(Reprinted from the October 2011 issue of the CGS Communicator)

The results of the latest CGS/GRE Survey of Graduate Enrollment and Degrees, released in September, revealed that first-time graduate enrollment in the broad field of education fell sharply by 8.3% between fall 2009 and fall 2010 (Council of Graduate Schools, 2011). This decline was the largest of any broad field in 2010 and is particularly concerning since about 20% of all first-time graduate students are enrolled in education. This article provides a closer examination of the decline in first-time graduate enrollment that occurred in education in fall 2010, exploring variations by field of study, attendance status, race/ethnicity, degree level, and gender.

As shown in Table 1, first-time graduate enrollment fell in 2010 in most fields of study within the broad field of education. Declines between fall 2009 and fall 2010 were particularly steep in secondary education (-16%.1), elementary education (-14.9%), and education administration (-12.9%). The only two fields of study to experience gains in first-time graduate enrollment in fall 2010 were higher education (8.7%) and early childhood education (0.6%), but these are two of the smallest fields of study, accounting for just 4.3% of all first-time enrollees in education.  Despite the one-year decline, first-time graduate enrollment increased 3.3% annually on average over the past decade, with growth in all fields of study except elementary education and early childhood education. 

Much of the decline in first-time graduate enrollment in the broad field of education between 2009 and 2010 was driven by a steep drop in part-time enrollment. Overall, part-time enrollment among first-time graduate students fell 13.1% in education in fall 2010, compared with a 2.8% decline in full-time enrollment (see Table 2). By field of study, declines in part-time enrollment among first-time graduate students were particularly steep in student counseling and personnel services (-25.0%), elementary education (-22.1%), and secondary education (-21.7%). Declines in first-time graduate enrollment were greater for part-time enrollees than full-time enrollees across all fields of study within education. For example, part-time enrollment fell 15.3% among first-time enrollees in education administration, compared with a 7.6% decline in full-time enrollment. Only in higher education did both full-time and part-time first-time graduate enrollment increase, with gains of 8.7% and 8.6%, respectively.

Declines in first-time graduate enrollment in the broad field of education were particularly large for Blacks/African Americans and American Indians/Alaskan Natives between 2009 and 2010, with decreases of 17.7% and 16.8% respectively (see Table 3). These declines are concerning since 25.4% of Black/African American and 23.4% of American Indian/Alaskan Native first-time enrollees in fall 2010 were in the broad field of education. The declines are also troubling because Blacks/African Americans are more highly represented in education than in most other broad fields; they comprised 10.5% of all U.S. citizen and permanent resident first-time enrollees in education in fall 2010, a share that was second only to the share they enjoyed in public administration and services (15.8%).

In every single field of study within education in fall 2010, Blacks/African Americans or American Indians/Alaskan Natives experienced the largest decline. For example, the largest decline in education administration was a 30.0% decrease for Blacks/African Americans, and the largest drop in curriculum and instruction was a 27.0% decrease for American Indians/Alaskan Natives. While relatively large decreases sometimes reflect the normal enrollment fluctuations that occur with small populations of students, the overall declines for these populations of students compared with their Hispanic/Latino and Asian/Pacific Islander counterparts are concerning. Also troubling is the 7.0% decline for White students, since they comprised two-thirds (65.8%) of all U.S. citizen and permanent resident first-time enrollees in education in fall 2010.

The majority (90.9%) of all first-time graduate students in the broad field of education are enrolled at the master’s degree or graduate certificate level. This level also includes students enrolled in education specialist programs. Just 9.1% of all first-time graduate students in education are enrolled at the doctoral level. Between 2009 and 2010, first-time graduate enrollment decreased more at the doctoral level (-10.1%) than at the master’s/graduate certificate level (-8.1%), but no strong patterns were observed by field of study and degree level. For example, first-time graduate enrollment fell 15.2% at the master’s/graduate certificate level in education administration, but only dropped 2.4% at the doctoral level in this field of study. In contrast, first-time graduate enrollment fell 1.6% at the master’s/graduate certificate level in educational assessment, evaluation, and research, but dropped 17.9% at the doctoral level. And in curriculum and instruction, first-time graduate enrollment fell by a similar amount at both the master’s/graduate certificate and doctoral levels (3.9% and 4.0%, respectively).

Finally, first-time graduate enrollment fell slightly more for women than for men in the broad field of education between 2009 and 2010 (-8.6% and -6.9%, respectively). This is important to note since women comprised about three-quarters (74.7%) of all first-time enrollees in education in fall 2010. As with first-time graduate enrollment by degree level, no strong patterns were observed by field of study and gender, with decreases by field of study sometimes greater for men and sometimes greater for women.

This closer examination of the data reveals that the overall decline in first-time graduate enrollment in the broad field of education in fall 2010 was driven mainly by a combination of three factors: a sharp drop in part-time enrollment; decreases in secondary education, elementary education, and education administration; and declines for Blacks/African Americans, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, and Whites. The recession is likely at the root of this decline. Since most graduate students in education are self-funded or employer-funded, we can surmise that the decrease in first-time graduate enrollment in education in fall 2010 reflects the hesitancy of prospective students to take on debt or to leave jobs for graduate school and an uncertain future, the hesitancy of employers to pay for graduate school for employees, and austere local and state budgets that affected the job market and support for continuing education for teachers.

By Nathan E. Bell, Director, Research and Policy Analysis