Learning in Adulthood. Sharan B. Merriam

Learning in Adulthood

a 6 1 a 44 29 Graduate or professional education or degree 20,466 66 1^b a 7 1 1^b 51 30 Household income $20,000 or less 34,670 28 1 2 2 1 2 11 16 $20,001 to $35,000 35,839 36 2 2 4 1 1 18 17 $35,001 to $50,000 33,376 42 2^b 1 2 1 1 23 22 $50,001 to $75,000 47,114 48 a a 5 1 1 33 21 $75,001 or more 60,607 58 1 1 5 2 1 39 27 Employment status Employed full time 106,389 53 1 1 5 2 2 40 20 Employed part time 27,090 53 1 2^b 7 1 1 32 29 Unemployed and looking for work 9,941 38 2 6 3 2 2^b 14 23 Not in the labor force 68,187 28 1 1 2 1 1 6 20 Occupation Professional/managerial 48,647 70 a a 8 1 1 56 29 Sales/service/clerical 66,218 48 1 2 5 2 1 31 22 Trade and labor 37,585 34 2 2^b 2 2 3 19 13

^a Estimate rounds to 0 or 0 cases in sample.

^b Interpret data with caution; coefficient of variation is 50% or more.

¹ Includes those enrolled only part time in college or university degree or certificate programs or those enrolled through a combination of part-time and full-time enrollments in the 12 months prior to the interview.

² Includes those enrolled only part time in vocational or technical diploma, degree, certificate programs, or those enrolled through a combination of part-time and full-time enrollments in the 12 months prior to the interview.

What these national surveys show is that 50 years after Johnstone and Rivera's original study, the profile of the typical adult learner remains stable. Compared to those who do not participate, participants in adult education are better educated, younger, and employed full-time and have higher incomes. But as Creighton and Hudson (2002) point out,

[A] closer look at participation in specific activities reveals some troubling signs of groups being left behind—especially Hispanics, those with lower levels of education, those with lower status jobs, and those who are employed part-time. … Thus, although the widespread increase in participation in adult education has been accompanied by an elimination of some inequities, in many cases the highly educated and high status groups that have been the traditional beneficiaries of adult education remain the main beneficiaries today. (p. ix)

Even more recent national surveys of adult participation in learning conducted in Great Britain reveal much the same patterns. For over 20 years an annual survey

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