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Pascal, Anthony H.; And Others An Evaluation of Policy Related Research on Programs for Mid-Life Career Redirection: Vol. II--Major Findings. Rand Corp., Santa Monica, Calif. National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. RANN Program. R-1582/2-NSF Feb 75 192p.; For the executive summary, see CE 004 054 The Rand Corporation, 1700 Main Street, Santa Monica, California 90406 ($7.00)

MF-$0.76 ac-$9.51 PLUS POSTAGE N Adult Programs; Adults; Bibliographies; *Career Change; Employee Attitudes; Federal Progr s; Foreign Countries; Job Satisfaction; *Literature Reviews; Manpower Needs; Manpower Utilization; *Middle Aged; Occupational Aspiration; Policy Formation; *Retraining; Special Programs; *Vocational Adjustment; Work Attitudes

ABSTRACT The report evaluates some 300 items of literature

dealing With programs for mid-life career redirection. A 20-page introductory chapter presents background information, a general description of target groups, and suggestions for further research in mid-life redirection of careers. Part one, Mid-Life Redirectors: Sources and Opportunities, contains chapters on aspiration and dissatisfaction among workers, trainingspotential among older workers, and using manpower forecasts in, career redirection planning, and suggest that as people grow older they tend to seek movement from data- and materials-oriented jobs to people-oriented jobs. Part two, Manpower and Educational Programs: The Experience, contains chapters on government programs, employer-sponsored programs, union-sponsored retraining programs, foreign programs, and special redirection efforts, and suggests that existing education and manpower programs provide many of the components necessary for career redirection. Part three, Synthesis and Implications for Policy, (1) summarizes the lessons from the literature, concluding that the potential for mid-life career redirection in the American work force is virtually untapped; and (2 makes recommendations for policymakers, sketching a, spectrum of experimental pilot progralas al various scale and coverage, intent'ed to meet the shortcomings of existing programs. Every chapter Int one contains a bibliography. (JR)

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AN EVALUATION OF POLICY RELATED RESEARCH ON PROGRAMS FOR MID-LIFE CAREER REDIRECTION:

iN- VOL. II --MAJOR FINDINGScT

ca PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SCIENCHOUNDATION

La ANTHONY H. PASCAL DURAN BELL LAURENCE A. DOUGHARTY WILLIAM L. DUNN VELMA MONTOYA THOMPSON WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY LAWRENCE S. OLSON

I I AND LINDA 1: PRUSOFF

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EDUCATION 111(5 OOCNME NT .14, BEEN REPRO OUCED /SA, it Y RECEIVED 1ROM THE PFR,GN OR ORGAN,! I ION ORIGIN AT ING IT v if Vs OR OPINIONS SIA TED DU NOT NFLE SSARILY REPRE SENT 01 CIAL N. I ONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY

The research described in this report was sponsored by the Division of Social Systems and Human Resources, Research Applied to National Needs pro- gram, National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C., under Contract No. NSF-C798. The views expressed herein are those of the researchers and should not be ascribed as 'views of the National Science Foundation.

Published by The Rand Corporation

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NANSEYALUATION OF POLICY RELATED RESEARCH ON PROGRAMS FOR MID-LIFE CAREER REDIRECTION:

VOL. II-MAJOR FINDINGS

PREPARED FOR THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

ANTHONY H. PASCAL DURAN BELL LAURENCE A. DOUGHARTY WILLIAM L. DUNN

VELMA MONTOYA THOMPSON WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY

LAWRENCE S. OLSON AND LINDA L. PRUSOFF

R-1582/2-NSF FEBRUARY 1975

Rand SANTA MONICA, CA. 90406

PREFACE

This report is an evaluation of the existing literature on mid-life redirection of careers. It was written in response to an announcement issued by the Research Applied to National Needs program of the National Science Foundation, which called for literature reviews on some 40 subjects in the broad fields of human resources problems and municipal systems. Other-Rand groups, at the New York City-Rand Institute and in Rand's Washington Office, produced reportg on citizen participation in urban affairs and on fire services.'

The report is truly a joint effort. Though,extensive intergroup consultation occurred during the course ofthe study, individual authors were responsible for each of the chapters. Our companion report, R-1582/1-NSF, Volume I, Executive Sum- mary, is a condensed and abbreviated version of the present volume.

A number of people other than the main authors made important contributions to the report: Chapter 5 is based partly on earlier work by Rand consultant Law- rence S. Olson. Linda Prusoff of Rand's Management SCiences Department lent valuable assistance in organizing, expediting, and amending the report. Robert Klitgaard of Rand's Economics Department reviewed the manuscript and enabled us to make significant improvements in its nd and Albert Williams, also of the Economics Department, suppliedhelpful advice. Lynn Dolins, program officer at NSF and the monitor of our priaject, rendered very valuable suggestions for revising the.report and supported our efforts with unflagging en- thusiasm and understanding.

We organized a Policy Advisory Committee to help us in making our report relevant to the needs of public officials. Two meetings were held; the advice of committee members proved highly useful. They were:

Allan Cartter School of Education UCLA

David Cohen Center for Educational Policy Research Harvard University

John B. Davis, Jr. Superintendent of Schools Minneapolis

raul Delker Director, Division of Adult Education U.S. Office of Education

' H. K. Yin and D. Yates, StreetLevel Governments: Assessing Decentralization and Urban Services. R1527NSF. October 1974, and A J. Swersey. Fire Protection (forthcoming).

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Abraham Friedman Assistant Superintendent' Division of Career and Continuing Education Los Angeles City Schools

William B. Hewitt Acting Director Office of Policy Evaluation and Research U.S. Department of Labor

Mary Hilton Women's Bureau U.S. Department of Labor

Carol Karasik American Vocational Education

II Research Association

Teresa Levitin Adult Career Education Group, National Institute of Education

Anna Lee Moore Department of Employment State of California

Ewald B. Nyquist Commissioner of Education University of the State of New York

Donald L. Rathbun Associate Director American Vocational Association

Martin Rein Department of Urban Planning MIT

Howard Rosen Director of Research, Manpower Administration U.S. Department of Labor

Eleanor B. Sheldon President Social Science Research Council

Thomas Walsh Executive Director Education Manpower Development Commission U.S. Chamber of Commerce

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Charles Z. Wilson Vice Chancellor for Academic Programs UCLA

The authors of this report, of course, retain ultimate responsibility for any failings or infelicities that remain.

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Foreword

RELATED RESEARCH SUPPORTED BY THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

This evaluation of policy-related research on mid-life redirection of careers is

one of 20 in a serifs of projects on the Evaluation of Policy-Related Research in the

Field of Human Resources funded by the Division of Social Systems and Human Resources in the Research Applied to National, Needs (RANN) Prograrti of the

National Science Foundation. A large body of policy-related research on human resources has been created

over the last quarter century. However, its usefulness to decisionmakers has been

limited because it has lot been evaluated comprehensively with respect to technical

quality, usefulness to policymakers, and potential for codification and wider diff'u-

sion. In addition, this research has been hard to locate and not easily accessible. Therefore, systematic and rigorous evaluations of this research are requited to provide syntheses of evaluated information for use by public agencies at all levels

of government and to aid in the planning and definition of researckprograms. Recognizing these needs, the Division of Social Systems and Human Resources

' issued a Program Solicitation in January 1973 for proposals to evaluate policy-

related research in various categories in the field of human resources. This competi-

tion resulted in 20 awards in June 1973. Each of the projects was to (1) evaluate the internal validity of each study by

determining whether the research used appropriate methods and data to deal with/

the questions asked; (2) evaluate the external validity of the research by determining

whether the results were credible in the light of other valid policy-related research;

(3) evaluate the policy utility of specific studies or sets of studies bearing on given

policy instruments; (4) provide decisionmakers, including research funders, with an

assessed res