Beyond Earnings and Social Reproduction: Can College Lead to Good Jobs Without Reproducing Social Inequalities?

Abstract

Ja mes e. rosenbaum, ca itlin e. a he a r n, Ja net e. rosenbaum, a nd K elly i. becK er College-for-all has become the educational policy in the United States, and it has led to many changes. Postsecondary subbaccalaureate (sub-BA) credentials (certificates and associate's degrees) are an increasing portion of college credentials, and we examine the implications for the reproduction of social inequalities. We find that despite the growth of sub-BA credentials, many students who enroll in college continue to get no credentials. After replicating prior findings of sub-BA employment and earnings payoffs, using the 2004-2012 Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) survey, we analyze the AddHealth survey to see whether sub-BA credentials are associated with jobs with nonmonetary job rewards similar to those BAs get (autonomy, career relevance, and so on). Moreover, although BA degrees often reproduce social and academic inequalities, we examine whether sub-BA credentials pose socioeconomic status (SES) and test score obstacles to credential completion, and to employment and earnings within credentials. Beyond the usual earnings payoffs in prior research, we conclude that sub-BA credentials provide ways college students can attain desirable job rewards while avoiding SES and test score obstacles. We speculate on possible reasons and policy implications.

Beyond college for all: Portrait of rapid and successful school-to-work transitions among vulnerable youth.

“…Also, postsecondary enrollment does not always translate into desirable outcomes. For nonacademically oriented or socioeconomically disadvantaged youth, the high monetary, time, and cognitive costs of college sometimes prove unsustainable and lead to college dropout, uncompleted degrees, and heavy debts uncompensated by improved job prospects (DeLuca et al, 2016; Gelbgiser, 2018; Rosenbaum et al, 2015).…”

“…Many studies of this life stage are based on convenience samples that overwhelmingly focus on youth enrolled in college or university, even though many youths attend other types of educational programs (e.g., vocational training, adult general education), work, or are in neither work nor education (Côté, 2014). This problem also affects population-based panel studies to some extent, as they often exclude by design significant proportions of highly vulnerable youth such as those who dropped out of high school (Rosenbaum et al, 2015), those involved in the juvenile system, or those with special needs (e.g., Statistics Canada, 2020). Even when vulnerable youth are included in the initial sampling frame, noncollege-bound ones, especially those without a high school diploma, often become misrepresented over time because of high cumulative attrition rates (Dupéré et al, 2015; Reynolds & Kirkpatrick Johnson, 2011).…”

Educational Stakeholder Sensemaking on Preparing CTE Students for Sub-Baccalaureate Pathways

“…However, the most concerning aspect of CFA, according to its critics, is that despite success in expanding college enrollment, college graduation rates have remained stubbornly low for at-risk student populations (Newman & Winston, 2016; Rosenbaum et al, 2017; Symonds et al, 2011). Due to the financial, academic, and institutional barriers they disproportionately face (Allensworth & Clark, 2020; Belasco, 2013; Bound et al, 2009; Carnevale et al, 2018; Ciocca Eller & DiPrete, 2018; Dynarski et al, 2018; Dynarski & Scott-Clayton, 2013; Hoxby & Avery, 2012; Roderick et al, 2011; Rosenbaum et al, 2017), fewer than half of low-income students who enroll in 4-year colleges go on to complete their degrees within 8 years (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020). These low graduation rates indicate that the most economically vulnerable students are the least likely to see a return on any investments they make in higher education.…”

“…At the same time, workers without BAs, who are primarily from economically disadvantaged and ethnic minority backgrounds, increasingly face a wage penalty (Fuller & Raman, 2017). This group, representing over a third of the young adult population nationally, is relegated to low-wage labor primarily in the service sector, where they experience few benefits and high rates of employment instability (Abel & Deitz, 2014; Rosenbaum et al, 2017).…”

“…They recognize, as Coleman (1968, p. 7) put it decades ago, that “an [exclusively] academic program in high school has not only the effect of keeping open the opportunities that arise through continued education, but also the effect of closing off opportunities that a vocational program keeps open.” Rather than preparing students either for college or careers, the CTE model imagined by policymakers aims to keep all doors open to students at all times. Ideally, coordinated secondary and postsecondary programs would provide opportunities to gain applied career skills and academic competencies, confer industry certifications and college credits, and create multiple avenues back into the education system once students enter the world of work (Castellano et al, 2003; Rosenbaum et al, 2017).…”