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This study examined the associations between adult education and training (AET) participation, educational attainment, literacy skills, gender, and race/ethnicity among the U.S. adult population aged 25 to 65 years old (n = 5,450). Given the socioeconomic advancements of women and racial/ethnic minorities in the last few decades, including higher educational attainment, increased labor force participation, and greater income, and as new data becomes available, it is important to re-examine AET participation by gender and race/ethnicity in the U.S while controlling for educational attainment and literacy skills. This study employed the 2012/2014 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) public-use file (PUF). Binary logistic regression was used to examine (1) any AET, (2) formal AET, and (3) non-formal AET across all variables of interest. Indeed, educational attainment and literacy skills are associated with greater AET participation. Further analyses showed that more women than men participated in all forms of AET, and there were some variations in AET participation by racial/ethnic minorities. More Black, Hispanic, and other racial/ethnic minority adults participated in formal AET, and more Black adults participated in all forms of AET, compared to their White counterparts. This study also provides within-race/ethnicity group variations.

The ability to effectively use digital technology and problem-solve are critical skills for maintaining democratic health, particularly as civil society and the modern digital landscape continuously evolve. However, information on whether individuals have the critical problem-solving skills to use digital technology and confidently affect change is yet to be further explored. Using data from the 2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (n= 2749), we examined the associations between digital problem-solving skills and the three levels (low, neutral, high) of external political efficacy in the U.S. adult population. We used multinomial logistic regression and found a positive association between digital problem-solving skills and external political efficacy, while explanations for the three levels of efficacy are nuanced. Continuous development of digital problem-solving skills through adult education has implications for political efficacy, and ultimately for the promotion of a variety of civic engagement in the adult life stages.