Exploring the Experiences and Perceptions of 21st Century Leadership Academy Participants

The 21st Century Leadership Academy grew out of an effort by the Council of Technology Teacher Education’s (CTTE) Leadership Development Committee to prepare future leaders for the field of Technology & Engineering Education (TEE). Efforts by Drs. Roger Hill (University of Georgia) and Bill Havice (Clemson University) led to the creation, and subsequent implementation, of this leadership academy with support from CTTE (later renamed the Council on Technology & Engineering Teacher Education [CTETE]) and the International Technology & Engineering Education Association (ITEEA). Initially, participation in the leadership academy was focused on early-career university faculty but recruitment was later expanded to include individuals with related professional experience (e.g., graduate students, tenured faculty members, etc.) and, as of January 2021, more than 80 individuals have participated in the academy. This study reports an investigation into the experiences and perceptions of the academy alums with an additional focus on their professional involvement, how participation may have influenced these activities, and suggestions they had for future cohorts. In addition, our investigation provides suggestions for future similar leadership training efforts that could be applied in a variety of fields. Our efforts, as researchers, aim to present the shared experience as navigated by the cohort participants. Although individual takeaways vary, overall themes such as networking and collaboration underscore the experience of participants in each cohort year. While participants consider themselves active in the field of Technology & Engineering Education, few of them are serving in leadership roles within CTETE or ITEEA

Current and Future Trends and Issues Facing Technology and Engineering Education in the United States

Determining trends and issues is important for the health of any profession. The purpose of this research was to determine the current and future trends and issues facing technology and engineering education (TEE) in the United States (U.S.). The researchers used a three-round Modified-Delphi method to solicit information from technology and engineering education stakeholders across the U.S. In the first round, participants listed what they felt were current trends, future trends, current issues, and future issues facing TEE. The second round was designed to prioritize trends and issues. In the third round, participants were presented with one table for each current and future trend and issue and asked to identify if they felt each was essential or non-essential for technology and engineering leaders to address. Two hundred sixty-eight participants responded in the third round, and the resulting trends and issues were categorized into eight themes: 1) teacher shortage; 2) secondary and university TEE programs; 3) funding programs and teachers; 4) curriculum; 5) technology and engineering education identity and relevance; 6) collaborative efforts; 7) teacher certification and development; and 8) student-centered foci