Loading...
Beyond Earnings and Social Reproduction: Can College Lead to Good Jobs Without Reproducing Social Inequalities?
Journal Title
RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
Keywords
Readers/Advisors
Journal Title
Term and Year
Publication Date
2016
Book Title
Publication Volume
2
Publication Issue
1
Publication Begin
90
Publication End
Number of pages
Collections
Files
Loading...
rsf.2016.2.1.05.pdf
Adobe PDF, 284.97 KB
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
College- for- all has become the educational policy in the United States, and it has led to many changes. Postsecondary subbaccalaureate (sub- BA) credentials (certificates and associate’s degrees) are an increasing
portion of college credentials, and we examine the implications for the reproduction of social inequalities.
We find that despite the growth of sub- BA credentials, many students who enroll in college continue to get no
credentials. After replicating prior findings of sub- BA employment and earnings payoffs, using the 2004–
2012 Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) survey, we analyze the AddHealth survey to see whether sub- BA
credentials are associated with jobs with nonmonetary job rewards similar to those BAs get (autonomy, career relevance, and so on). Moreover, although BA degrees often reproduce social and academic inequalities,
we examine whether sub- BA credentials pose socioeconomic status (SES) and test score obstacles to credential completion, and to employment and earnings within credentials. Beyond the usual earnings payoffs in
prior research, we conclude that sub- BA credentials provide ways college students can attain desirable job
rewards while avoiding SES and test score obstacles. We speculate on possible reasons and policy implications.
Citation
Beyond Earnings and Social Reproduction: Can College Lead to Good Jobs Without Reproducing Social Inequalities? James E. Rosenbaum, Caitlin E. Ahearn, Janet E. Rosenbaum, Kelly I. Becker RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, Vol. 2, No. 1, Higher Education Effectiveness (April 2016), pp. 90-110 (21 pages) https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7758/rsf.2016.2.1.05