Edward Fletcher

Dr. Edward C. Fletcher Jr. is currently an Education and Human Ecology Distinguished Professor in the Workforce Development and Education program. He serves as a Faculty Associate for the Center on Education and Training for Employment, Co-Editor for the Journal of Career and Technical Education, and Associate Editor for the Career and Technical Education Research journal. Dr. Fletcher also serves as Director for Research and Grants for the Department of Educational Studies. He was an Assistant Professor at Illinois State University in 2009 and an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida from 2010 to 2019.

• PhD, Workforce Development and Education, The Ohio State University, 2009
• MS, Career and Technical Education, University of Missouri, 2006
• BS, Business and Marketing Education, University of Missouri, 2002

• Access and Equity
• Equity
• Secondary Education and Teaching
• Teacher Education
• Urban Education
• Vocational Education
• Workforce Development and Education
  • Career academies
  • Career and technical education
  • STEM education

Dr. Fletcher’s research agenda focuses on examining the role that career academies play regarding students’ school experiences and postsecondary and labor market transitions – particularly for ethnically and racially diverse learners who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. He has more than 60 publications and obtained over $5 million in federal funding.

• 2022 – 2024 – Principal Investigator – National Science Foundation grant: Collaborative Research: Strategies to Improve the Recruitment and Retention of Black Male STEM Teachers. ($999,999) Award #2151029
• 2020 – 2023 – Principal Investigator – National Science Foundation grant: Facilitating Pathways to Success for High-Achieving Pre-Collegiate African American Males in STEM. ($1,498,259) Award #2000472
• 2016 – 2022 – Principal Investigator - National Science Foundation grant: The IT College and CAREERS Readiness Project: Career Academy Research on Educational Experiences and Related Successes ($1,176,099) Award #1614707

• Fletcher, E. C., Dumford, A.D. (2021). Preparing students to be college and career ready: Examining the relationship between career academy participation and student engagement in college and career preparatory activities. Career and Technical Education Research, 46(2), 23-41. doi: 10.5328/cter46.2.23
• Fletcher, E.C., & Hernandez-Gantes, V.M. (2021). They’re moving in spaces they’re not used to: Examining the racialized experiences of African American students in a high school STEAM academy. Education and Urban Society, 53(3), 357-376. doi:10.1177/0013124520928610
• Fletcher, E.C., & Haynes, D.V.D. (2020). Traditional students as second class citizens through modern day tracking. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 25(4), 273-292. doi:10.1080/10824669.2020.1768857.
• Fletcher, E.C., Dumford, A., Hernandez-Gantes, V.M., & Minar, N. (2020). Examining the engagement of career academy and comprehensive high school students in the United States. Journal of Educational Research, 113(4), 247-261. doi:10.1080/00220671.2020.1787314.
• Fletcher, E.C., Smith, C.A.S., & Hernandez-Gantes, V.M. (2020). IT takes a village: A case study of internal and external supports of an urban high school magnet career academy. The Urban Review, doi:10.1007/s11256-020-00593-9.
• Fletcher, E.C., Warren, N.Q., Hernandez-Gantes, V.M. (2019). The high school academy as a laboratory of equity, inclusion, and safety. Computer Science Education, 29(4), 382-406. doi:10.1080/08993408.2019.161645Fletcher, E.C., &Tan, T.X. (2019). A comparative analysis of student engagement in career academies and a comprehensive high school. Career and Technical Education Research, 44(2), 144-163. doi:10.5328/cter44.2.144.
• Fletcher, E.C., Hernandez-Gantes, V.M., & Smith, C. (2019). This is my neighborhood: An exploration of culturally relevant agency to support high school Latinx students in an urban career academy. The Qualitative Report, 24(12), 3239-3268.
• Fletcher, E.C., Warren, N., & Hernandez-Gantes, V.M. (2018). Preparing high school students for a changing world: College, career, and future ready learners. Career and Technical Education Research, 43(1), 77-98. doi:10.5328/cter43.1.77.
• Fletcher, E.C., & Tyson, W. (2017). A longitudinal analysis of young adult pathways to STEMH occupations. Career and Technical Education Research, 41(3), 191-211. doi:10.5328/cter40.3.191.
• Fletcher, E.C., & Gordon, H.R.D. (2017). The status of career and technical education undergraduate and graduate programs in the United States. Peabody Journal of Education, 92(2), 236-253. doi:10.1080/0161956X.2017.1302219.