Research Report

This research report presents in-depth findings from a national study conducted by Hattaway Communications on behalf of the Pathways and Workforce Funders Group (PWF). The report explores how learners, parents, and employers understand and experience non-degree education pathways. Drawing on survey data from more than 3,000 participants—including high school students, young adults, parents, and hiring managers—it offers a comprehensive look at attitudes toward education and career training options beyond a four-year degree.

The findings reveal widespread support for pathways programs, shared motivations across audiences, and critical gaps in perceived accessibility, language, and relevance. The report also identifies communication challenges and provides actionable recommendations for practitioners, funders, and advocates to strengthen messaging, improve access, and increase enrollment.

The State of the Future U.S. Workforce: Student Ability Report analyzes anonymized data from the YouScience Discovery aptitude-based career guidance assessments taken in U.S. high schools (grades 9 through 12) across all 50 states in 2021. They outline our findings and suggest solutions that address the challenge in a holistic, practical way in this report.

High school graduates no longer see the traditional 4-year college pathway as their only postsecondary option, according to the latest research from YouScience®. This report contains insights into pathways students are choosing instead, where they turn for influence and guidance, and where there are opportunities for improvement. The report includes data and solutions for:

• Career and Technical Education (CTE) awareness.
• Post-graduation satisfaction.
• Educator/student interactions.
• Counselor impact.
• Aptitude discovery.

Pathways Narrative is a cohort-based pilot project focused on the education and career pathways space. Each of the nine organizations in the cohort works with dedicated strategists from Wonder: Strategies for Good to develop a narrative change research project that aligns with and advances the organization’s goals. Get to know the cohort partners here, and explore the many possible approaches to narrative change.

To better understand Gen Z’s unique perspectives, Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation have partnered to gather opinions directly from members of Gen Z and to track those opinions and experiences over time. This nationally representative, multiyear study of thousands of members of Gen Z between the ages of 12 and 26 gives policymakers and researchers an invaluable resource for not only understanding this generation’s needs, but for making data-driven decisions to address them.

Based on research from the Postsecondary Value Commission, this interactive data tool puts the power of the Value Framework at your fingertips, equipping you with data on the economic value that institutions deliver to their students.

This study offers new insights about value community colleges provide and the range of needs that they serve. It examines recent community college students' motivations for enrolling, and their self-reported perceptions of the value of their education and training experiences, and the degree to which they acheived their goals for enrolling.

In 2023, SHRM Foundation commissioned Topos Foundation to investigate the effectiveness of various framing, language, and argumentation deployed in an ongoing effort, by SHRM Foundation and many other partners, to promote hiring that puts less emphasis on academic degrees and considers all the ways job candidates may be qualified for a position. This report contains valuable insights into effectively communicating the case for skills-first hiring with the broadest audience.

This is a report containing the results of a study on new approaches in higher education, funded by the Charles Kock Foundation.