David Bills, Professor & Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Graduate Programs

Contact Information

N491 Lindquist Center

Educational Policy, and Leadership Studies

College of Education

The University of Iowa

Iowa City IA 52242 USA

Affiliations within the College

• Social Foundations Program

Research Interests

I concentrate my research on social inequality and social stratification, with a focus on the articulation between educational institutions, labor markets, and the workplace. It proceeds along three interrelated strands. These are:

1. the demand side of labor markets and "job matching"
2. changes in the world of work
3. schools and socioeconomic inequality.

Some specific research projects:

The Evaluation of Educational Credentials in Hiring and Promotion Decisions

The purpose of this research is to investigate the role of organizations in social stratification by examining the practices and policies of employers pertaining to hiring and promotion decisions. This research began with a grant from the National Science Foundation. This study consisted of six case studies of Chicago organizations, both public and private. I have extended this work with several smaller grants.

Participation in Adult Education: Results from the National Household Education Survey

I am researching the participation of American adults in various forms of adult education. I am particularly interested in the support they receive from their employers for their participation, and in patterns of course-taking for personal development rather than economic reasons.

The Sociology of Job Training

I recently edited Volume 12 (2003) of the JAI series Research in the Sociology of Work. The theme of this volume is "The Sociology of Job Training." Please refer to http://www.sociology.ohio-state.edu/work/volume12-training.htm for more information.

Franchising, Displaced Managers, and the Transformation of Self-Employment

The purpose of this project is to examine how differences in the employment and educational histories of franchise owners lead to differences in their ability to use various skills at work and in their self-definitions as entrepreneurs and community members. The study grows out of extensive fieldwork that I have conducted on Iowa franchisors and franchisees.

Professional Organization Memberships

• American Sociological Association
• Midwest Sociological Society
• International Sociological Association Research Committee on Social Stratification and Mobility
• Southern Sociological Society

Recent Publications

• Bills, David B.  2008. “Applying Workplace Models of Learning in Social Science Computer Labs.” Applied Social Science 2: 66-76.
• Bills, David B. and Randy Hodson. 2007. “Worker Training: A Review, Critique, and Extension.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 25: 258-272.
• Bills, David B. and James E. Rosenbaum. 2007. “Schooling and Economic Success.”  Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology.  (George Ritzer, ed).
• Bills, David B. (ed.). 2005. The Shape of Social Stratification: Papers in Honor of Archibald Haller.  Social Stratification and Mobility volume 22. Elsevier Publishing. 
• Bills, David B. 2005. “Participation in Work-Related Education: Variations in Skill Enhancement Among Workers, Employers, and Occupational Closure.”  Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 23: 67-102.
• Bills, David B. 2004. The Sociology of Education and Work.  London: Blackwell Publishers.
• Bills, David B. 2003. “Credentials, Signals, and Screens.” Explaining the Relationship between Schooling and Job Assignment.” Review of Educational Research 73: 441-469.
• Bills, David B. (ed). 2003. The Sociology of Job Training. Research in the Sociology of Work, volume 12, Elsevier Publishing.
• Bills, David B. and Mary Ellen Wacker.  2003. “Acquiring Credentials When Signals Don’t Matter: Employer Support of Employees Who Pursue Vocational Degrees.” Sociology of Education 76:170-187.

Courses typically taught

• 07B:101 Professional Seminar: Social Foundations
• 07B:130 Educational Sociology
• 07B:134 Education & the World of Work
• 07B:150 Education and Gender
• 07B:154 Education, Race, & Ethnicity
• 07B:176 Demographic Techniques for Educational Research
• 07B:210 Education and Social Change
• 07B:240 Sociological Perspectives on Educational Policy and Reform