Abstract
Background
In response to the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, a K–12 workforce development initiative was launched to embed microelectronics education across US school districts. To promote sustainability, the initiative employed a district-wide vertical alignment strategy that progressively integrates microelectronics content and engineering-related career experiences from kindergarten through high school. While vertical alignment is often used for curriculum planning, its broader potential as a systems-level strategy remains underexplored.
Purpose
This study investigated how vertical alignment functions within a K–12 engineering workforce development initiative, focusing on enablers/barriers toward expanding and sustaining integration efforts. The research questions addressed stakeholder experiences with the alignment process and how microelectronics instruction/curriculum developed across schools, grades, and disciplines.
Design/Method
A collective case study was conducted across seven school districts. Data included semi-structured interviews with educators and leaders, district-level planning documents, and process evaluation surveys. Thematic analysis examined patterns of district readiness, stakeholder engagement, leadership dynamics, and external facilitation.
Results
The vertical alignment process served as both a curriculum synchronization tool and a coordinator of strategic levers for promoting systemic change. It revealed instructional gaps, promoted collaboration, and fostered scaffolded progressions from engineering exposure to career readiness. District plans emphasized coherence, career relevance, and cross-disciplinary integration. Leadership and external facilitation were identified as critical supports.
Conclusions
Vertical alignment at the school district-scale can function as a practical systems-level strategy for embedding workforce-aligned content into educational practice in more lasting ways. Lessons from this study offer actionable insights for better sustaining engineering and technical workforce initiatives at scale.
Date of this Version
7-23-2026
Recommended Citation
Strimel, Greg J.; Constantine, Victoria; Lucas, Deana; Haluschak, Emily; Lee, Yubin; Hynes, Morgan; guzey, selcen; and Moore, Tamara J., "Vertical alignment as a systemic strategy for sustaining workforce-aligned K–12 engineering initiatives: A collective case study of district-wide microelectronics integration" (2026). School of Engineering Technology Faculty Publications. Paper 74.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/soetfp/74
Comments
This is the publisher PDF Strimel, G. J., Constantine, V., Lucas, D., Haluschak, E. M., Lee, Y., Hynes, M. M., Guzey, S. S., & Moore, T. J. (2026). Vertical alignment as a systemic strategy for sustaining workforce-aligned K–12 engineering initiatives: A collective case study of district-wide microelectronics integration. Journal of Engineering Education, 115(3), e70074. Published CC-BY by Wiley, the version of record and ADA Title II compliant version is available in HTML at DOI: 10.1002/jee.70074.