Making the successful transition to adulthood has become increasingly difficult for many young people in the United States, particularly for those without a college education. Those without a high school degree face even tougher prospects, with especially high unemployment rates and falling wages. A typical worker without a high school diploma…

Earning a college degree increases a person's life outcomes in income, employment, health, and quality of life. The average person with a bachelor's degree earns almost twice as much as a high school graduate and nearly triple that of someone who did not finish high school. The unemployment rate for people with bachelor's degrees is about…

This paper estimates changes in the effects of educational attainment and college quality on three cohorts of students observed during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Consistent with most of the prior literature, I find that educational attainment and college quality raise earnings, and the magnitudes of these effects have increased over time. The…

An earlier report presented preliminary findings on the wider benefits of higher education in England, drawing on data collected at age 33 from the National Child Development Study, based on a cohort born in 1958 and a sample of more than 16,000. This report updates the earlier conclusions through new findings from a more extensive analysis…

This chartbook, developed for participants in the 1981 White House Conference on Aging, depicts past, present, and projected developments in demographics, economics, and other areas to explain the size and makeup of the older population and its economic and social roles in society. Each of the 70 charts, classified under seven headings, includes a…

Minority participation in public policymaking has improved little in recent years, despite an increasingly multicultural population. Programs to prepare minorities for government careers are growing, but additional measures are sought, including minority hiring in growing agencies, development of advocacy groups in government agencies, mentoring…

The 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) examined three types of literacy--prose, document, and quantitative--among the entire older adult population and various subgroups thereof. Of the nationally representative sample of 26,091 adults interviewed during the NALS, 2,267 were aged 60-69, 1,005 were aged 70-79, and 442 were at least 80 years…

This discussion guide is designed to help people examine the state of work in their community, explore changes, and strategize about what they can do to forge creative solutions and improve the community's worklife. It is especially appropriate for use in a study circle setting. The discussion materials are arranged into four sessions: (1) the…

Urban acculturation of American Indians in Flagstaff and Winslow, Arizona was surveyed. Demographic data were obtained from Bureau of Census publications and unpublished maps and statistical tables. Sociological data included research on employment patterns, housing, economic impact of Indian consumers, and settlement patterns within urban…

To assess the long-term impacts of adult literacy programs, the Center for Literacy Studies conducted the Longitudinal Study of Adult Literacy Participants in Tennessee from 1991-95. The study focused on changes in the lives of 450 participants in the domains of work, family, and community after they enrolled in literacy programs. Participants…

A futurist presents a picture of "cautious optimism" for the decade ahead in terms of resources--natural, technological, economic, organizational/political, human, labor and wages, and education and job skills. Our biggest problem, he says, is divisiveness, and education can help by preparing citizens to contribute to society through work. (MF)

In 1996, follow-up questionnaires were mailed to a racially and ethnically stratified sample of 328 Coloradans who had earned General Educational Development (GED) diplomas in October-December 1995. Although responses were received from 235 (70%) of those surveyed, the response rates for African-Americans and Asian/Pacific Islanders were too low…

This report provides demographic data on students attending New York City Adult Literacy Initiative (NYCALI) programs. It specifies the number of students served by each literacy provider agency (LPA) and the types of classes they attend. It includes data on total instructional hours offered, total hours of student attendance, enrollment figures…

As one of a number of pilot projects to test the concept of using community and resource development Extension agents and paraprofessionals to help citizens and public officials interact and deal with controversial issues confronting their communities, the Citizens Education Project worked with citizens in selected communities of the five counties…

This paper addresses how to measure the performance of programs by measuring the outcomes of program participation for learners. Based on studies conducted in Tennessee in which adult learners reported a broader and more complex set of outcomes than the three "core indicators" mandated by Title II of the 1998 Workforce Investment Act…