The Economic Policy Institute has long documented the expanding pay penalty faced by teachers in the K-12 system thanks to decades of underinvestment in public education. But teachers are not the only ones who have been undervalued: Many other school staff--who are essential for providing high-quality, safe, and nurturing learning…

We live in an era of STEM obsession. Not only do tech companies dominate American enterprise and economic growth while complaining of STEM shortages, but we also need scientific solutions to impending crises. As a society, we have poured enormous resources--including billions of dollars--into cultivating young minds for well-paid STEM careers. Yet…

The aim of the present article is to purpose new career counselling perspectives for vulnerable workers in the time of COVID-19 recession. We summarize perspectives on vulnerable workers following a recently advanced taxonomy on the work precarity framework characterized by three broad categories: precarity of work (i.e. fear and concern…

The conclusion of 2024 state legislative sessions brought news of additional measures to limit higher education institutions' ability to offer initiatives focused on creating inclusion and belonging. In addition, and of particular impact on Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) members, several states and institutions that…

Significant world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have shifted the way that people of all ages view their careers and the meaning of work in their lives. While campus career services hold a mandate to facilitate student career readiness and success, it cannot accomplish this ambitious goal alone. "Career influencers" are student…

The COVID-19 pandemic amplified existing inequities in higher education. This paper documents the stories of four precariously employed communication instructors in their transition to emergency remote teaching in March 2020. Through collaborative autoethnography, the instructors share their stories of reliance and compliance within the gig…

The proportion of faculty who are appointed each year to tenure-line positions is declining at an alarming rate. Because faculty tenure is the only secure protection for academic freedom in teaching, research, and service, the declining percentage of tenured faculty means that academic freedom is increasingly at risk. Academic freedom is a…

As higher education emerges from COVID-19 restrictions, the post-pandemic transitional moment provides Catholic institutions the opportunity to reconsider their reliance on adjuncts in core curricula. As tenure-track positions decline nationwide and universities increasingly source out coursework to temporary or part-time adjuncts and other…

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMA), a public research university, has demonstrated a long-standing commitment to improving working conditions for non-tenure track faculty (NTTF) with a 20-year track record of progressive policies to improve the support for them. This commitment is manifested through a series of improvements in policies,…

Basic skills -- including literacy, numeracy, ESOL and digital skills -- are key to support adults' life chances and the need to invest in them is increasing. Investing in higher level and technical skills is important for economic recovery and future prosperity. But a sound base of basic skills are both essential in their own right and provide…

From February to April, New America conducted over 30 interviews with experts, care providers, and union representatives, focusing on three states. This report outlines key considerations for improving care worker job quality through organizing. We also include case studies on care worker organizing in California, Illinois, Washington, and the…