The private internal rate of return to investment is evaluated in two levels in each of the following four educational programs: computer science, nursing, nutrition, and social work. In these fields, a situation occurs in which many bachelor's degree graduates and community college vocational degree holders perform exactly the same work and…

In spring 1978 National Education Association Research surveyed a national sample of college faculty to obtain estimates of their professional activities, working conditions, characteristics, and opinions. The findings reported here are based on responses from 803 faculty members, or 56.2 of those sampled. Among the findings: the median age of…

Current experiences and practices that exist in some colleges and universities that violate the Civil Rights Act and affirmative action legislation are discussed. Treatment of the average black, other minority, and women candidates as compared to the average white candidate is questioned in regard to staff recruitment, assignment to line as…

Background: Since the early 1980s, when A Nation at Risk sounded a clear warning about the condition of American education, there have been extensive federal, state, and local efforts to improve schools for all students, including broad policy initiatives intended to change the school experiences of students with disabilities and improve their…

The economic benefits of the General Educational Development certificate (GED) were examined through a review of four published papers and four unpublished working papers on the GED's benefits. Key findings were as follows: (1) a GED provides economic benefits only to low-skilled dropouts; (2) economic benefits of a GED appear over time--often…

Evidence from North American pay practices was used to examine the question of whether the "old employment contact," according to which employees promised to exchange hard work for job security, has truly been replaced by a "new employment contract" based more on market forces. The study analyzed data from the following…

In the United States today, too many hardworking people are unable to earn enough through work to support their families. Policymakers can help change this situation by taking the following steps: (1) keep work central; (2) promote family-supporting work; (3) invest in education and work skills; (4) make it easier for individuals to stay employed…

The returns that Kentucky can expect on its investments in higher education were examined in an analysis that identified some of the social benefits accompanying earning a degree from a four-year college and established a value for those benefits. The analysis was based on 12 models that were estimated by using datasets from semiannual surveys of…

This book provides essays on career topics aimed at women and a directory of tools to help women get started or take their career to the next level. The essays topics are equal education and employment; role models, networks, and mentors for women; financial management; child care; introduction to financial aid; women's colleges and women's…

Attempts to explain sex-related wage differentials generally rely on the human capital and segmentation labor market theories. The human capital theory explains individuals' position in the labor market primarily in terms of factors determining their productivity, whereas segmentation theory focuses on differences among jobs as determinants of the…

A survey collected baseline data about public housing communities and residents just prior to the start of the Jobs-Plus program. The data were from all working-age, nondisabled heads of households in eight public housing developments in seven cities with customarily high rates of joblessness and reliance on welfare. The developments were part of…

Economic, technological, and political changes have created a new employment relationship characterized by an externalized labor market, more tenuous ties between workers and employers, and growing wage inequality. To date, policymakers have sought to address these problems through a supply-side approach focused on education and training. What is…

This report presents national survey data on approximately 2.8 million staff employed at 8,598 postsecondary institutions in fall 1995 from Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. The information is presented in tables, with some narrative. Survey findings are summarized in three chapters: an overview of postsecondary education staff,…

This publication is comprised of 12 position papers from the National Equity Workshop held at the University of Technology Sidney (Australia) at which participants summarized their positions on the way equity should be understood, their views on the strengths and weaknesses of current vocational education and training (VET) policy, and what they…

The extent of sex segregation in vocational and technical education (VTE) in U.S. high schools nearly 30 years after passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 was examined in a national study. The key findings were as follows: (1) sex segregation is pervasive in high school-level VTE nationwide; (2) sex segregation results in…