Searching for a Social Vaccine for Skill Loss: Analyses of 2nd Cycle PIAAC Data

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Sunday 7:45 am
  In Poster Session: Disposition, Identity and Intention: Understanding Adult Learning and Educational Engagement

Abstract

Adult literacy skill is the foundation for economic growth in advanced economies. Initial investments in schooling fuel skill formation. However, adults often lose skill later in life, and that skill loss threatens to undermine economic growth. In this paper we draw on Practice Engagement Theory to analyze data from the second cycle of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to identify individual, educational, and occupational factors that predict potential skill loss among U.S. adults—and conversely, factors that may serve as a “social vaccine” to prevent skill loss. We find that engagement with writing tasks and participating in training within the past year, reduce the odds of having lower literacy skill.

Authors

• Frank Fernandez, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Huacong Liu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University