Career Pathways for Adult Learners in Chicago, Houston, and Miami: Final Report

The purpose of this study was to examine how adult education providers in Chicago, Houston, and Miami are designing and implementing career pathways (CP) programming, especially for adults who are immigrants or have barriers to employment and education. The researcher-practitioner partnership included the Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy at The Pennsylvania State University and three community partners serving as liaisons for each city: Chicago Citywide Literacy Coalition, Houston Center for Literacy, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The project included three research phases: (1) a survey of adult education providers (n=147); (2) focus groups with adult education providers (n=18); and (3) case studies of six programs (two per city). The report includes detailed findings from survey data regarding adult education and career pathways provision in each city (e.g., organizational type, funding sources, enrollment, types of classes and services, occupational sectors); coordination and planning across CP providers (e.g., opportunities for planning and coordination, perceived effectiveness); student characteristics and demographics; program design and delivery (e.g., partnerships, entry requirements, instructional approaches, support services); student outcomes (e.g., type of outcome measure). Findings from the qualitative data focus on program design and implementation (e.g., contextualized instruction, support services, access for lower-level students); practices and policies that shape CP programming (e.g., partnerships, measurement and data collection, policies); citywide CP coordination; and factors that contributed to success at one or more sites. The following are appended: data collection instruments and additional survey responses.