January 2008

Adults who have low levels of education often lack the skills 

needed to succeed in the labor market (OECD and Statistics 

Canada 2000). One way for adults to overcome this skill 

disadvantage is to participate in learning activities offered 

through the formal education system, at the workplace, 

or by other organizations. This Issue Brief uses data from 

the Adult Education Survey of the National Household 

Education Surveys Program (AE-NHES), conducted by the 

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), to examine 

the participation of adults with different levels of education 

in formal (i.e., instructor-led) learning activities.1

 Adults with 

low levels of education are of particular concern in this Issue 

Brief, and are defined here as adults who did not complete 

high school or who completed it via a General Educational 

Development (GED) credential.2 Specifically, the current 

analysis examines two aspects of the participation of adults 

in formal learning: the extent to which adults participate in 

different types of formal learning activities and who pays the 

costs associated with this participation.

For this analysis, two years of AE-NHES data (2001 and 

2005) were combined to provide a sample large enough 

to produce reliable estimates for adults with low levels of 

education.3 The AE-NHES surveys include adults ages 16 or 

older, who are no longer enrolled in high school. To focus 

specifically on the working-age populations in 2001 and 

2005, this analysis was restricted to adults ages 16–64.

Participation in Formal Learning Activities

The AE-NHES surveys measured participation in the 

following six types of formal learning activities that took 

place during the 12 months preceding the survey: (1) English 

as a Second Language (ESL) classes; (2) adult basic education 

classes; (3) GED preparation classes; (4) college, university, 

and vocational/technical degree or certificate programs; (5) 

apprenticeship programs; and (6) courses self-defined by the 

participant as taken mainly for work or for personal interest 

(referred to here as work-related and personal interest courses, 

respectively). The survey assessed adults’ current education 

attainment, and thus reflects the completion of any education 

programs taken during the previous 12 months. 

In the combined sample of working-age adults in 2001 and 

in 2005 (hereafter, “adults”), 54 percent participated in at 

least one of these formal learning activities during the past 

12 months (table 1). As in previous studies (Creighton and 

Hudson 2002; Kim et al. 2004), this analysis found that 

Recent Participation in Formal Learning Among 

Working-Age Adults With Different Levels of 

Education

U.S. Department of Education

NCES 2008–041

Issue

Brief

participation rates in formal learning increased among 

adults who had higher levels of education at the end of the 

survey, rising from 26 percent for adults with no high school 

credential (no diploma or GED) to 72 percent for adults 

with at least a bachelor’s degree. This finding reflects the 

pattern of participation in the two most common activities 

(work-related and personal interest courses) and, to a lesser 

extent, the third most common activity (college/vocational 

programs). For college/vocational programs, participation 

rates increased up to the level of “some college.”4

No consistent pattern was found for participation in 

apprenticeship programs by education level. Participation 

rates in apprenticeship programs by adults without a high 

school credential at the end of the survey did not differ from 

adults with higher levels of education. However, participation 

rates for the types of formal learning activities that are 

typically targeted to adults with low levels of education—

GED, adult basic education, and ESL classes—were highest 

among adults who did not have a high school credential by 

the end of the survey. Participation rates in GED classes were 

also higher among adults whose highest education level was 

a GED than for adults at higher levels of education.5

Returning to work-related courses, participation was eight 

times higher among adults with at least a bachelor’s degree 

at the end of the survey than for adults with no high school 

credential (table 1). This difference in participation may 

arise, in part, because adults with less education are less 

likely to be employed than are adults with more education,6

and employed adults are more likely than adults who are 

not employed to participate in work-related courses (Kleiner 

et al. 2005). However, when the comparison is limited to 

employed adults, there is still a positive relationship between 

participation in work-related courses and education level, 

with participation ranging from 10 percent for adults without 

a high school credential at the end of the survey to 59 percent 

among adults with at least a bachelor’s degree at the end of the 

survey (table 1). Thus, differences in employment rates alone 

do not appear to account for the higher rates of participation 

in work-related courses among adults with higher education 

levels.

The remainder of this Issue Brief focuses on work-related and 

personal interest courses—the two most common formal 

learning activities, which are also the activities in which 

adults with low levels of education participate less frequently 

than do adults with higher levels of education.
2 NCES 2008-041 Issue Brief January 2008

Participation in Work-Related and Personal 

Interest Courses

Average number of courses taken. Not only did the annual 

rate of participation in work-related courses increase 

with education level, but the number of courses taken by 

participants, on average, increased with education level (from 

1.5 courses for participants with no high school credential to 

2.2 courses for those with at least a bachelor’s degree) (table 

1). The participation rate in personal interest courses—as well 

as the average number of courses taken—also increased with 

education level. More specifically, participants in personal 

interest courses who had no high school credential, as well 

as participants whose highest level of education was a GED, 

took fewer courses on average than did participants with at 

least some college education. Thus, the lower the education 

level adults had attained, the less frequently they participated 

in work-related and personal interest courses, and the fewer 

courses they took when they did participate.7

Paying for participation. Costs are a frequently cited barrier 

to participation in learning (Darkenwald, Kim, and Stowe 

1998) and may be a particular barrier for adults with low 

levels of education whose earnings tend to be relatively low 

(Decker, Rice, and Moore 1997). It is thus informative to 

examine how often participants pay their own costs. The AENHES surveys permit an analysis of the percentage of course 

participants who used their own or their families’ money 

to pay for some or all of their course tuition and fees (i.e., 

the percentage who paid at least some costs).8

 Overall, 24 

percent of work-related course participants and 54 percent of 

personal interest participants paid at least some of their own 

costs (not in tables). 

For both types of courses, the percentage of participants who 

paid their own costs increased with the education level of 

the participant (figure 1). For those in work-related courses, 

the percentage paying their own costs rose from a low of 15 

percent for participants whose highest level of education was a 

GED to a high of 27 percent for those with at least a bachelor’s 

degree; for personal interest courses, the corresponding 

increase was from 30 percent to 65 percent.9 Compared to 

those in personal interest courses, participants in work-related 

courses were less likely to pay their own costs, both overall 

and at each education level. The lower rates of cost-paying 

for participants in work-related courses may reflect in part 

the influence of employer requirements and incentives, which 

often result in employers paying for their employees’ workrelated coursetaking (Hudson et al. 2005). 

Summary

Participation rates in adult basic education, ESL, and GED 

classes were highest among adults who did not have a high 

school credential by the end of the survey. For the most 

common types of formal learning activities—work-related 

courses and personal interest courses—adults with low 

levels of education tend to participate at lower rates and at 

lower levels of intensity than do adults with higher levels of 

education. Participation costs may be a factor contributing 

to this pattern. Among adults who do participate in workrelated and personal interest courses, those with lower levels 

of education are less likely than those with higher levels of 

education to pay at least some course expenses themselves.

References

Boesel, D., Alsalam, N., and Smith, T.M. (1998). Educational 

and Labor Market Performance of GED Recipients. U.S. 

Department of Education. Washington, DC: Office of 

Educational Research and Improvement.

Creighton, S. and Hudson, L. (2002). Participation Trends 

and Patterns in Adult Education: 1991 to 1999 (NCES 

Table 1. Percentage of adults ages 16 to 64 at each education level who participated in a formal learning activity and the average 

number of courses taken by participants, by type of learning activity: 2000–01 and 2004–05

Educational activity All adults

Highest level of education

No high 

school 

credential

GED 

certificate

High school 

diploma Some college1

Bachelor’s 

degree or 

higher

Percentage participating

Total, all activities 53.9 26.1 35.7 39.8 66.0 71.5

English as a Second Language classes 1.3 4.4 0.4! 0.9 1.0 0.6

Adult basic education classes 1.0 4.9 0.5! 0.5 0.8 —

GED classes 1.3 8.2 1.9! 0.4 0.2! —

Apprenticeship program 1.5 0.9 2.6! 1.6 2.2 0.8

College degree/Vocational diploma program 13.7 1.3 6.7 8.4 24.5 14.6

Personal interest course 21.9 10.7 11.6 16.6 25.8 30.1

Work-related course 33.3 6.9 19.5 22.2 38.4 54.0

Percentage of employed adults in work-related 

courses 38.8 9.6 23.5 25.7 43.5 58.6

Average number of courses taken by participants

Personal interest courses 1.5 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.5

Work-related courses 2.1 1.5 1.8 1.9 2.1 2.2

— Not available. Individuals with at least a bachelor’s degree were not asked about their participation in adult basic education or GED classes.

! Interpret data with caution. Standard errors are more than one-third as large as the estimate.

1

 Includes those with some college but no degree and those with a degree below the bachelor’s level.

NOTE: GED stands for General Educational Development. Participation rates include participation in one or more of the listed activities during the 12 months preceding the survey 

interview. Columns may sum to more than 100 because adults can participate in more than one activity. The 2001and 2005 Adult Education Surveys of the National Household 

Education Surveys Program were combined to provide a sample large enough to produce reliable estimates for adults with low levels of education. See the technical appendix for 

details. The technical appendix and standard errors can be found at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008041.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Adult Education Survey of the 2001 and 2005 National Household Education Surveys Program 

(AE-NHES:2001 and AE-NHES:2005).
NCES 2008-041 Issue Brief January 2008 3

The Issue Brief series presents information on education topics of current interest. All estimates shown are based on samples and are subject 

to sampling variability. All differences are statistically significant at the .05 level using two-tailed Student’s t-tests and analysis of variance. No 

adjustments were made for multiple comparisons. In the design, conduct, and data processing of National Center for Education Statistics 

(NCES) surveys, efforts are made to minimize the effects of nonsampling error, such as item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing 

error, or other systematic error. For more information on the National Household Education Surveys program, visit http://nces.ed.gov/nhes. 

This Issue Brief was prepared by Gregory Kienzl of the Educational Statistics Services Institute (ESSI). It was desktopped by Michael Stock of 

MacroSys Research and Technology. For further information, contact Edith McArthur, NCES, at 202-502-7393 or edith.mcarthur@ed.gov. To 

order additional copies of this Issue Brief or other NCES publications, call 1-877-4ED-PUBS or visit http://www.edpubs.org. NCES publications 

are also available on the Internet at http://nces.ed.gov. 

2000-119). U.S. Department of Education. 

Washington, DC: National Center for 

Education Statistics.

Darkenwald, G., Kim, K., and Stowe, P. (1998). 

Adults’ Participation in Work-Related 

Courses: 1994–95 (NCES 98-309). U.S. 

Department of Education. Washington, 

DC: National Center for Education 

Statistics.

Decker, P.T., Rice, J.K., and Moore, M.T. (1997). 

Education and the Economy: An Indicators 

Report (NCES 97-269). U.S. Department 

of Education. Washington DC: National 

Center for Education Statistics.

Hudson, L., Bhandari, R., Peter, K., and Bills, 

D.B. (2005). Labor Force Participation 

in Formal Work-Related Education 

in 2000–01 (NCES 2005-048). U.S. 

Department of Education. Washington, 

DC: National Center for Education 

Statistics.

Kim, K., Collins Hagedorn, M., Williamson, J., 

and Chapman, C. (2004). Participation in 

Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: 

2000–01 (NCES 2004-050). U.S. 

Department of Education, National Center 

for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: 

U.S. Government Printing Office.

Kleiner, B., Carver, P., Hagedorn, M., and Chapman, C. (2005). 

Participation in Adult Education for Work-Related Reasons: 

2002–03 (NCES 2006-040). U.S. Department of Education, 

National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: 

U.S. Government Printing Office.

OECD and Statistics Canada. (2000). Literacy in the Information 

Age: Final Results of the International Adult Literacy Survey. 

Paris, France: Organization for Economic Cooperation and 

Development.

Endnotes

1

 Formal learning activities are those that involve an instructor, including 

courses delivered online. They exclude informal learning activities such 

as reading manuals, attending conferences, and looking up information 

on the Internet.

2

 Adults with a GED are considered here as having a lower level of 

education than those with a high school diploma because past research 

has shown that GED recipients have educational persistence rates and 

labor market outcomes that are below those of high school completers 

(Boesel, Alsalam, and Smith 1998).

3

 This merging means that the statistics in this Issue Brief do not represent 

participation rates during any one period of time; they more accurately 

represent average rates of participation across 2000–01 and 2004–05. 

A separate technical appendix, available online at http://nces.ed.gov/

pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008041 provides more detail on the 

merging of these datasets. 

4

 Participation rates were lower for adults with at least a bachelor’s degree 

than for adults with “some college,” possibly because the “some college” 

category includes students currently enrolled in college. The participation 

rate in college/vocational programs found in this Issue Brief is likely to be 

larger than in other NHES reports, because the latter typically exclude 

full-time college students from their participation counts.

5

 The AE-NHES does not ask adults who have at least a bachelor’s degree 

about participation in basic education or GED classes; their participation 

is assumed to be zero. The findings for participation in formal learning 

activities by education level may have been different if education attainment had been assessed at the beginning of the 12-month survey period 

rather than at the end. For example, some adults with a GED at the end 

of the period are likely to have obtained the GED as a result of their GED 

program participation during the previous 12 months. 

6

 Although not shown in table 1, employment rates increased with 

education level, rising from 66 percent for those with no high school 

credential to 90 percent for those with at least a bachelor’s degree.

7

 This analysis does not take into account the length of each course taken, 

which could differ across the education groups.

8

 This analysis does not take into account the amount of money paid by 

participants, which could yield different findings. Other than costs paid 

by participants, the AE-NHES does not collect other information on the 

cost of learning activities or who paid those costs.

9

 For both types of courses, no measurable difference was found between 

adults who had not completed high school and adults who had a GED 

in terms of the percentage who paid their own costs.

Figure 1. Percentage of participants ages 16 to 64 in work-related courses and in personal interest 

courses for whom the participant paid at least some tuition and fees, by participant's 

highest level of education: 2000–01 and 2004–05

Percent

Type of course

No high school credential GED High school diploma Some college Bachelor’s degree or higher

NOTE: GED stands for General Educational Development. Participation rates include participation in one or more of the listed 

activities during the 12 months preceding the survey interview. The 2001and 2005 Adult Education Surveys of the National 

Household Education Surveys Program were combined to provide a sample large enough to produce reliable estimates for

adults with low levels of education. See the technical appendix for details. The technical appendix and standard errors can be

found at http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008041.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Adult Education Survey of the 2001 and 2005 

National Household Education Surveys Program (AE-NHES:2001 and AE-NHES:2005).

Work-related course Personal interest course

0.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

100.0

19 21 23

27 30 32

42

54

65

15
Recent Participation in Formal Learning Among WorkingAge Adults With Different Levels of Education

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NCES 2008–041

The Issue Brief series presents information on education topics of current interest.

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Brief