“We want to give people skills that will get them jobs”: Community College Career and Technical Education Faculty Members’ Teaching Strategies

Increased attention toward filling skills gaps have prompted community colleges to prepare a new wave of employees. Community colleges have long turned to former industry professionals, now serving as career and technical education (CTE) faculty, to train students for fruitful careers. This narrative inquiry study featured interviews with 20 community college CTE faculty and aimed to address this research question: what teaching approaches do community college CTE faculty, as practitioners-turned-educators, implement with their students? Findings showcased five strategies that CTE faculty implement: 1) drawing on professional experiences to shape curriculum; 2) looking to industry for current needed skills; 3) leveraging how students learn to promote practical industry skills; 4) prioritizing students’ humanity; and 5) assisting with internship acquisition. We offer implications to researchers on how to further unravel these participants’ distinct perspectives, as well as provide recommendations to practitioners on how to support CTE faculty in their vital campus capacities.