A Comparative Analysis of Student Engagement in Career Academies and a Comprehensive High School

The purpose of this study was to compare the student engagement of career academy students to those at a traditional comprehensive high school. We operationalized student engagement using a multi-dimensional construct comprised of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional measures. Based on data from 669 career academy students and 614 comprehensive school students, we found that academy students had significantly higher levels of cognitive and emotional engagement than those at comprehensive schools. However, we found no statistically significant differences in the levels of behavioral engagement of academy students compared to comprehensive school students. Based on our findings, participation in the academy model has the potential to increase high school students' levels of cognitive and emotional engagement, particularly those from underrepresented and ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds.