Adjunct faculty at colleges and universities in the U.S. are quickly outnumbering full-time faculty. This new faculty majority often struggles with low pay and sub-par working conditions. Recognizing this issue has a number of negative impacts for higher education, researchers at a comprehensive university in the southeastern United States…

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the visibility of economic inequality and the inadequacy of current minimum wage laws in the United States. Changes in the minimum wage, a living wage, or just employment practices may be compelled by law or voluntarily enacted by employers. A literature search failed to yield a concise and practical tool to…

In the discipline of technical/professional writing and communication, one of the strongest recruiting tools we use is the potential earning power students will have once they obtain a degree and secure a job in the industry. This article is the result of two professors learning that one of their most advanced and dedicated students accepted, in…

Purpose: Individuals have an innate desire to matter to others. Perceived mattering, the cognitive process of self-evaluating one's significance to other people, plays an integral role in self-perception, especially among marginalized populations. This descriptive study investigated research administrators' perceived mattering and factors that…

The disruptive effects of the COVID pandemic on vulnerable and/or minority demographic groups among 1) student populations and 2) persons employed in low wage sectors are well-established. This study examined whether disparity in the disruptive effects of the pandemic extend to adult learners employed in "bright prospect" sectors (e.g.,…

In the United States, worker health care is funded through health insurance plans paid for by employers. Insurance plans are written in complicated language that low wage earners (LWE), who have lower levels of education, may find difficult to understand. We examined the relationship between health insurance literacy (HIL), education, and literacy…

Due to persistent wage gaps between men and women nationally, and in the field of academic librarianship, researchers wished to study possible issues that contribute to the phenomenon. This study examines the tendency for men and women to negotiate salaries in academic libraries upon hire. Researchers surveyed professional librarians employed in…

From February to April, New America conducted over 30 interviews with experts, care providers, and union representatives, focusing on three states. This report outlines key considerations for improving care worker job quality through organizing. We also include case studies on care worker organizing in California, Illinois, Washington, and the…

In recent years, universities have appointed an increasing number of "teaching-only" or "teaching-dominant" staff. While the balance of reward and recognition between teaching and research has been extensively considered for staff engaged in both, this is the first attempt to look at the situation of staff appointed on…

One of the stated goals of career and technical education (CTE) is to improve the labor market outcomes of participants. One population of students for which concentration CTE may be particularly beneficial is those who determine they will not pursue postsecondary education. By exploring how occupational concentration--defined as earning three or…

There is general consensus that vocational education and training (VET) faces a number of workforce problems, including the ageing of VET teachers, the high level of casualisation, the need to increase the capacity of trainers, and the maintenance of industry currency. These issues, along with the need for the VET sector to respond to critical…

Qualified teachers are the backbone of K-12 education. Unfortunately, fewer teachers are enrolling in teacher education programs and new teachers are quitting the profession at an alarming rate. This has placed a burden on school districts to implement out-of-the box measures to fill vacant slots. Such measures include offering provisional…

"Return on Investment, What is the Value of the Associate Degree?" provides a checklist of high-impact practices that colleges can employ to support students on their journey to degree completion and potentially improved employment outcomes. Mark Schneider, vice president and institute fellow, American Institutes for Research (DC),…

Education journalists have the critically important task of informing the public about education at the local, state, and national levels. Little is known however about this sector of the news media. What does this workforce look like? Do education journalists believe their work matters? Are they satisfied in their jobs? What challenges does the…

The Certification Data Exchange Project (CDEP) was launched in 2012 to provide a model for sharing industry-recognized credential attainment data. Increasingly, employers and education leaders are recognizing the value of industry credentials to verify the knowledge, skills and abilities that students bring to the workforce. As states take steps…