I don't recall where I saw this, but I read about a quasi-experimental sociological study showing that employers were more likely to hire White ex-offenders than they were African-American men who had equivalent educational and professional credentials and NO criminal history. If I recall, the researchers created educational, professional, and criminal histories for the prospective Black & White male job applicants and then examined whether or not employers were willing to hire them. This demonstrates the powerful ways in which race mediates the effect of education on economic well-being, in this case, for African-American men.

I just found a summary of the study: http://opr.princeton.edu/research/person.asp?id=pager.

Esther Prins

On Thu, 30 Nov 2006 02:27:24 -0500 "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List" wrote:

Julie - 
Deborah D’Amico (NCSALL's The review of adult learning and literacy: Connecting research, policy, and practice Vol. 4) makes the same case to explain the race-based differences in earning power among GED achievers, arguing that “gender and race trump skills” (p. 29) in the case of white men: White males already earned more than others who did not complete high school, by virtue of being white and male.   
But, as Janet Isserlis said so eloquently, there's much that needs to be untangled here... 
Bill 




&quot;Julie McKinney&quot; <julie_mcKinney at worlded.org> 
Sent by: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov 11/29/2006 10:32 AM Please respond to
&quot;The Poverty, Race,        Women and Literacy Discussion List&quot; <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
To<povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>, <b.garner4 at verizon.net> ccSubject[PovertyRaceWomen 81] Re: economic impact of earning a        GED        while        in        prison




I agree with Bill too, but I am still curious about why the results were so different for African-American and white ex-offenders. When research shows a difference like this, it seems necessary to acknowledge that difference and search for the &quot;why?&quot;

Jereann King put it well: &quot;Part of what teachers have to do is accept difference and the fact that there are many cultures. I think we also have to recognize the social and economic circumstances that historically contribute to the gaps in educational achievement and economic/social stability.&quot; 

What are the &quot;social and economic circumstances&quot; at work here, and how can we change them? Reasons for this difference could also relate to cultural differences, or from our society's perception of cultural differences. (Including, perhaps, the ex-con culture...) Do minorities have a higher bump in earnings with a GED because they they started at a lower point?

I would guess that average wages in any group are higher for whites than minorities, just as they are higher for men than women. It would be interesting to use the same data to compare male and female ex-offender GED holders vs. non-GED holders.

Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org


>>> Barbara Garner <b.garner4 at verizon.net> 11/29/06 7:58 AM >>>

Good point, Bill, I agree. The GED is a beginning, not an end point.

What is happening with post-secondary programs, pre- and/or post-release, these days? Are they seeing a lot of success?
Barb Garner


=====================
From: William R Muth/FS/VCU <wrmuth at vcu.edu>
Date: 2006/11/28 Tue PM 11:43:12 CST
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, 
                &quot;The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List&quot; <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
Subject: Re: [PovertyRaceWomen 74] Re: economic impact of earning a GED while                 in                 prison


As I understand John Tyler's study,the signalling effect of the GED tends to benefit those who are least educatedand minority. These achievers enjoy higher wage earnings (although stillprobably at poverty-level) for three years after release from prison. Isthat such a negative finding? Should we expect the GED to be the &quot;magicbullet&quot; that solves the myriad of issues facing individuals returningto society: addictions, homelessness/renegotiating relationships with family,dangerous associations from the past, etc.?  For me the take awaypoints from John's study are: (a) emphasizing quality foundational literacylearning prior to GED credentialing programs, and (b) then providing adequatepostsecondary programs (e.g., AA degrees in vocational/technology) to enablenewly released people to find meaningful, entry-level skilledwork. The GED is not the problem. It's just not a panacea either.
-Bill
 
 



>>> Barbara Garner <b.garner4 at verizon.net> 11/29/06 7:58 AM >>>

Good point, Bill, I agree. The GED is a beginning, not an end point.

What is happening with post-secondary programs, pre- and/or post-release, these days? Are they seeing a lot of success?
Barb Garner


=====================
From: William R Muth/FS/VCU <wrmuth at vcu.edu>
Date: 2006/11/28 Tue PM 11:43:12 CST
To: b.garner4 at verizon.net, 
                &quot;The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List&quot; <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
Subject: Re: [PovertyRaceWomen 74] Re: economic impact of earning a GED while                 in                 prison


As I understand John Tyler's study,the signalling effect of the GED tends to benefit those who are least educatedand minority. These achievers enjoy higher wage earnings (although stillprobably at poverty-level) for three years after release from prison. Isthat such a negative finding? Should we expect the GED to be the &quot;magicbullet&quot; that solves the myriad of issues facing individuals returningto society: addictions, homelessness/renegotiating relationships with family,dangerous associations from the past, etc.?  For me the take awaypoints from John's study are: (a) emphasizing quality foundational literacylearning prior to GED credentialing programs, and (b) then providing adequatepostsecondary programs (e.g., AA degrees in vocational/technology) to enablenewly released people to find meaningful, entry-level skilledwork. The GED is not the problem. It's just not a panacea either.
-Bill
 
 



Barbara Garner <b.garner4 at verizon.net>
Sent by: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
11/28/2006 04:56 PMPlease respond to
b.garner4 at verizon.net; Please respond to
&quot;The Poverty, Race,        Women and LiteracyDiscussion List&quot; <povertyracewomen at nifl.gov>
ToDaphne Greenberg <ALCDGG at langate.gsu.edu>,PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.govccSubject[PovertyRaceWomen 74] Re: economic impactof earning a GED while        in       prison




I remember this article well, because the findingsare so disheartening for educators. An extensive query about the methodologywas conducted, but it couldn't be faulted. 

I'm very interested in the &quot;why&quot;-- is the stigma of prison outweighingthe usually positive (albeit small) effects of the GED?

Do minorities show a slight earnings gain because they start with suchlow earnings?
Does anyone have any insights ?
Barb Garner
Editor, Focus on Basics
=====================
From: Daphne Greenberg <ALCDGG at langate.gsu.edu>
Date: 2006/11/28 Tue PM 01:55:10 CST
To: PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 72] economic impact of earning a GED while in               prison

On the Focus on Basics list, Julie McKinney, the list moderator postedanother article which may be of interest to some of you:
What are the Economic Effects of Earning a GED in Prison?
http://www.ncsall.net/?id=822 
In case you don't feel like reading the whole article, the aspect thatI think is of interest to this listserv is that the study looked at thedifferences of the economic impact of earning a GED while in prison, betweenwhite and nonwhite ex-offenders: &ldquo;Among racial and ethnic minority offenders* primarily African Americans with a smaller number of Hispanics * we foundabout a 20 percent increase in the earnings among GED holders relativeto non-GED holders in the first post-release year. This effect declinedin the second year and by the third year it fell away to basically zero,&rdquo;explains Tyler. &ldquo;We found that, for white offenders, there was no differencein the post-release earnings or employment for individuals who got a GEDversus those who did not.&rdquo; 

Any thoughts/reactions?
Daphne


Daphne Greenberg
Assistant Professor
Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu

Daphne Greenberg
Associate Director
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3977
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu

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