Fast Facts

Adult learning

Question:
Is participation in adult learning increasing?

Response:

Adult education activities are formal activities including basic skills training, apprenticeships, work-related courses, personal interest courses, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and part-time college or university degree programs. This indicator examines the participation rates of individuals age 16 or older in adult education activities.

Overall participation in adult education among individuals age 16 or older increased from 40 percent in 1995 to 46 percent in 2001 and then declined to 44 percent in 2005. In 2005, among the various types of adult education activities, individuals age 16 or older participated most in work-related courses (27 percent), followed by personal interest courses (21 percent), part-time college or university degree programs (5 percent), and other activities (3 percent).

Participation rates varied by sex, age, race/ethnicity, employment/occupation, and education in 2005. For example, a greater percentage of females than males participated in personal interest courses (24 vs. 18 percent) and work-related activities (29 vs. 25 percent). Individuals ages 16–24 had a higher overall participation rate in adult education activities than their counterparts age 55 or older. Blacks and Whites had higher rates of overall participation in adult education than their Hispanic peers. Among those employed in the past 12 months, the overall participation rate in adult education was higher for those in a professional or managerial occupation (70 percent) than for those employed in service, sales, or support jobs (48 percent) or those in trade occupations (34 percent). In addition, the overall participation rate in adult education for bachelor’s degree recipients or higher was greater than for those individuals who had some college or less education.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The Condition of Education 2007 (NCES 2007-064), Indicator 10.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 437. Participants in state-administered adult basic education, secondary education, and English as a second language programs, by type of program and state or jurisdiction: Selected fiscal years, 2000 through 2009
  
• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 438. Participation of employed persons, 17 years old and over, in career-related adult education during the previous 12 months, by selected characteristics of participants: 1995, 1999, and 2005
  
• 2012, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 439. Participation rate of persons, 17 years old and over, in adult education during the previous 12 months, by selected characteristics of participants: Selected years, 1991 through 2005
  

Other Resources:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2010, National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL): This site provides publications and data from NAAL, a nationally representative assessment of English literacy among American adults age 16 and older.
  
• 2009, Career/Technical Education (CTE) Statistics: This site provides the most recently available data on adults' participation in work-related coursetaking.
  
• 2008, Recent Participation in Formal Learning Among Working-Age Adults with Different Levels of Education