Today's Post:
Job loss impacts students' college prospects
Stress can impact whether students make it to college.
StudyHall.Rocks photo.
When confronted with questions about job loss, politicians often lapse into lectures about the importance of education. But actually, job losses trigger adolescent stress and poor academic performance, pushing college out of reach, according to research published in the journal Science.
The authors challenge the notion that “working-class youth, rather than following their parents' footsteps to the now-closed factory, would pursue higher education and join the ‘knowledge economy,’” the article explains. In fact, "local job losses can both worsen adolescent mental health and lower academic performance and, thus, can increase income inequality in college attendance, particularly among African-American students and those from the poorest families.”
The authors compared job loss rates during middle and high school years with college attendance rates a few years later, when the students were 19 years old, according to a Duke University news release. States suffering a 7 percent job loss showed a 20 percent drop in college attendance by the poorest youth, even with an increase in financial aid.
Job retraining programs could lessen the trauma of job loss for the community, the researchers conclude. But the programs would have to target skills needed in the long term.
The article is: "Linking job loss, inequality, mental health, and education." The lead author is Elizabeth O. Ananat, associate professor at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.
Related:
Follow StudyHall.Rocks on Twitter.
If you would like to comment, give us a shout, or like us on Facebook and tell us what you think.
