Theses and Dissertations Collection

Career and technical education (CTE) is supported through federal funding and requires these programs to provide students with opportunities to engage in career and technical education student organizations. These organizations provide students with opportunities to engage in leadership through formal and non-formal roles and develop deeper understand for the course content through competitive events. This study is descriptive-relational in nature and examines four non-cognitive factors in a population of CTSO student leaders. In this study, grit, optimism, locus of control, and self-efficacy are described for the population and these factors are examined for differences based on the population’s demographics. The results indicate differences between grit and organization, locus of control and gender, and self-efficacy and gender. The authors make recommendations for future research and practice as it relates to CTSO student leaders and non-cognitive factors.