Commonly used theories in CTE research: toward a core theory base for CTE

Abstract

Presently, there is no widespread agreement on foundational theories for Career and Technical Education (CTE) as a discipline, nor is there much discussion and debate in the literature on what a theory foundation might look like. The case has been made that theory helps scholars and practitioners look at data from different angles, offer different interpretations of research findings, define and understand problems, propose and test solutions, set a research agenda for the discipline, and help solve problems. This paper investigates published CTE research to identify those theories most commonly employed as a theoretical framework and described their major components and concepts. The author then proposes a potential core theory base for CTE derived from the findings and discusses how this core is grounded in the intersection of the different theories.