Postsecondary Experiences in the Shadow of the Great Recession

• In Event: Families and contexts that shape developmental trajectories

Abstract

During the Great Recession of 2008, the global economy experienced a financial shock that had reverberations in every segment of the world’s economy, with the most vulnerable and least resourced members of societies experiencing particularly acute effects. This study examines how “shocks” such as the Great Recession may have shifted governing theoretical paradigms about milestone achievements, (e.g., postsecondary education, work) considered rites of passage to adulthood in the United States. Acknowledging insights from Elder’s Children of the Great Depression, (Elder, 1999) this presentation hypothesizes that diverse, young adults’ ability to cope with these changes frames their adulthood identity development, with consequences that play out over the life course. Social scientific theoretical discourse has framed the role of education in society in a market-based economy (i.e., Coleman, Schultz) but lacks fundamental insights on the human developmental processes at work for diverse youths’ postsecondary experiences. Spencer’s Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) holds that all humans are vulnerable, and the accessibility to or lack of supports impacts how humans adapt to changes and cope with risks over the life course (Spencer, 1997). This study explores how the Great Recession exacerbated this vulnerability, impacting adaptive (e.g., staying enrolled in postsecondary education) or maladaptive (e.g., dropping out of school and not pursuing work or other endeavor) coping. Governed by the three research questions noted below, this study addresses the gap in understanding about how diverse, young adults make meaning of the transition to adulthood and their understanding of the role of education in progressing to their life goals.

• How were the post-secondary education and working patterns for low-income, high achieving (i.e., college enrolled) young adults shaped by the Great Recession in comparison to their high-income counterparts?

• How did the Great Recession impact education planning for young adults between the ages of 18 and 20, the key age range for college going?

• Eight years after the Great Recession ended, have there been any changes in the key factors that inform education planning for young adults between the ages of 18 and 20?

The first two research questions are addressed by the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) Transition to Adulthood module, which captures information on the impact of the Great Recession on education planning. The quantitative findings derived from the 2009, 2011, and 2013 survey rounds indicate that the effects on education planning differed by income level (see Table 1).

Interestingly, most survey respondents indicated “Other” when asked how the Great Recession affected their education planning, which drives the study’s qualitative component (to be completed by February, 2021) designed to address Research Question 3. Prioritizing the first two research questions, this presentation will emphasize the theoretical and methodological implications of studying diverse youths’ transition to adulthood during periods of societal “shock”.

Author

• Bronwyn Nichols Lodato, University of Chicago
  Presenting Author