Zoomer College Student School Boomerang Boomer Lifestyle Trend Demko

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School Still Cool say Boomerang Coeds AKA "Zoomers"
Professor David J. Demko, PhD
AgeVenture News Service

Now, there's three things certain in life. Death, taxes, and trends set by boomers. Yep, they're at it again. The boomers are changing yet another American institution, the college campus. America's 80 million baby boomers have such an affect on society that just about everything they do becomes a trend. And some of the trends they set are so new and precedent-setting that you've got to invent new terms just to describe what the boomers are up to. I call this trend "boomerang coeds". And from the look on the faces of those table-top dancers (photo), they're glad to be boomeranging back.

That's right. Remember the time way back when the most joyous occasion in life was "school's out for ever". Why that very phrase catapulted songwriter Alice Cooper to cult status when his "School's Out For Ever" song hit the airwaves and tapped the pulse of baby boomer sentiment at that time. Well, as yet another songwriter liked to say, "The times are a'chang'in". Just when you think you've figured out the boomer mind, the boomers don't mind fooling you. In this case, they've done another classic boomer about-face. They're heading back to school. I wonder if professors will be glad to see'm?

Researchers at the University of Michigan (Go Wolverines) provide some interesting insights on which boomers are returning to school, and why they're coming back. Take a look. An empty nest is not nearly as powerful as a divorce in leading midlife women to start or finish a college education. That's one of the findings of a University of Michigan study of factors influencing the chances that men and women between the ages of 35 and 53 will start college or finish earning a college degree. "The transitions which have the strongest effects on a woman's return to school are connected to changes in her marital status, not her childbearing history," says U-M sociologist Deborah Carr.

Older, "non-traditional" students comprise a rapidly growing share of college enrollment, Carr points out. National statistics show that between 1970 and 1990, enrollment of full-time students age 25 and older grew by 164 percent, compared with just 18 percent among younger students. "The increase is even more marked for women and for students age 40 and older," Carr notes. "The number of female college students age 25 and older increased by 477 percent between 1970 and 1990, and the number of students age 40 and older increased by 235 percent."

In addition to divorce, Carr and co-author Jennifer Sheridan, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin, examined the effect of several other common, midlife family and work transitions, including the death of a spouse, remarriage, having one's youngest child start school at age 6, having an "empty nest" when one's youngest child leaves home at age 18, taking care of an ailing or aging family member or friend, and involuntary loss of one's career or longest-held job.

Among the key findings:

Fourth decade of life is a turning point
Most of those who went back to school did so in their 40s. Most were women.
Divorced or widowed women most likely to return
These women were 1.5 times as likely as other women to return to school.
Spouse's education significant influence
Women whose husbands had some postgraduate education are most likely to return.
Military experience significant return factor for men
Military men 4 times more likely than non-military to return. 12 times more likely to get late-life degree.
Business ownership affects men and women in opposite ways
Man's chances of return decrease while woman's chances increased.
Number of children a positive factor
Women with more children mostly likely to go to college at midlife. Each child increases chances by 9%.
"The general assumption that men's lives are more rigid, while women's are more flexible is supported by this study's findings," notes Carr. "Given a reduction in the number of years spent bearing and rearing children, and an increase in the number of 'healthy' years experienced by women in late adulthood, women and men may have many more years to spend in work and educational roles," says Carr.

What, exactly, can we make of all this boomerang coed stuff? Guess it's time to pull Alice out of retirement and press him to pen yet another ballad for our times. This time it's "School's Cool For Ever". Okay, maybe it won't sell a million copies. But you did hear it first here at AgeVenture.
Photo credit: AgeVenture News Service, Boca Raton, Florida.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
Boomer Couples Cling to Role Stereotypes
Ziglar Helps Boomers Become Zoomers
Boomers Drive Adventure Travel Trend
Boomer Retirement: hell no, we won't go
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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David Demko reports on lifestyle issues and trends in Aging America. Submit reader comments to: demko@demko.com This column may be used, free-of-charge, by print and broadcast journalists with press credentials. Use the following attribution: "David Demko, AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com

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