Seong Ji Jeong

Seong Ji Jeong, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Workforce Education and Development (WFED) in the Department of Learning and Performance Systems in the College of Education at the Pennsylvania State University. Her scholarly focus centers on understanding how education and training can unlock human potential in a rigid labor market structure, particularly for individuals navigating life transitions under vulnerable situations. Her research interests include school-to-work transitions, career transitions and trajectories, the aging workforce, and workplace development program and policies. Particularly, she is interested in investigating organizational and institutional measures to support individuals’ smooth career transition. In her research and teaching, she employs a variety of quantitative methods using large-scale survey datasets and state-wide administrative datasets. 

Her academic excellence can be found in high-impact peer-reviewed journals such as Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, the Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, and Korean scholarly journals such as the Quarterly Journal of Labor Policy, Social Welfare Studies, and Career Education Research. She has presented in renowned academic conferences, including Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), American Education Research Association (AERA), Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), and Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM). She serves on the editorial board of Career Technical Education Research and Journal of Career and Technical Education and the executive board in Korean American Lifelong Learning Education.

Dr. Jeong holds an M.Ed. and a Ph.D. with a major in vocational education and workforce development from Seoul National University, South Korea. Prior to joining the Penn State College of Education faculty, she was a postdoctoral scholar in the Ohio Education Research Center at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs and a lecturer in the Quantitative Research, Evaluation and Measurement Program at the College of Education and Human Ecology at the Ohio State University.

Areas of Expertise

• Career transitions and trajectories
• School-to-work transition
• Education-occupation mismatches
• Training and development
• Workforce development program evaluation
• Aging workforce
• Agricultural entrepreneurship
• Quantitative methods
• Quasi-experimental design

Current/Recent Teaching 

• WFED 560 History and Philosophy of Workforce Education and Development
• WFED 540 Data analysis in Workforce Education and Development

Recent Selected Publications 

1. Jeong, S. J., Choi, S. J., & Hawley, J. D. (2024). How can urban middle-aged participants increase their agricultural entrepreneurship volition during COVID-19? Evidence from South Korea. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 30(1), 69–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2022.2153886 

2. Jeong, S. J., Choi, S. J., & Hawley, J. (2023). Mid-Aged Adults’ Career Trajectories and Late-Life Financial Security: A Sequence Analysis Approach. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. https://doi.org/10.1332/175795921X16843342371110

3. Jeong, S. J. & Ha, J. (2023). Unraveling the Relationship of the Main Job Retirement Events of Aged Adults and Work-abilities. Quarterly Journal of Labor Policy, 23(3), 67-93.  http://doi.org/10.22914/jlp.2023.23.3.003 (Korean)

4. Jeong, S. J. (2022). Identification and Exploration of Agricultural Entrepreneurship Preparation Patterns using Latent Class Analysis. Journal of Agricultural Extension & Community Development, 29(2), 111-129. http://doi.org/10.12653/jecd.2022.29.2.0111 (Korean)

5. Jeong, S. J. & Choi, S. J. (2022). Measuring Agricultural Entrepreneurship: Instrument Development and Validation.  Journal of Agricultural Education and Human Resource Development. 54(1). 1-26. http://doi.org/10.23840/agehrd.2022.54.1.1 (Korean)

6. Jeong, S. J., Ha, J. Y., & Kim, G. H. (2021). Analysis of the Relationship Between Farmers’ Performance and Satisfaction with Farming Education, Achievement of Farming Education, and Field Application by Applying Double-mediated Analysis. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Human Resource Development, 53(3), 77-100. http://doi.org/10.23840/agehrd.2021.53.3.77 (Korean)

7. Park, B. & Jeong, S. J. (2021). A Study on Activation of Online Youth Public Employment Service Using Digital Nudging Strategy. The Journal of Learner-Centered Curriculum and Instruction, 21(15), 19-37. (Korean)

8. Jeong, S. J. & Choi, S. J. (2021). An Analysis of the Progressive Retirement Process of Middle-aged Men: Focusing on the Period of Retirement and Job Stability. The Journal of Vocational Education Research, 40(2), 71-94. https://doi.org/10.37210/JVER.2021.40.2.71 (Korean)

9. Jeong, S. J. & Ma, S. J. (2021). What Determines the Rural In-migrants’ Adaptation to Rural Communities? Focusing on Motivation for Rural In-migration and Job Satisfaction. Journal of Agricultural Education and Human Resource Development,53(1), 1-27. https://doi.org/10.23840/agehrd.2021.53.1.1 (Korean)

10. Jeong, S. J. & Choi, S. J. (2020). Agricultural literacy in the context of agricultural education: A multilevel analysis of urban elementary school students and teachers in South Korea. Journal of agricultural education and extension, 26(4), 401-419. http://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2020.1748670

Recent Selected Presentations and Papers

1. Jeong, S. J. (2024) The Education-Job Mismatch and Wage Penalties Focusing on the Manufacturing Workforce. 2024 Association of Career and Technical Education Conference. December 2-3, San Antonio, Texas, US. https://easychair.org/smart-slide/slide/BnJT#

2. Lou. T., Jeong, S. J. Hawley, J., Barto. C. (2024). Evaluating Ohio’s Third-Grade Reading Guarantee Program with a Regression Discontinuity Design. 2024 Association of Public Policy and Management Fall Research Conference, National Harbor, Maryland, Nov 21-23, 2024. https://appam.confex.com/appam/2024/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/55285

3. Fuller, E., Jeong. S. J., Threeton, M. (2024). Teacher Quality, Attrition, and Turnover in Pennsylvania Career and Technical Centers. Conference on Integrated Learning: The School-to-Career Connection. Nov 6-8, State College, Pennsylvania, US.

4. Jeong, S. J. (2024). Cross-national Variation in the Effect of Education-Job Mismatch on Earnings: Educational and Labor Market Institutions. 2024 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, April 11-14, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. https://doi.org/10.3102/IP.24.2102842. 

5. Jeong, S. J. (2024). The Moderating Effect of Workplace Learning on the Relationship Between Field-of-Study Mismatch and Workforce Outcomes.The 68th Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference. March 11, Miami, Florida, US. Click here for slides

6. Jeong, S. J. (2024). Alleviating Wage Penalties on Education-Job Mismatch: The Educational Institution Perspective. The 38th Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum. March 1, Columbus, Ohio, US. (1st winner)

7. Jeong, S. J. (2024). Alleviating the Wage Penalty for Horizontal Mismatch: Focusing on Formal and Informal Workplace Learning. 2024 Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) International Research Conference. February 21-24, Virginia, US. Click here for slides

8. Jeong, S. J., Hawley, J. (2023). Exploring the Relationship Between CTE Interventions and Employment: Does Vocational Education Lead to Decent Work? 2023 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, US, April 13-16, 2023. http://doi.org/10.3102/IP.23.2006007. 

9. Jeong, S. J., Hawley, J. (2023). Pursuing Successful Transition to Decent Work of Vocational High School Graduates in Korea: Comparing Specialized versus Meister Schools. 67th Annual Meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society. Washington D.C., US, February 18-22, 2023. Click here for slides

    

Research Programs

Dr. Jeong’s research programs center around four primary avenues of inquiry:

1. Mitigating Wage Penalties of Education-Occupation Mismatches 

Jeong’s research explores strategies to mitigate the negative effects of education–occupation mismatches through organizational and institutional support. While much of the existing literature focuses on the consequences of these mismatches, her research shifts the focus toward practical solutions, emphasizing workplace learning as a key mitigating mechanism. Drawing on international datasets, her work demonstrates that workplace learning and skill utilization can effectively reduce wage penalties associated with field-of-study mismatches. 

Expanding on this perspective, another research examines how cross-national variation of the education systems and labor market institutions influence mismatch-related wage penalties. The findings indicate that countries with stronger vocational education systems and active labor market programs experience significantly lower wage penalties for mismatched workers. These insights underscore the importance of enhancing vocational education in schools and strengthening public-sector workforce development programs, particularly to support temporary workers, women, and immigrants—groups that are disproportionately affected by mismatches.

2. School-to-Work Transition: Career and Technical Education and Pathways to Decent Work

Jeong’s research also focuses on career and technical education (CTE) systems and practices that facilitate students’ transition into the workforce. Using the International Labor Organization’s concept of “decent work,” her study examines how vocational education strategies influence the career pathways of vocational high school graduates. By analyzing patterns of workforce entry and job quality, this research provides evidence-based insights into the vocational education strategies that most effectively support students across various career clusters in achieving stable and fulfilling employment.

3. Lottery-Based Admissions in Career and Technical Education

As enrollments in Ohio’s career and technical education (CTE) schools continue to grow, many institutions are adopting lottery-based admissions for oversubscribed programs to ensure equitable access, as outlined in Perkins V. Hawley, Zirkle, Lou, and Thompson, and Jeong are conducting a project funded by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to examine lottery-based admissions in stand-alone CTE schools across the state. This study seeks to understand how selective CTE schools implement lottery-based admissions through surveys and implementation studies. Additionally, by linking survey data with Ohio’s administrative records, the project investigates whether the lottery system influences students’ labor market and postsecondary outcomes. This research will provide valuable insights into equitable admission practices and their long-term impact on student success.

4. Smoothing Work to Retirement Transition of the Aging workforce

Jeong, Hawley, and Choi’s research focuses on understanding and improving career transition processes and outcomes for marginalized populations, particularly in extending the employment of an aging workforce. For older adults, re-employment is often driven by insufficient pension benefits and financial uncertainty, particularly following involuntary retirement.Our empirical study identifies six career trajectory patterns of aged workers in Seoul over nearly five decades and highlights that aligning jobs for reemployment with individuals’ prior career histories was key to increasing the probability of following stable career patterns and sustaining financial stability. 

Jeong’s research on aged adults’ career transition has extended to a specific context: agricultural entrepreneurship. Her doctoral work investigated the learning experiences for urban-aged individuals who pursued agricultural entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that their limited digital literacy made it challenging to enhance agricultural entrepreneurship volition in a sudden shift to online learning. This study advances our understanding of psychological and behavioral processes involved in older adults’ career transitions to agricultural entrepreneurship.