6: Exploring College and Career Readiness for Pre‑Collegiate Black Male Students in STEM Education

This study was a Ph.D. dissertation conducted by Dr. Felix Quayson at The Ohio State University, College of Education and Human Ecology, in Columbus, OH, from 2023 to 2024. The original dissertation was titled “Examining the college and career readiness of pre‑collegiate Black male students in a high school academy of engineering and supports from school stakeholders.” The full study can be viewed, accessed, and downloaded from this direct link https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?p10_accession_num=osu1712580597004881. This study was specifically chosen for this book on occupational training for the future of work because of the applied lessons that employers and corporations could use to look into the employment and occupational experiences of Black male students and graduates who come from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) backgrounds. This study can also expose other Black male students who do not come from any STEM backgrounds but may be interested to pursue a STEM college degree and career at some point in their lives. Additionally, the study was chosen to be included in this book to help school districts, colleges, and universities to understand career development and the challenges Black male students at an academy of engineering face in their professional pursue of careers in the STEM fields.