Age, Kids, Lack of Information, Debt, and Economic Projections
Significantly Influence Women’s Transitions from School to Work and College
AAUW Educational Foundation Study Illustrates a "Spiral" of Learning and Earning Throughout Women’s Lives
WASHINGTON, DC--Two-thirds of all U.S. students in a nationwide survey say they considered predictions about the economy and the future job market when deciding to go to college—whether coming directly out of high school or returning to post-secondary education from the workforce. While the economy is a significant factor in the decisions of both men and women, the study shows that money matters affect men and women differently. More women than men cite credit card debt and lack of financial aid as obstacles to postsecondary education, and more women feel that better information about financial aid would have made them more likely to go to college (51% to 33%).
These are a few of the findings in a comprehensive report commissioned by the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation and researched by DYG, Inc. and Lake Snell Perry and Associates.* Gaining a Foothold: Women’s Transitions Through Work and College is the first study to compare through quantitative and qualitative research on educational decisions, goals, obstacles, and opportunities across three different groups of women: those moving from high school to work, from high school to college, and from work back to postsecondary education.
"If the ‘track,’ ‘pipeline,’ and corporate ‘ladder’ were the straight-line metaphors of work and education in the 20th century, the metaphor of the next century may well be the ‘spiral,’" explains AAUW Educational Foundation President Maggie Ford. "The spiral captures the likelihood that women will move in and out of formal education throughout their lives, by choice or necessity, to fulfill a variety of economic and personal enrichment goals."
Women have a "dual agenda" for going to college. The report finds that whether going to college straight from high school or after working for some time, women attend college for both economic gain and self-fulfillment goals. Yet women in all college-bound groups place more emphasis on self-fulfillment and personal enrichment than do men. (80% of women, as compared to 67% of men in the school-to-college group; and 85% of women, as compared to 78% of men who returned to college from full-time work cite personal enrichment as a very important motivator)
Men and women perceive the transition from high school to work differently. Men and women who moved from high school to full-time work also differ in their perceptions of college and their jobs. More women than men who moved from high school to work say they seriously considered attending college (82% of women, 70% of men), yet describe their decision not to go as one based on circumstances or "forces beyond their control" (26% of women, 15% of men). Women were more likely to characterize their current work as "just a job" (67% of women, 49% of men), rather than a career.
Conversely, men more frequently say that a very important reason they decided to move from high school to full-time work was because they were "never that interested" in college in the first place (26% of men, 15% of women), or that the decision to work was "basically their own choice" (85% of men, 71% of women). More men than women believe they can "get a decent job" without a college degree (24% of men, 14% of women) and more characterize their work as a "career" (51% of men, 26% of women).
Other significant findings from Gaining a Foothold include:
Child Care Concerns. 82% of school-to-work parents surveyed, the majority of whom are women, cite having to care for a child as the single most important reason for not seeking post-secondary education. 75% of work-to-college women say "having to care for children" was a very important reason they did not go to college.
Getting Older. Women are six times more likely than men to say that age posed a barrier to college, even though adult students now account for nearly half of college enrollments.
Teenage Debt: A Barrier to Further Education. Credit card debt is more pronounced for women than men, and accumulates earlier than we might think. 32% percent of women returning to college after work and 23% of women who move from high school to the workforce report credit card debtas an obstacle to attending college. People of color are also more likely to say that credit card debt poses an educational barrier (41% to 26% in the work-to-college population).
Guidance Counseling: A Missed Opportunity? More than half of all respondents report less than full satisfaction with their experiences with guidance counselors. Some respondents elaborate that guidance counselors did not give them the time or attention needed, or that counselors were not well informed.
The High-Tech Imperative. More than two-thirds of all students attending college agree computer literacy is vital in today’s job market. 85% of work-to-college women and 78% in the school-to-college group agree that "it is almost impossible to get a decent job today without a firm knowledge of computers."
What "Information Superhighway?" Despite talk of an explosion of information, women and men both feel that they would benefit from better or more information about college, the application and selection process, financial aid, and career choices.
Anxieties Dissuade Students. Nearly 40% of all respondents cite anxiety about academic requirements at college as an obstacle to college attendance. Significantly more young men than women cite fears of not gaining admission to college as an obstacle to applying to college. More young women than men say anxieties over SAT scores—as opposed to the actual results—are obstacles to going to college (34% of women, 22% of men).
Paradox of Children. Children provide a powerful incentive for women to seek post-secondary education, yet many institutions pose serious logistical obstacles for caregivers hoping to fulfill this educational goal. 74% of work-to-college parents name child care and flexible schedules to accommodate parenthood as factors that would encourage and ease return to school.
Postgraduate Degrees—Going Further, Getting Farther. Across all three transition points, people of color are almost two times more likely than whites to deem a postgraduate degree as "essential" for career advancement.
"The research findings make clear that the identity and needs of the student population are evolving," said AAUW Educational Foundation Director Karen Lebovich in releasing Gaining a Foothold. "Students are more heterogeneous now—in the obstacles they face, the educational goals they have, their ages, social background, economic status, and level of preparedness—as this report illustrates. We hope this research identifies ways to make post-secondary institutions more accessible to a broader range of students."
Among the solutions posed in Gaining A Foothold, respondents indicate support for:
Community College. Most students, including those in four-year colleges and universities, view community colleges positively. Roughly three-fourths of college-bound women agree that community colleges offer a good value financially, more flexibility for students who have children or work, additional academic assistance for those who need it, practical and technical training, and provide quality instruction that is at least comparable to that of four-year colleges.
Child Care. Roughly two-thirds of women say they favor colleges that offer day care as making it easier for students to attend college.
Employer Incentives. 75% of respondents who went from college to work with financial support from their employers say that those financial incentives were an important factor in their return to school.
Institutional flexibility. One-half to three-quarters of all female respondents favor support services and reforms that offer flexibility to non-traditional students.
Information availability. 80% of women and 66% of men moving from school to work favor more accessible and user-friendly financial aid information as improvements that would make going to college easier.
The AAUW Educational Foundation regularly conducts pioneering research on the themes of gender, equity, and education, and funds projects, fellowships and grants for outstanding women in the U.S. and around the globe, and community action projects.
*Findings in "Gaining a Foothold: Women’s Transitions Through Work and College" are based on a series of 10 focus groups conducted nationwide by Lake Snell Perry and Associates in September-October 1998 and a national telephone survey of 1,070 respondents in three transition groups conducted by DYG, Inc. in December 1998-January 1999. All statistically significant differences cited in the report are reliable with a five percent margin of error.
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