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The study of transfer in Canadian post-secondary education is a fractured terrain, with vast inter-provincial differences and deep schisms between participating communities. At the time of writing, there exists no comprehensive review that maps the predictors and associated outcomes of transfer in Canada, thus complicating the advancement of this sub-field. Drawing on a review of over 100 academic articles, policy reports, and institutional research documents produced from 1968 to 2020, we discuss the major findings of, methodological approaches to, and gaps within the existing quantitative transfer literature. Further, we outline challenges that Canadian researchers face as they attempt to emulate "best practices" used by international counterparts. In particular, we emphasize the need for the use of more robust administrative data linkages and enhanced methodological sophistication in Canadian quantitative transfer research.

While most doctoral students aspire to become a full-time professor, many graduates with doctoral degrees may instead be employed in temporary positions as university teachers or researchers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the extent to which these early employment experiences differ for doctoral graduates of various fields of study, using Canada as a case study. Drawing on Statistics Canada's 2013 National Graduates Survey, our results reveal that doctoral graduates of most fields, especially those with degrees in the sciences, arts, and humanities, are more likely to be in temporary forms of academic employment than they are as full-time professors, 3-to-4 years after graduation. The findings highlight the labor market realities facing doctoral graduates in the Canadian academic labor market. They should also be very informative to researchers and policy analysts in other countries where doctoral graduates experience similar challenges navigating academic job markets.

Various studies acknowledge the uncertainty many doctoral graduates face when beginning their search for full-time employment within the academic sector. Recent graduates face a job market where the likelihood of obtaining full-time permanent positions in academia is perceived to be declining, and the mobility of graduates within the sector is unclear. Drawing on Statistics Canada's 2013 National Graduates Survey, this paper assesses whether graduates who pursued a doctoral degree to become a full-time professor achieved their goal within three years of graduation. The results suggest that although a large portion of doctoral graduates pursued their degrees to become fulltime professors, relatively few reported obtaining such positions within three years of graduation, regardless of field of study.

Despite several decades of postsecondary expansion, new research finds youth from northern and rural areas in Canada still experience difficulties making the transition to postsecondary education, and those who do attend take longer to do so. Proximity, we argue, may also have a considerable impact on one's field selection, as many of Canada's larger universities and colleges, who offer considerably more program and degree options, tend to be concentrated in large, urban centers, and in the southern regions of Canada's provinces. This study draws on Cycles 1-4 of Statistics Canada's Youth in Transition Survey -- Cohort A to examine regional inequalities in accessing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields at both the university and non-university levels. Indeed, our findings suggest that location of residence does impact field choices, as students from northern and rural areas were less likely to enter STEM as well as non-STEM, university programs.

Government-sponsored student loans have emerged over the decades as a primary method of financing post-secondary education across most North American jurisdictions. Despite this, the empirical literature examining the correlates of repayment difficulty and default in Canada has remained stagnant in recent years. This study taps into an underutilised data source--the 2013 National Graduates Survey--to examine the relationship between demographics, human capital, borrowing behaviour and other known predictors and repayment difficulty. Our logistic regression models demonstrate that disability status, geographic region and borrowing behaviour are correlated with loan default and repayment difficulty, while failing to verify the existence of other demographic effects routinely found in the existing literature. We discuss the implications of these findings, along with multiple avenues for further empirical work on this topic within Canada.

Ontario's Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities is currently attempting to increase institutional differentiation within that province's postsecondary education system. We contend that such policies aimed to trigger organizational change are likely to generate unanticipated responses. Using insights from the field of organizational studies, we anticipate four plausible responses from universities to the ministry's directives: remaining sensitive to their market demand, ceremonial compliance, continued status seeking, and isomorphism. We provide several policy recommendations that might help the ministry overcome these possible barriers to further differentiation.

Brain drain is an increasingly important concern for local governments in northern communities in Canada in maintaining and enhancing human capital levels to sustain vibrant economies and communities. Researchers, however, have yet to examine the magnitude of north-south out-migration nor do we know the characteristics of youth who are likely to relocate. Our study contributes to this knowledge gap by employing multiple waves from Statistics Canada's Youth in Transition Survey (Cohort A) linked to each youth's reading scores from the Programme for International Student Assessment (measured at age 15), and longitudinally to their tax filer information until age 30 (T1 Family Files). La fuite des cerveaux est une preoccupation de plus en plus importante pour les gouvemements locaux des collectivites du Nord du Canada dans le maintien et ['amelioration des niveaux de capital humain afin de soutenir des economies et des collectivites dynamiques. Toutefois, les chercheurs n'ont pas encore examine l'ampleur de l'emigration nord-sud et nous ne connaissons pas non plus les caracteristiques des jeunes susceptibles de demenager. Notre etude contribue k ce manque de connaissances en utilisant de multiples ondes de l'Enquete sur les jeunes en transition (cohorte A) de Statistique Canada liees aux resultats de lecture de chaque jeune du Programme international de lecture du suivi des eleves (mesures d l'age de 15 ans), et longitudinalement a leurs informations de declarant jusqu'd l'age 30 (T1 Family Files)., BRAIN DRAIN--THE LOSS of highly trained or educated individuals from a region--is a concern for northern communities in Canada. The loss of young people from northern to southern, urban centers [...]

Despite improved access in expanded postsecondary systems, the great majority of bachelor's degree graduates are taking considerably longer than the allotted four years to complete their four-year degrees. Taking longer to finish one's BA has become so pervasive in the United States that it has become the norm for official statistics released by the Department of Education to report graduation rates across a six-year window. While higher education scholars have increasingly explored how social class impacts college dropout, attrition, and completion, they have yet to examine the role social class plays in completing a four-year bachelor's degree on time. In this paper, we draw on the most recent cohort of the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Survey (2008-2009) to examine who completes their bachelor's degrees on time. Our results indicate that despite controlling for academic performance, educational behaviors, program characteristics, and institutional characteristics, graduates from lower socioeconomic backgrounds do experience difficulties completing their degrees on time. Moreover, our results also reveal that the nature of these relationships vary for traditional and nontraditional students. Our findings highlight another important, albeit less obvious, way where inequality is maintained in expanded postsecondary systems.

The relationship between geography and early transfer behavior has received limited empirical attention. In this study, we track six cohorts of university and community college entrants to examine differences in the early pathways they travel through Ontario post‐secondary education (PSE), paying particular attention to how transfer pathway uptake by students in the province's rural north might vary from those in the more urbanized southern regions. Overall, we observe only modest regional differences in early transfer pathway uptake, with parental income proving to be a more constituent predictor of transfer. However, we do find more sizable net regional differences in the propensity that students will drop out within two years of entering PSE, with northern students being significantly more at risk of leaving PSE in their early years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New postsecondary graduates seeking entry into the Canadian workforce may experience more favourable labour market outcomes if they augment their education with job-related training. Employers, looking for new ways of differentiating among equally credentialed prospects, may prefer job candidates with practical training. These new realities have led to a steady increase in the availability and popularity of cooperative education programmes in Canadian colleges and universities. Few existing studies, however, have sought to examine whether or not earnings premiums or employment advantages exist for coop graduates. This paper compares the earnings and employment outcomes of postsecondary graduates with coop credentials to those with traditional, non-coop credentials. Even once controlling for a number of factors, coop programmes provide the greatest advantage at the university level, particularly among male graduates. In terms of employment status, college males and university females experienced the greatest advantages to attending coop programmes. (Contains 3 tables, 6 figures and 17 notes.)

Canada's fear of future skill and labor shortages has brought youth with disabilities to the forefront of public policy. Many universities are now reporting that an increased proportion of their graduating students identify as having a disability, and as a result, educational achievement-based programs designed to accommodate students' needs are growing across campuses. Despite recent attention by policymakers on improving accessibility standards and increasing employer incentives, young Canadians with disabilities continue to face barriers in their transitions to the workforce. The nature and extent of the early workforce inequalities faced by postsecondary graduates with disabilities remains unclear. This paper draws on the 2005 cohort of Statistics Canada's National Graduates Survey to examine the early workforce outcomes of postsecondary graduates with disabilities. Contrary to theories of human capital, the results reveal significant earnings gaps between graduates with and without disabilities of various fields of study and levels of schooling. Further, graduates with a disability are even more disadvantaged in terms of securing employment, as they were significantly less likely to be employed full-time, and were overrepresented among unemployed and part-time workers across various fields of study and levels of postsecondary education. La crainte de futures penuries de competences et de travail du Canada ont rassemble des jeunes handicapes a l'avant-garde de la politique publique. De nombreuses universites declarent maintenant qu'une proportion accrue de leurs etudiants diplomes identifier comme ayant un handicap, et, par consequent, les programmes bases sur la reussite scolaire concues pour repondre aux besoins des etudiants sont de plus en plus dans les campus. Malgre la recente attention des decideurs politiques sur l'amelioration des normes d'accessibilite et d'accroitre les incitations de l'employeur, les jeunes Canadiens handicapes continuent de rencontrer des obstacles dans leur transition vers le marche du travail. La nature et l'ampleur des inegalites en matiere de main-d'oeuvre debut rencontrees par les diplomes de niveau postsecondaire handicapees reste incertaine. Ce document se appuie sur la cohorte de 2005 d'Enquete nationale aupres des diplomes (END) pour examiner les resultats de la main-d'oeuvre debut de diplomes handicapes de niveau postsecondaire. Contrairement aux theories du capital humain, les resultats revelent ecarts de remuneration importants entre les diplomes handicapes et non handicapes de divers domaines d'etudes et les niveaux de scolarite. En outre, les diplomes ayant un handicap sont encore plus desavantagees en termes d'obtenir un emploi, car ils etaient beaucoup moins susceptibles d'etre employes a plein temps, et etaient surrepresentes parmi les chomeurs et les travailleurs a temps partiel dans divers domaines d'etudes et les niveaux de l'education postsecondaire., INTRODUCTION CANADA'S FEAR OF FUTURE SKILL and labor shortages has brought youth with disabilities to the forefront of public policy. Despite the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, Canadian Human [...]

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L'acces aux universites prestigieuses, les mieux classees et dotees de ressources, quoique peu etudie, represente une dimension additionnelle des inegalites en education au Canada. La theorie de l'inegalite maintenue efficacement (IME) soutient que les groupes favorises vont dominer l'acces aux institutions les mieux classees peu importe le palier scolaire. Cet article teste cette hypothese en utilisant les donnees uniques de milliers d'eleves du Conseil Scolaire Public de Toronto (TDSB) qui ont ete suivis a partir de la neuvieme annee jusqu'a leur entree dans un etablissement postsecondaire. Ces donnees ont ensuite ete associees aux donnees de classement des universites, de leur revenu, de leurs depenses et de leurs fonds de dotation. Une serie de modeles statistiques a niveaux multiples indique que l'entree dans la hierarchie universitaire ontarienne tend a refleter les inegalites dans l'acces general aux universites. Les femmes, les etudiants d'origine asiatique, et les etudiants issus des quartiers ayant des statuts socio-economiques eleves sont plus susceptibles d'entrer dans les universites les mieux classees et dotees de ressources; tandis que les etudiants qui s'identifient comme Noirs et hommes, sont moins susceptibles d'entrer dans ces institutions. Les avantages du statut socio-economique eleve et de l'origine asiatique sont seulement partiellement expliques par les variables academiques comme variables mediatrices. Ceci suggere que le statut culturel joue un role dans l'elaboration du choix universitaire, alors que le sexe ainsi que les autres inegalites raciales sont dus en grande pattie aux processus du parcours academique. Access to highly ranked, prestigious, and well-resourced universities represents an additional yet understudied dimension of educational inequality in Canada. The theory of effectively maintained inequality contends that advantaged groups will dominate access to the best-positioned institutions within any credential tier. This paper tests this hypothesis using unique data on thousands of Toronto District School Board students that were tracked from Grade 9 to their entry in Ontario postsecondary institutions, and then linked to data on university rankings, incomes, expenditures, and endowments. A series of multilevel models shows that entry into Ontario's university hierarchy tends to mirror inequalities in general access to universities. Female, Asian-origin, and students from higher socioeconomic neighborhoods are more likely to enter higher ranked and better resourced institutions, while students who self-identify as black and male are less likely to enter such institutions. High socioeconomic status and Asian-origin advantages are mediated only partly by academic variables, suggesting that status cultures play a role in shaping their university choices, while gender and other racial inequalities emerge largely through academic processes., INTRODUCTION: UNEQUAL ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION UNIVERSITY ENROLLMENTS AROUND the world have been expanding for half a century, and policy makers see this growth continuing into the foreseeable future. In [...]

Government student loan programs have become increasingly available to provide opportunities and upward mobility for students of disadvantaged backgrounds. Rising student debt and its impact on the repayment experiences of recent postsecondary graduates has become an important concern. This study employs data from Statistics Canada's 2005 National Graduates Survey to examine the relationship between field of study and loan default on government-supported student loans for graduates of community college and baccalaureate-level university programs when controlling for many factors relating to sociodemographic characteristics and earnings. Overall, both level of schooling (college versus university! and field of study are significant predictors of whether graduates report defaulting on their government student loans within two years of graduation. However, these findings are relatively unrelated to earnings. Les programmes de prets etudiants du gouvernement sont de plus en plus disponibles pour permettre aux etudiants de familles defavorisees un meilleur acces a l'education. En revanche, il est inquietant d'observer des niveaux d'endettement eleves chez les etudiants et les difficultes qu'ont certains a rembourser ces dettes. Dans cette etude, des donnees de l'Enquete Nationale aupres des Diplomes 2005 (END) de Statistiques Canada sont analysees dans le but d'etablir des liens entre les domaines d'etude et le non-remboursement des dettes sur les prets etudiants du gouvernement pour un echantillon de diplomes des colleges et universites. Les analyses prennent en compte les effets de facteurs alternatifs lies au statu socio-economique et aux revenus. Les resultats demontrent que le niveau d'education (collegial versus universitaire) et les domaines d'etude sont des determinants importants du risque de non-remboursement des dettes sur les prets etudiants deux ans apres l'obtention du diplome. De plus, ces resultats sont stables en tenant compte des differences de revenus., INTRODUCTION DESPITE GREATER PROPORTIONS of youth pursuing postsecondary education in the last few decades, student debt has reached unprecedented levels. In 1982, individuals with student loans who graduated from a [...]

Drawing on the 2000 National Graduates Survey and follow-up of graduates, this research examines who goes to graduate and professional schools in Canada. A greater proportion of students are continuing on to higher levels of education in recent years, yet it remains unclear if family background affects these decisions. The results indicate that social origins influence graduate school attendance both directly through parents' level of education and indirectly through student performance, aspirations, and academic confidence. Field of study and region of undergraduate institution also play a role in shaping educational outcomes, suggesting students may be partially 'liberated' from their family backgrounds by virtue of their undergraduate experiences. S'appuyant sur l'Enquete nationale aupres des diplomos (promotion de 2000) et le suivi des diplomes, cette recherche examine qui va obtenir son diplome et les ecoles professionnelles au Canada. Une plus grande proportion d'etudiants se poursuivent a des niveaux plus eleves de l'education ces dernieres annees, mais il reste difficile de savoir si des antecedents familiaux sur ces decisions. Les resultats indiquent que les origines sociales influent sur la frequentation des etudes superieures a la fois directement par le niveau de scolarite des parents et indirectement par l'intermediaire le rendement des eleves, les aspirations et la confiance academiques. Domaine d'etudes et de la region de l'institution de premier cycle jouent egalement un role dans le faconnement des resultats scolaires, les etudiants suggerant peut etre partiellement 'liberees' de leurs antecedents familiaux en vertu de leurs experiences de premier cycle., INTRODUCTION AS UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENTS at universities continue to rise, many Canadian students are confronted with the decision to attend even 'higher' education. While graduate degrees have long been an option [...]

A new body of sociological research is finding that northern and rural youth, and in particular, low‐SES youth, face difficulties accessing higher levels of postsecondary education and lucrative fields of study such as the STEMs. However, existing research has yet to systematically measure the skills proficiencies of youth in these regions nor have we understood the factors which might account for regional differences. We draw on multiple cycles of Statistics Canada's Youth in Transition Survey, Cohort A linked to the Programme for International Student Assessment scores to investigate how location of residence impacts skills proficiencies at age 15 in math, science, and reading outcomes. Overall, our results point to three key findings. First, southern youth outperform northern youth in mathematics skills. Second, we uncover a southern (both urban and rural) and northern urban advantage in reading proficiencies. Third, in science literacy, southern and northern urban youth experience significant advantages over youth from northern rural locations. While some of the skills differences are attributable to parenting styles, parental socioeconomic status, student academics, and province of residence, they are not completely attenuated by these factors. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for future research and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population growth in many major cities is partly driven by migration from rural areas, which constrains these communities' development. Despite this concern, research that longitudinally examines the patterns and predictors of youth outmigration to urban areas, as well as return migration to rural areas, is very limited in Canada. To address this void, we longitudinally link Canada's Youth in Transition Survey, Cohort A, and the Programme for International Student Assessment reading scores, measured at age 15, to individuals' tax filer information through age 30 via the T1 Family File to examine the characteristics and extent of rural Canada's youth out- and return migration. Our analysis points to two important findings: (a) the 'leavers' are more educated with higher levels of employability and income than the 'stayers' and (b) the 'returners' tend to come back to rural areas as a result of economic constraints in urban areas. Based on these findings, we provide several recommendations for policymakers and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiation policies have been implemented in Ontario higher education (HE) with the intent of manufacturing a more efficient and higher-quality system. Policy-makers have repeatedly touted their benefits, but the unintended consequences of differentiation policies remain neglected. Through this piece, we present a northern critique of differentiation policies grounded on the distance deterrence effects literature. We propose that differentiation policies threaten to exacerbate existing provincial north-south disparities in HE access, hampering human capital formation and economic development in northern communities. In addition, we specify some strategies to mitigate these detrimental effects and conclude by providing a conceptual framework through which to understand regional “blind spots” in differentiation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased proportions of students attending some form of postsecondary education (PSE), some social groups continue to face significant barriers and encounter difficulties making the transition. Previous research suggests that proximity to postsecondary institutions may have a positive impact on PSE participation rates, even more so for lower- and middle-income families. We know comparatively less, however, about how these processes operate for social groups in varied social and economic contexts. In Canada, many highly ranked, prestigious universities and colleges (with greater arrays of fields) tend to be clustered in large, urban centers, and in the southernmost parts of Canadian provinces, but it is not clear whether these differences impact PSE outcomes. Drawing on cycles 1 to 4 of Statistics Canada's Youth in Transition Survey (YITS --Cohort A), our findings reveal that individuals from the northernmost parts of Canadian provinces do experience difficulties accessing various types of PSE (and in the timing of doing so). Moreover, our results suggest that much of these location effects are attributable to not only economic differences in terms of parental income but also cultural and dispositional differences related to parental education and their aspirations for their children's education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]