From College to Career

From College to Career examines the lives of poor mothers whocompleted community college degrees and entered the workforceduring a major shift in American social welfare policy. With thepassage of federal welfare reform a lot more attention was focusedon helping low-income mothers enter and make progress in the labormarket. Policies that encouraged education and training as a meansto securing stable employment received less emphasis in this newpolicy environment. Using a combination of data from a survey of acommunity college cohort and interviews with low-income mothers whoreceived public assistance while they were enrolled in college,this study documents the college and employment experiences of 30low-income single mothers who earned associate's degrees andentered the workforce. Findings from this study suggest that goodemployment outcomes can only be partially explained by increases informal education. Although higher education plays a key role in theemployment success of low-income mothers, growing up in poverty,leaving high school early, and having few social contacts beyondone's family and neighborhood all conspire to restrict a women'searnings potential.

Autorentext

Kathleen McAvinn Drennan is a policy analyst with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, where she conducts research for the U.S. Congress. Ms. Drennan holds a Doctorate in Social Policy from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She lives with her husband Paul and their two children in Mendon, Massachusetts.

Klappentext

From College to Career examines the lives of poor mothers who completed community college degrees and entered the workforce during a major shift in American social welfare policy. With the passage of federal welfare reform a lot more attention was focused on helping low-income mothers enter and make progress in the labor market. Policies that encouraged education and training as a means to securing stable employment received less emphasis in this new policy environment. Using a combination of data from a survey of a community college cohort and interviews with low-income mothers who received public assistance while they were enrolled in college, this study documents the college and employment experiences of 30 low-income single mothers who earned associate's degrees and entered the workforce. Findings from this study suggest that good employment outcomes can only be partially explained by increases in formal education. Although higher education plays a key role in the employment success of low-income mothers, growing up in poverty, leaving high school early, and having few social contacts beyond one's family and neighborhood all conspire to restrict a women's earnings potential.