Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Maisak, N. (2017). Transitioning students from adult education to postsecondary education through co-enrollment career pathways model. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Charlotte, NC: Wingate University.
Highlights
- The study’s objective was to evaluate the impact of the Pathways to Careers program on community college students’ education outcomes.
- The author used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students enrolled in the Pathways to Careers program to students enrolled in a traditional Adult Secondary Education (ASE) program.
- The study found that participation in the Pathways to Careers program was significantly related to increased retention rates and a higher likelihood of transition to postsecondary education.
- The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Pathways to Careers program; other factors are likely to have contributed.
Intervention Examined
The Pathways to Careers Program
Features of the Intervention
The Pathways to Careers Program was offered at a large, urban community college in North Carolina and integrated a career pathways model. The program allowed students to work towards post-secondary credentials while obtaining high school equivalency or a high school diploma. The goal of the program and model was to move students to post-secondary education and/or employment faster. An essential element of the program was co-enrollment, because the program organized a series of manageable steps that led to the completion of a high school credential as well as an occupational or industry recognized certification. This was accomplished by integrating basic education, academic skills development, occupational training, work and college readiness skills, and occupational-specific training through college-level courses. The Pathways program also offered support services to students that included life skills assistance, college adjustment and retention services, supportive services, case management, career assistance, mentoring, and counseling.
Features of the Study
The study used a nonexperimental design to compare the outcomes of students who participated in the Pathways to Careers program to those who did not. Participants included adult basic education students from the North Carolina Community Colleges System (NCCCS) in the college and career readiness (CCR) department. Students were in traditional Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Adult Secondary Education (ASE) programs during the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 academic years. The author used secondary data to identify the treatment and comparison groups. The treatment group included students who were enrolled in the Pathways to Careers program and had low basic education skills in writing, reading, math, and computer literacy. The comparison group included CCR students who had an ASE placement, but were not enrolled in the Pathways to Careers program. The 2013-2014 study cohort included 239 students in the treatment group and 974 students in the comparison group. The 2014-2015 study cohort included 210 students in the treatment group and 983 students in the comparison group. The author conducted chi-square analyses to examine differences in enrollment in postsecondary education and retention between the treatment and comparison groups.
Findings
Education and skills gain
- The study found that participation in the Pathways to Careers program was significantly related to increased retention rates for both cohorts. For the 2013-2014 study cohort, 37% of treatment students were retained compared to 10% of comparison students. For the 2014-2015 study cohort, 61% of treatment students were retained compared to 44% of comparison students.
- The study found a significant relationship between student enrollment in the Pathways to Careers program and the transition to postsecondary education for both cohorts. For the 2013-2014 study cohort, 29% of treatment students transitioned to postsecondary education compared to 9% of comparison students. For the 2014-2015 study cohort, 29% of treatment students transitioned to postsecondary education compared to 9% of comparison students.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The author did not account for preexisting differences between the groups before program participation or include sufficient control variables. These preexisting differences between the groups—and not the Pathways to Careers program—could explain the observed differences in outcomes. Therefore, the study is not eligible for a moderate causal evidence rating, the highest rating available for nonexperimental designs.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is low because the author did not ensure that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are not confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Pathways to Careers program; other factors are likely to have contributed.