From GED to College

Maralani, Vida

doi:10.3102/0002831211405836

Cited by 26 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Second, Dr. Thomas transitioned from a general educational diploma (G.E.D.) to a doctorate degree (Ph.D.), which is a rare educational trajectory in academe (Maralani, 2011). Third, Dr. Thomas is a non-traditional student, and as such, faced certain challenges that his traditional student peers did not experience (Chen et al, 2020).…”

Section: Significance Of the Current Topicmentioning

confidence: 99%

From G.E.D. to Ph.D.: Eric Thomas as a Model of Educational Success

Chaney¹,

Nicks²,

Caldwell³

2020

JEL

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Since the General Educational Development (GED) Program was established in 1943, more than 17 million people have received a GED Credential. According to the American Council on Education (ACOE), the GED test is considered an alternative option to the US High school diploma, HiSET and TASC tests; the GED test verifies whether the test taker has the United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills (Larson et al., 2016; Rice, 2016). The GED tests entail five subject contents such as writing skills, reading skills, social studies, science, and mathematics—and although the standards required for passing the tests vary across states, these standards are generally similar (Larson et al., 2016; Rice, 2016). This chapter will examine the words Dr. Eric Thomas uses during an interview on the day that he obtained his Ph.D. (Philosophy in Education) from Michigan State University. During this interview with Glenn Twiddle, Dr. Thomas discusses the various factors that motivated him to pursue and earn a Ph.D. In particular, this content analysis will determine the themes Dr. Thomas believes are essential catalysts for educational success. Qualitative analysis of Dr. Thomas’s interview reveals four themes related to (a) The Habit of Avoiding Challenges; (b) The Value of Facing Challenges; (c) The Importance of Receiving Encouragement and Accepting Help; (d) The Fragility of Work-Life Balance. Essentially, these themes highlight Dr. Thomas’s initial habit of running from academic challenges, the reasons why he faced educational challenges in his life, what he learned about himself after facing academic challenges, the importance of receiving encouragement and accepting help from others, as well as how he manages work-life balance.

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Section: Significance Of the Current Topicmentioning

confidence: 99%

From G.E.D. to Ph.D.: Eric Thomas as a Model of Educational Success

Chaney¹,

Nicks²,

Caldwell³

2020

JEL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Zajacova and Everette (2013), for example, showed that health differentials between GED recipients and HSG were larger among NH Whites than among Hispanics and NH Blacks. Maralani (2011) found that older GED recipients are less likely than their younger peers to subsequently enroll in college. Prins and Kassab (2015) also showed that rural GED recipients were more likely than urban GED recipients to plan to pursue full-time study in a 4-year college.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Based on assumptions about equivalency, most studies have not distinguished between GED recipients and those with a high school diploma (e.g., Torpey, 2018). When disaggregated, however, past studies have yielded overwhelming evidence that GED recipients have less favorable educational, labor market, and health outcomes than do high school graduates (HSG) (e.g., Cameron & Heckman, 1993; Maralani, 2011; Milesi, 2010; Zajacova, 2012). These disparities may be even more pronounced in some subpopulations as the magnitude of the labor market and health disadvantage of GED recipients relative to HSG is not homogenous (Clark & Jaeger, 2006; Prins & Kassab, 2015; Zajacova & Everette, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study contributes several important insights into the educational assortative mating literature. Past studies on GED recipients have primarily focused on the educational, labor market, and health outcomes (e.g., Heckmanet al, 2014; Maralani, 2011; Zajacova, 2012). We examined the mate selection behavior of GED recipients, which is a behavior particularly sensitive to social status.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The GED credential cannot be attained in many countries outside the U.S.; thus, we limited our sample to U.S.-born ( N = 72,859). Finally, we restricted our sample to marriages involving spouses who are 21 years and older because the rate of obtaining a GED peaks at 21 (Maralani, 2011). This restriction allows sufficient time for respondents to obtain a secondary degree ( N = 55,275).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mate Selection Behavior of GED Recipients

Choi

Wagner

2022

Journal of Family Issues

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The General Educational Development (GED) degree is designed to be a credential equivalent to the high school diploma. However, growing evidence indicates that GED recipients have worse outcomes than high school graduates. Such findings raise the question: is the GED socially equivalent to the high school diploma? Although educational assortative mating patterns have long been used as a barometer of the social distance across educational groups, there has not been a study that has addressed this question by examining the marital sorting patterns of GED recipients. Using log-linear models, our study shows that the odds of intermarriage between GED recipients and high school graduates resemble those between GED recipients and those without a secondary degree. Racial/ethnic minorities had greater difficulty crossing the GED/high school graduate boundary when they married. Our findings detract from the purported view that the GED degree is equivalent to a traditional high school diploma.

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Youths Transitioning as Adult Learners

Davis

2014

New Dir Adult Contin Educ

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From GED to College

Cited by 26 publications

References 35 publications

From G.E.D. to Ph.D.: Eric Thomas as a Model of Educational Success

From G.E.D. to Ph.D.: Eric Thomas as a Model of Educational Success

Mate Selection Behavior of GED Recipients

Youths Transitioning as Adult Learners

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