NLA Discussion: Gender in the AELS

[Thomas Sticht]

David (longer): Here is more on the AELS gender issue. Thanks, 

Tom Sticht

Research Note: 4/7/01

Is the Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS) of the United States
Meeting the Needs of Men?

Measured Literacy Skills of Men and Women

The National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) reported in 1993 that there
were about equal percentages of males and females in Level 1 of the NALS
in each of the three literacy scales: Prose, Document, Quantitative and
overall average literacy proficiencies for males and females were
similar for the three scales, though females tend to be a little more
skilled at Prose and a little less skilled in Document and Quantitative
tasks.

For those adults in the workforce, males generally scored lower on the
average than females (except on the quantitative scale), and on all
three scales of the NALS, a greater percentage of men scored in the
lowest level of literacy. 

Perceived Literacy Skills of Men and Women

In the report on the Literacy of Older Adults in America NALS data
indicated that for those adults 16 to 59 years old, 8 percent of males
thought they did not read well or not at all compared to 5 percent of
females. For adults 60 years old and older, 10 percent of males and 7
percent of females thought they did not read well/not at all. 

Participation in ESL,ABE, or ASE Programs

Over the years, women have consistently outnumbered men in adult
education. In 1993 men made up 47 and women 53 percent of enrollees; by
1999 men made up 45.5 and women 54.5 percent of AELS enrollees.
The National Evaluation of Adult Education (NEAE) programs reported in
1994 that of the new clients who enrolled in the Adult Education and
Literacy System (AELS) of the United States, those enrolling for ESL
were 54 percent women and 46 percent men. Those enrolling in ABE and ASE
combined were 61 percent women and 39 percent men. 

In Massachusetts in 1999, 61 percent of adult basic education system
students were women. In California, for the 1995-96 funding year, for a
sample of 106,000 participants in adult ESL/ABE public school district
and community college programs, 42 percent were males and 58 percent
females. 

Studies of GED takers in Iowa in 1992 indicated that 33 percent were
men, 66 precent females. A study comparing NALS tests with GED tests
indicated that 42 percent of the sample were males and 58 percent were
females and these data are comparable to the population of GED takers.
 
The National Evaluation of Adult Education (NEAE) studies of No-Shows,
that is, those who originally signed up for but never attended classes
showed that males were 3 percent more likely to be No-Shows in ESL (but
this was not statistically reliable), 18 percent more likely to be
No-Shows in ASE, but 7 percent less likely than females to be a No-Show
in ABE. 

Regarding persistence in attending their programs, the NEAE indicated
that males were less likely to be in the top quartile of persisters in
ESL (2 percent less likely), ABE (14 percent less likely) and ASE (9
percent less likely). 

Age and Gender in the AELS

There is an interaction of age and gender in adult education enrollments
such that as age increases, the percentage of women enrollees increases.
In 1988, the last date for which I have data, men enrollees aged 16-24
outnumbered females by about 3 percentage points, but by age 60, women
outnumbered men by some 34 percent.
  
In summary, then, data  concerning the issue of whether the AELS is
serving men well include the following generalizations gleaned from a
number of sources. In the adult population of the United States:  

(1) Males make up a greater proportion of adults without a high school
diploma.

(2) Males in the workforce are less literate than females.

(3) Males are more likely to perceive themselves as not reading well.

(4) Males, particulary older ones,  are less likely to enroll in AELS
programs. 

(5) Males are less likely to show up for a program even if they enroll
for one. 

(6) Males are less likely to persist in a program after their first hour
of instruction.

(7) Males are less likely to try for a GED. 

These data raise serious questions about the relative effectiveness of
AELS programs for meeting the needs of men, particulary as men grow
older. Are there studies of this phenomenon of the age decrement in male
participation in AELS programs? What are some of the problems in
attracting men to AELS programs? Is this issue related to the
differences in the numbers of males and females in the AELS teaching
corps? I do not know of a  general study of this issue about how well
the AELS reaches, recruits, retains, and educates males compared to
females, and how this might relate to race, ethnicity, and poverty. 

In this age of segment marketing, it might be of benefit for the AELS in
preparing recruitment messages to have a great deal more information
about how to meet the needs of men, women, and other identifiable
segments of the adult population that make up the target population for
the AELS. Perhaps in redoing the very expensive, door-to-door  National
Assessment of Adult Literacy Survey (NAALS) and using both prose and
document scales, one scale could be dropped (they correlate above +.90)
and more time could be spent determining adult's self-perceived needs
for adult education, what might motivate them to attend, giving them
information about how to find an AELS program, and so forth. Similar
surveys have recently been done in the United Kingdom by the Basic
Skills Agency and provide much useful information beyond standardzied
test scores. 

Is this a significant policy issue for the field to be concerned about?


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