Age Norms and Community College Pathways: Age, Degree Paths and Family Support

• In Event: 349 - Section on Aging and the Life Course Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 06. Age Norms and Attitudes over the Life Course

Abstract

A growing number of individuals are turning to community colleges to satisfy the postsecondary degree demands of the job market. At the same time, older students are becoming the norm as increasing education plans take longer and individuals return to increase their competitiveness in the work place. This study updates prior research on age norms and examines how it operates within community colleges. We examine how age norms operate in community college, whether community college student’s share a consensus about personal timelines for completing their education and whether higher educational expectations associated with extended age timetables for other life events. We describe the timetables for life transitions (moving into own home, having first child, marriage, and first full-time job) by using multiple regression to predict transitions with ethnicity, mother’s education, and degree goals. We found that community college students’ expectations for completing their formal education suggested shared norms for this transition. Perceived family support to stay in college changed with age, with older students perceiving less family support. Finally, we found that student education expectations also had effects on future transitions in other life domains. Degree plan had an impact on the expected timing for adult transitions, specifically for marriage and child bearing (but not for transitions to having their own residence, separate from parents). We found significant effects for ethnicity and gender on adult life transitions.

Author

• Claudia Zapata, Northwestern University