Project Activities
Research question
- Can providing training to career navigators improve adult learners' college enrollment and credential attainment rates? Can it improve learners' employment rates and earnings?
- What types of services do career navigators typically provide, and does the training change either the nature or intensity of services in ways that explain any impacts on learners' outcomes?
Structured Abstract
Design
This impact study involved approximately 65 adult education sites. About half of the sites were assigned by lottery to a group in which the site's career navigators received training provided by the study. Career navigators in the remaining sites did not receive the study's training until after the study period was over. Using records obtained from the program providers and other agencies, the study would have assessed learners' college enrollment, credential attainment, employment status, and earnings at approximately 18 and 30 months after learners began participating in the study. The study also surveyed career navigators at the start of the study in order to collect descriptive information on the types of navigation services typically provided and to whom those services were typically targeted. Through the collection of service logs during the study, information to understand how the training might influence the navigation services provided and the targeting of those services was also obtained. This study was built on an earlier systematic evidence review that summarized findings from existing studies of adult education strategies and identified gaps in the knowledge base.
Key findings
A review of existing studies of the effectiveness of adult education strategies conducted during the design phase of the study found:
- There has been little rigorous research on whether particular strategies in adult education improve learner outcomes.
- The rigorous research that has been conducted does not address the full set of outcome areas that federal policy emphasizes. Studies measuring basic skills such as literacy did not measure longer-term outcomes such as credential attainment and earnings. Studies that investigated longer-term outcomes did not measure basic skills.
- The available evidence provides limited support for the use of particular adult education strategies over others, although bridge classes and integrated education and training programs offer some promise.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
A snapshot titled Adult Education Strategies: Identifying and Building Evidence of Effectiveness was released in April 2021.
The contract for this study was canceled in February 2025. NCEE is evaluating what further publications, if any, may arise from this work.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
