Table 360.

Participation of persons, 17 years old and over, in adult education during the previous 12 months, by selected characteristics of participants: Selected years, 1991 through 2005

Characteristic of participant	Percent participating in any program						Percent participating, 2005
	1991	1995	1999		2001		In any program		In basic education1		In English as a second language		In part-time post-secondary education2		In career or job-related courses		In apprentice programs		In personal-interest courses		In informal learning activities for personal interest
1	2	3	4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		12		13
Total	33.0	40.2	44.5	(0.77)	46.4	(0.55)	44.4	(0.74)	0.7	(0.21)	0.9	(0.17)	4.0	(0.25)	27.0	(0.63)	1.2	(0.18)	21.4	(0.71)	70.5	(0.79)
Sex
Male	32.6	38.2	41.7	(1.15)	43.1	(0.83)	41.0	(1.20)	0.7	(0.38)	0.9	(0.29)	3.7	(0.42)	24.5	(0.99)	1.7	(0.31)	18.3	(1.08)	70.8	(1.10)
Female	33.2	42.1	47.1	(1.02)	49.5	(0.78)	47.5	(1.01)	0.8	(0.16)	0.9	(0.15)	4.3	(0.34)	29.2	(0.95)	0.7	(0.15)	24.2	(0.88)	70.2	(1.03)
Age
17 to 24 years	37.8	47.0	49.9	(2.34)	52.8	(2.04)	52.8	(2.79)	3.1	(1.39)	1.7	(0.61)	9.4	(1.28)	21.3	(2.22)	2.7	(0.76)	26.3	(2.60)	69.2	(2.54)
25 to 29 years	40.0	49.6	56.5	(2.53)	52.9	(2.60)	51.6	(3.82)	0.8	(0.30)	3.3	(1.48)	8.0	(1.36)	29.5	(2.48)	3.2	(1.06)	20.9	(2.78)	66.8	(3.75)
30 to 34 years	37.6	47.3	56.2	(2.57)	53.7	(2.18)	52.7	(2.52)	1.4	(0.60)	1.6	(0.64)	6.3	(1.11)	33.8	(2.71)	2.5	(0.89)	23.2	(2.23)	73.8	(2.22)
35 to 39 years	42.1	47.7	50.1	(2.43)	54.0	(1.71)	48.6	(3.21)	0.3	(0.15)	0.7	(0.26)	5.3	(0.86)	32.6	(3.29)	0.9	(0.36)	20.7	(2.67)	75.5	(2.69)
40 to 44 years	49.2	50.9	50.5	(2.43)	53.5	(1.88)	48.9	(2.43)	0.3	(0.12)	0.6	(0.23)	3.2	(0.59)	34.8	(2.30)	0.9	(0.42)	23.4	(2.29)	71.5	(2.62)
45 to 49 years	40.0	48.7	49.8	(2.69)	55.4	(2.02)	49.0	(2.09)	0.4	(0.20)	0.6	(0.25)	2.2	(0.36)	37.7	(1.83)	0.5	(0.23)	19.3	(1.88)	71.6	(2.52)
50 to 54 years	26.8	42.5	47.2	(2.51)	51.1	(2.22)	46.6	(2.36)	0.2	(0.10)	0.3	(0.15)	3.4	(0.70)	35.2	(2.25)	0.6	(0.28)	20.3	(1.64)	75.6	(1.89)
55 to 59 years	29.0	32.2	38.0	(2.60)	44.1	(1.98)	42.2	(2.78)	0.3	(0.29)	0.4	(0.26)	1.4	(0.35)	31.9	(2.39)	0.3	(0.17)	18.0	(1.63)	69.5	(2.56)
60 to 64 years	17.4	23.7	31.4	(2.83)	30.8	(2.18)	37.9	(3.00)	‡	(†)	0.4	(0.29)	0.8	(0.34)	20.9	(2.07)	0.3	(0.20)	24.1	(2.40)	71.4	(3.04)
65 to 69 years	14.2	18.1	25.4	(2.54)	20.5	(1.74)	26.2	(2.67)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	0.2	(0.13)	8.1	(1.36)	‡	(†)	20.9	(2.41)	67.6	(2.52)
70 years and over	8.6	13.8	15.0	(1.38)	21.7	(1.37)	21.5	(1.44)	0.1	(0.06)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	4.0	(0.78)	‡	(†)	17.9	(1.33)	62.9	(1.82)
Racial/ethnic group
White	34.1	41.5	44.4	(0.89)	47.4	(0.59)	45.6	(0.84)	0.4	(0.21)	0.2	(0.08)	3.9	(0.29)	29.1	(0.70)	0.9	(0.17)	22.1	(0.87)	73.0	(0.92)
Black	25.9	37.0	46.3	(2.30)	43.3	(1.50)	46.4	(2.81)	1.1	(0.42)	‡	(†)	4.0	(0.72)	27.0	(2.53)	1.5	(0.73)	23.7	(2.11)	65.3	(2.02)
Hispanic	31.4	33.7	41.3	(2.51)	41.7	(2.28)	37.8	(2.43)	2.2	(0.65)	5.6	(1.22)	4.0	(1.02)	16.9	(1.72)	2.2	(0.63)	15.4	(1.75)	57.5	(2.86)
Asian	—	—	—	(†)	—	(†)	48.3	(5.39)	0.8	(0.55)	2.6	(1.03)	7.3	(2.67)	27.2	(4.70)	‡	(†)	26.5	(5.06)	81.1	(4.10)
Pacific Islander	—	—	—	(†)	—	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)
Asian/Pacific Islander	35.9	39.7	51.1	(4.63)	49.5	(3.81)	†	(†)	†	(†)	†	(†)	†	(†)	†	(†)	†	(†)	†	(†)	†	(†)
American Indian/Alaska Native	29.3	38.8	36.3	(9.16)	50.2	(8.28)	36.3	(10.17)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	23.0	(8.51)	‡	(†)	13.0	(6.16)	70.6	(9.18)
More than one race	—	—	—	(†)	—	(†)	39.4	(4.94)	0.5	(0.35)	‡	(†)	3.9	(2.20)	23.8	(4.06)	1.3	(0.59)	21.0	(4.13)	77.6	(5.28)
Highest level of education completed
8th grade or less	7.7	10.0	14.7	(2.92)	19.7	(2.84)	15.5	(2.47)	1.3	(0.47)	4.3	(1.70)	‡	(†)	1.7	(0.55)	1.7	(0.91)	7.3	(1.24)	38.1	(3.27)
9th through 12th grade, no completion	15.8	20.2	25.6	(2.55)	25.5	(1.53)	27.2	(2.40)	4.2	(1.67)	1.1	(0.41)	0.8	(0.29)	7.6	(1.44)	1.5	(0.61)	12.5	(1.53)	55.7	(2.52)
High school completion	24.1	30.7	34.8	(1.37)	33.9	(1.07)	33.0	(1.62)	0.2	(0.12)	0.7	(0.24)	1.6	(0.31)	17.2	(1.18)	1.1	(0.35)	16.8	(1.27)	63.6	(1.93)
Some vocational/technical	34.2	41.9	41.1	(3.97)	50.7	(3.51)	43.3	(4.30)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	1.1	(0.54)	28.3	(3.71)	‡	(†)	23.2	(3.09)	77.6	(3.98)
Some college	41.4	49.3	51.1	(1.76)	57.4	(1.29)	51.1	(1.79)	0.3	(0.18)	0.8	(0.52)	7.2	(0.99)	28.8	(1.54)	1.4	(0.47)	26.8	(1.80)	79.8	(1.52)
Associate's degree	49.2	56.1	56.6	(2.93)	62.5	(2.15)	56.5	(3.64)	‡	(†)	1.1	(0.51)	5.5	(1.36)	40.8	(3.27)	1.9	(0.66)	20.1	(2.48)	75.9	(3.70)
Bachelor's degree	51.1	56.9	60.3	(1.84)	64.5	(1.39)	59.8	(1.56)	‡	(†)	0.4	(0.17)	5.4	(0.78)	44.1	(1.61)	0.4	(0.17)	28.6	(1.55)	79.3	(1.72)
Some graduate work (or study)	55.1	59.9	63.6	(1.96)	68.9	(1.64)	66.3	(1.99)	‡	(†)	0.5	(0.32)	8.1	(0.84)	49.3	(2.15)	1.2	(0.61)	30.7	(1.77)	88.0	(1.06)
No degree	—	62.2	64.7	(4.39)	64.2	(3.54)	65.3	(4.84)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	13.7	(2.49)	40.5	(4.68)	‡	(†)	38.7	(4.81)	78.2	(4.34)
Master's	—	59.1	65.7	(2.64)	70.7	(2.10)	67.5	(2.59)	‡	(†)	0.9	(0.52)	8.4	(1.28)	51.4	(2.81)	1.4	(0.97)	30.6	(2.04)	88.8	(1.33)
Doctor's	—	54.0	53.1	(4.73)	63.7	(3.98)	58.0	(4.94)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	9.0	(3.06)	34.0	(4.53)	‡	(†)	31.4	(3.95)	90.3	(3.26)
Professional	—	65.9	72.5	(5.75)	72.8	(3.79)	68.2	(5.77)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	1.2	(0.78)	59.0	(6.35)	‡	(†)	23.9	(4.35)	91.6	(2.15)
Urbanicity
Urban	34.5	41.8	46.0	(0.88)	48.0	(0.70)	45.7	(0.87)	0.8	(0.27)	1.1	(0.21)	4.4	(0.31)	27.8	(0.79)	1.2	(0.20)	22.2	(0.72)	71.4	(0.86)
Urban, inside urbanized area	—	42.3	46.5	(0.95)	49.3	(0.78)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)
Urban, outside urbanized area	—	39.5	43.4	(2.23)	41.6	(1.70)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)
Rural	28.3	35.4	39.9	(1.58)	41.6	(1.17)	39.2	(2.06)	0.3	(0.13)	0.3	(0.15)	2.5	(0.50)	23.7	(1.39)	1.1	(0.40)	18.5	(1.76)	67.2	(1.77)
Labor force status
In labor force	40.7	49.8	52.1	(0.94)	—	(†)	52.3	(0.93)	0.7	(0.30)	0.8	(0.19)	5.0	(0.34)	37.1	(0.83)	1.5	(0.24)	21.9	(0.91)	73.0	(0.94)
Employed	42.0	50.7	52.5	(0.96)	—	(†)	53.4	(0.94)	0.5	(0.29)	0.7	(0.20)	5.1	(0.35)	38.8	(0.83)	1.4	(0.24)	21.8	(0.94)	73.5	(1.01)
Unemployed	26.0	36.6	44.9	(4.60)	—	(†)	37.8	(4.26)	3.4	(1.24)	1.9	(0.79)	3.4	(0.99)	13.5	(2.16)	2.1	(1.23)	22.1	(3.99)	66.7	(3.80)
Not in labor force	15.7	21.3	24.9	(1.17)	—	(†)	27.6	(1.18)	0.7	(0.21)	1.3	(0.36)	1.8	(0.39)	5.7	(0.55)	0.6	(0.22)	20.5	(0.97)	65.2	(1.27)
Occupation
Executive, administrative, or managerial occupations	49.3	55.8	57.0	(2.11)	66.2	(1.61)	64.1	(2.73)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	4.9	(0.98)	51.8	(2.82)	0.4	(0.24)	28.8	(2.89)	78.6	(2.71)
Engineers, surveyors, and architects	62.6	65.5	79.8	(6.01)	68.1	(4.46)	71.2	(5.68)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	9.3	(3.21)	55.6	(5.60)	‡	(†)	31.4	(6.19)	81.1	(4.63)
Natural scientists and mathematicians	48.2	72.3	60.5	(6.74)	74.0	(4.46)	69.1	(4.63)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	7.3	(2.13)	49.6	(5.27)	2.0	(1.47)	30.2	(4.53)	85.5	(5.16)
Social scientists and workers, religious workers, and lawyers	55.6	76.6	79.3	(4.35)	83.5	(3.05)	77.7	(4.11)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	11.7	(3.11)	64.3	(4.42)	‡	(†)	29.2	(3.52)	89.4	(2.78)
Teachers, elementary/secondary	55.0	54.8	66.5	(5.61)	79.9	(2.95)	79.7	(2.59)	‡	(†)	1.6	(1.00)	14.6	(2.49)	65.0	(3.99)	0.6	(0.34)	31.7	(3.78)	83.8	(2.62)
Teachers, postsecondary and counselors, librarians, and archivists	45.5	76.7	78.4	(3.11)	69.4	(4.60)	61.3	(6.96)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	8.3	(3.16)	49.0	(8.50)	‡	(†)	19.5	(4.98)	91.7	(3.58)
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners	67.1	71.1	79.8	(9.02)	78.5	(6.38)	88.8	(5.59)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	79.5	(6.59)	‡	(†)	31.9	(9.15)	84.5	(5.63)
Registered nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, therapists, and physician's assistants	59.6	86.7	85.4	(4.10)	82.7	(3.83)	85.4	(4.05)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	7.6	(2.15)	78.2	(4.89)	‡	(†)	27.4	(3.73)	83.1	(3.92)
Writers, artists, entertainers, and athletes	42.9	49.9	50.0	(6.93)	46.8	(6.03)	52.5	(6.59)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	4.7	(2.13)	27.8	(5.02)	2.2	(1.53)	35.3	(6.42)	88.2	(3.89)
Health technologists and technicians	68.6	74.8	66.9	(6.16)	85.6	(3.25)	72.1	(8.37)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	6.0	(2.08)	63.2	(8.67)	1.7	(1.23)	24.6	(5.91)	75.6	(7.26)
Technologists and technicians, except health	55.4	64.3	59.6	(5.07)	70.2	(3.32)	33.8	(8.53)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	2.3	(1.76)	29.1	(7.68)		(†)	6.2	(2.14)	76.0	(8.80)
Marketing and sales occupations	34.4	44.2	44.4	(2.73)	51.1	(2.10)	45.7	(3.00)	1.0	(0.45)	0.4	(0.26)	3.7	(0.76)	30.2	(2.77)	1.4	(0.80)	21.5	(2.43)	68.9	(3.37)
Administrative support occupations, including clerical	29.9	51.7	50.1	(2.29)	58.7	(1.72)	54.6	(2.70)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	4.9	(0.84)	33.5	(2.70)	1.3	(0.63)	27.7	(2.18)	73.8	(2.33)
Service occupations	25.2	46.5	50.9	(2.74)	49.3	(2.24)	44.7	(2.47)	0.6	(0.19)	1.9	(0.88)	5.8	(1.38)	28.5	(2.64)	1.4	(0.57)	17.5	(2.10)	65.4	(2.71)
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing occupations	14.3	26.4	34.3	(7.16)	46.4	(6.80)	44.4	(9.02)	‡	(†)	5.7	(4.02)		(†)	20.3	(6.92)	2.3	(1.53)	21.6	(10.05)	64.0	(10.03)
Mechanics and repairers	32.1	47.6	42.2	(5.44)	35.1	(3.40)	40.1	(5.10)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	1.4	(0.74)	27.4	(4.26)	3.8	(1.38)	12.7	(3.18)	69.3	(4.27)
Construction and extractive occupations	21.9	38.0	34.5	(4.78)	32.3	(3.19)	27.6	(3.73)	0.6	(0.33)	1.1	(0.49)	1.6	(0.87)	12.3	(2.54)	5.2	(1.89)	11.4	(2.72)	72.3	(4.48)
Precision production3	31.2	43.0	38.3	(8.48)	35.1	(6.19)	33.0	(3.98)	‡	(†)	0.4	(0.16)	2.8	(1.29)	22.2	(3.41)	1.5	(0.81)	13.3	(2.99)	63.9	(3.46)
Production workers	21.1	30.7	38.0	(3.47)	39.4	(2.82)	—	(†)	‡	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)
Transportation, material moving	20.7	28.4	33.3	(4.25)	30.4	(3.29)	34.6	(5.27)	3.6	(3.31)	3.3	(2.35)	1.2	(0.70)	14.7	(2.63)	3.2	(1.57)	11.2	(2.85)	60.8	(4.98)
Handler, equipment, cleaners, helpers, and laborers	20.8	25.1	19.6	(4.56)	18.2	(3.20)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)	—	(†)
Miscellaneous occupations	—	56.6	43.0	(7.98)	64.9	(7.07)	39.2	(11.25)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	‡	(†)	15.7	(5.81)	‡	(†)	7.8	(3.63)	52.2	(12.32)
Annual household income
$5,000 or less	13.6	21.3	21.0	(3.22)	25.1	(2.92)	35.9	(4.83)	0.5	(0.29)	1.8	(1.04)	2.3	(1.38)	13.7	(4.00)	2.3	(1.89)	17.2	(3.59)	52.9	(4.97)
$5,001 to $10,000	17.5	23.9	24.5	(3.39)	28.0	(2.74)	29.6	(4.49)	0.9	(0.39)	1.5	(0.71)	1.2	(0.52)	8.4	(2.11)	‡	(†)	21.8	(4.75)	61.0	(3.75)
$10,001 to $15,000	22.8	26.7	22.8	(2.45)	28.6	(2.30)	25.0	(3.41)	0.8	(0.31)	0.8	(0.33)	3.0	(1.17)	11.3	(2.52)	0.9	(0.66)	15.5	(3.14)	58.6	(4.43)
$15,001 to $20,000	21.9	31.8	31.4	(2.75)	30.2	(2.48)	24.3	(2.54)	‡	(†)	0.5	(0.30)	3.0	(1.18)	10.1	(1.37)	2.6	(1.20)	12.9	(2.00)	61.1	(3.17)
$20,001 to $25,000	26.7	31.4	35.8	(2.81)	35.2	(2.27)	28.2	(2.51)	1.6	(0.77)	1.9	(0.62)	3.3	(1.13)	12.8	(2.04)	1.1	(0.50)	13.6	(1.88)	63.2	(3.11)
$25,001 to $30,000	32.1	37.9	36.7	(2.61)	38.3	(2.43)	38.6	(3.63)	0.9	(0.54)	1.3	(0.61)	5.3	(2.03)	20.2	(3.37)	0.7	(0.38)	18.4	(2.52)	71.0	(3.38)
$30,001 to $40,000	35.6	42.7	45.2	(2.05)	44.6	(1.54)	42.7	(2.65)	1.4	(0.54)	1.0	(0.49)	2.8	(0.64)	22.8	(2.27)	1.1	(0.39)	23.0	(2.49)	68.7	(2.36)
$40,001 to $50,000	44.8	46.8	47.9	(2.31)	49.1	(1.93)	41.4	(2.92)	0.7	(0.35)	2.4	(1.25)	2.0	(0.43)	22.4	(2.00)	1.5	(0.56)	20.5	(2.47)	71.9	(2.62)
$50,001 to $75,000	46.6	52.0	55.1	(1.80)	55.7	(1.48)	47.7	(1.74)	0.3	(0.15)	0.3	(0.17)	5.0	(0.63)	33.0	(1.37)	0.9	(0.36)	20.5	(1.67)	70.6	(2.15)
More than $75,000	48.7	58.0	56.9	(1.66)	59.5	(1.29)	57.5	(1.49)	0.7	(0.50)	0.5	(0.23)	5.0	(0.53)	39.1	(1.35)	1.3	(0.38)	26.9	(1.13)	78.5	(1.34)

—Not available. †Not applicable. ‡ Reporting standards not met. 1 The estimates of participation in basic education include only those participating in courses to improve "reading, writing, and math skills," and do not count participation in GED or other high-school equivalency courses. 2 Includes college and university degree and post-degree certificate programs. 3 For 2005, figures include "Production workers" occupations data. NOTE: Adult education is defined as all education activities, except full-time enrollment in higher education credential programs. Data do not include persons enrolled in high school or below. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic origin. Standard errors appear in parentheses. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Adult Education Survey (AE-NHES:1991, AE-NHES:1995, AE-NHES:1999, and AE-NHES:2005) and Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Survey (AELL-NHES:2001) of the National Household Education Surveys Program. (This table was prepared October 2006.)