Jay Plasman (r) receiving an award in 2017 from Department of Education Vice Chair Jin Sook Lee, Dean Jeff Milem, and Department of Education Chair Julie Bianchini
Jay Plasman, a doctoral student at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School, has received the Emerging Scholars Award for Excellence in Research and Public Policy. The Emerging Scholars Award recognizes excellence in graduate student research with a direct impact on public policy. The recipients of the award receive an honorarium and will deliver a policy lecture at UC Center Sacramento. The invited policy lecture is a means for graduate students interested in meeting people from the policy community to develop contacts and possible job opportunities. Between 80-100 people attend each talk, and the audience is composed of legislators, staffers, heads of agencies, consultants, faculty, graduate students, and other researchers. Senator Connie Leyva, who works on legislation concerning career and technical education, will introduce Plasman’s talk on November 15.
His research project, titled “CTE (Career and Technical Education) Cluster Pipelines: Linking High School CTE Course-taking and Postsecondary Credentials,” explores the relationship between course completion in specific CTE clusters in high school and eventual Post-Secondary Education credential in that same cluster. Through his analyses, he found significant relationships between specific CTE clusters in high school and eventually receiving a PSE credential in that same cluster. This clustered approach, and the observed differences in clustered connections, shows the importance of evaluating CTE not as a whole, but instead as specific clusters. As a faculty member remarked, “Jay has a passion and drive for conducting research that is going to enable him to make an impact in both academia and policy.”
Jay Plasman is a doctoral student in the Department of Education with an emphasis in quantitative methods. He is working with Dr. Michael Gottfried as his advisor. Plasman received his B.A. in American Studies with a Social Studies teaching credential from Carleton College and received his M.A. in International Service from Roehampton University. After completing his undergraduate degree, he worked at an aquarium, taught third-eighth grades in the Marshall Islands, and completed a year of AmeriCorps service before returning to school for his M.A. After receiving his M.A., Plasman worked as an epidemiologist for two years, and then returned to teaching at a vocational training program. His current research interests include the impact of CTE and STEM on student graduation and dropout, as well other dropout prevention and reengagement strategies.