principal Investigators James Bartlett, Ph.D., and Michelle Bartlett, Ph.D. Upon recommendation of his Research Sponsors, Christopher Zirkle, Ph.D., an Associate Professor and Fulbright Scholar to Finland, and Edward C. Fletcher, Jr. Ph.D., a Distinguished Associate Professor, and successful round of interviews, Felix was one of 11 fellows selected from universities nationwide in the 4th cohort of the program. “Fellows will be part of a community that participates in two national research training institutes, research methods webinars, works with CTE research mentors, and conducts postsecondary CTE research.”
The Research Fellows will complete research projects that focus on topics related to postsecondary career and technical education field. The research projects will be presented at national conferences including a manuscript submission to a nationally recognized academic journal.
Felix’s research will focus on “African American Male Community College Students’ Perceptions of Earning Industry Certification in Career and Technical Education”. The findings of this research study will assist postsecondary institutions to uncover critical areas in career and technical education that are not yet explored on the educational value of the tradeoffs associated with earning industry certification and linking it to educational attainment for African American male community college students. This study will support the prioritization of African American male students’ earning industry certifications.
Felix Quayson, who is a product of community college education, believes in the promise and purpose of community college to help African American male students to achieve industry certifications and postsecondary credentials. He says he has noticed a trend where African American male college students are focusing on earning only academic degrees and not industry certifications. Felix is passionate about helping African American male college students and graduates to explore professional apprenticeship networking, career readiness, and transition to employment. He hopes to develop African American male students’ abilities to recognize apprenticeship networking opportunities and be cognizant about their career readiness and career decisions.
Speaking on his project, Felix had this to say, “I want African American male students to identify their educational attainment that contribute to their cultural heritage, lived experiences, and the motivation to transition to employment to earn livable wages, attain middle-class status, and exude confidence in career decisions. I want African American male students to feel empowered with their image, identity, personality, educational attainment, and community belongingness. I want them to feel valued to contribute to societal development”.
The Research Fellows will participate in a virtual orientation and training institute in August 2022. The Postsecondary CTE program’s 4th cohort will run from August 2022 through August 2023. Fellows are required to attend monthly webinars on research methods, receive mentorship from nationally recognized researchers in Career & Technical Education, participate in the ECMC Foundation’s annual CTE Leadership Collaborative Convening in October 2022 in Nashville, TN, and attend a training institute in conjunction with the Association for Career and Technical Education Research’s (ACTER) national conference in November 2022 in Las Vegas, NV.
*About the The Postsecondary CTE Research Fellows Program*
“Bridging the Gaps in Postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research is a project to enhance and strengthen postsecondary CTE research at universities nationwide through the establishment of the Postsecondary CTE Research Fellows Program at NC State University, sponsored by ECMC Foundation. The program, based at the Belk Center for Community College Leadership & Research at the NC State College of Education, was established in 2018 through a three-year, $2 million grant intended to enhance and strengthen postsecondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) research to improve student success. A four-year, $1.3 million grant was awarded in 2022 to continue developing Fellows through 2025.”