A new study was presented last week at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, looking at the many social benefits of attaining a postsecondary education.
Laura Perna, University of Maryland professor of educational policy and leadership, analyzed the economic and social benefits of higher education across groups.
She examined data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study that tracks the educational and occupational progress of a large group of students beginning in 1998, with follow-ups in later years.
One of her most significant findings was the financial payoff for women who obtain a bachelor’s degree.
Women who complete postsecondary education have an average income 45 percent higher than with a high school diploma, with no variation across racial or socioeconomic groups.
Perna’s study found no difference for men in this area. Perna pointed out that the average income of women is still lower than incomes for men.
“You have to remember that this is a premium, a payoff measurement,” she said. “On average women still earn less [than men].”
This finding also shows benefits increase when women attain a master’s degree or higher.
Perna found that the average incomes are substantially higher for people who attain a bachelor’s degree, a difference of about $7,000. In other economic benefits, 77 percent of those with no post secondary education have health insurance, in comparison to 92 percent who have completed at least a bachelor’s degree.
In the second half of the study, Perna focuses on the social benefits of higher education, which were shown to increase with the level of education.
According to the study, higher percentages of those with a bachelor’s degree than of those individuals with no education past a high school diploma volunteer in civic or community organizations, a difference of about 18 percent.
Those with a bachelor’s degree are more active voters, participate in adult education and are more likely to refrain from smoking and binge drinking. They are also more likely to attend plays or concerts and regularly visit a public library.
Perna focused on these social benefits because of a concern that an inadequate amount of attention is directed towards areas.
“The trends in public policy reflect a shift in emphasis from public to private benefits,” Perna said.
She believes this inadequate attention is partly the cause of this shift. In the study, she states that policy makers assume that the main benefits from higher education are financial. This assumption leads to a decline in funding from the state and federal government to these areas, and an increase in family funding, such as tuition increases.
Perna is not alone in the belief that American government is too focused on the private, individual benefits of higher education.
“That’s been a big debate in financing, whether the main benefits are social or individual,” said UW professor of educational administration Jacob Stampen. “We’ve been on the individual kick for too long.”
Stampen explains that the belief that the main benefits of higher education are individual leads to the idea that the students should pay more tuition.
He attributed the belief to the myth that social benefits are hard to measure, which he says is not necessarily true, especially with longitudinal studies like Perna’s.
“In general we have been focusing on the individual,” he said. “It’s good to shift the focus to social benefits.”
