1,721,118 research outputs found
The Role of Non-Financial Barriers in the Access of First-Generation Students to Post-Secondary Education
No full textThe purpose of this paper is to determine why first-generation students (defined as those students whose parents‟ highest level of completed education is a high school diploma or less) are under-represented in Canada‟s post-secondary education (PSE) institutions. Using data from the Youth in Transition Survey (YITS), it will answer the following research questions:
1. Do family and social background, academic experiences in high school and overall educational motivations and aspirations serve as non-financial barriers that may subvert the participation of first-generation students in post-secondary education? If so, how?
2. What are the policy levers that may be accessed and the policy interventions and/or modifications that may be implemented in order to help first-generation students in overcoming these barriers?
What this paper illustrates is that first-generation students are more likely to be of low to modest economic means, to have parents who hold their children to lower educational expectations, to be academically low performing and to exhibit low overall aspirations and motivations for higher education. In this regard, as this paper will argue, it is not so much the first-generation status that can impede the academic trajectory so much as it is the factors associated with coming from a first-generation household that pose as non-financial barriers to PSE
Wage gap between immigrants and Canadian-born: The impact of immigration status and post- secondary education
No full textThis paper investigates the issue of the wage gap between recent immigrants and their Canadian-born counterparts, when both groups have attained a post-secondary degree. The study builds on previous work carried out by numerous researchers to understand the environment immigrants face upon landing, and especially immigrants landed within a period of five to ten years. Even though immigrants have on average more years of schooling, the research shows that they earn less than their Canadian-born counterparts. Multiple reasons lead to this disparity, and addressing the issue is a complex task. The goal of this paper is to understand the causes of the wage gap. By understanding some of the major causes, this paper hopes to provide policymakers witha fresh view on this problem and a greater understanding of the subject. Finally, the paper proposes a set of recommendations to equip policymakers to act and reverse the trend of the widening wage gap between immigrants and their Canadian-born counterparts.
Keywords: wage gap, immigrant, Canadian-born, immigrant status, human capital, post-secondary education, economic development, public policy, immigration, Canada
Cet article analyse l’enjeu de l'écart salarial entre les nouveaux arrivants et leurs homologues nés au Canada qui ont obtenu un diplôme d'études postsecondaires. L'étude s’appuie sur des travaux antérieurs réalisés par de nombreux chercheurs pour comprendre l’environnement et les paramètres liés à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, particulièrement ceux arrivés au Canada durant les cinq à dix dernières années. La recherche montre que malgré que les nouveaux immigrants aient en moyenne plus d'années d'études, ils gagnent moins que leurs homologues nés au Canada. Plusieurs raisons expliquent cette disparité, et aborder cet enjeu est une tâche complexe. Le but de cet article est de comprendre les causes de l'écart salarial. En comprenant mieux les principales causes, cette étude espère doter les décideurs d’un nouveau regard sur cette problématique. Enfin, cette étude est accompagnée d'une série de recommandations qui visent à outiller les décideurs à agir pour inverser la tendance à l’accroissement des inégalités salariales entre les immigrants et leurs équivalents nés au Canada.
Mots-clés: écart salarial, immigrant, né au Canada, statut d'immigrant, capital humain, éducation postsecondaire, développement économique, politique publique, immigration, Canada
Who Drives the Car? Hypothesizing the Impact of Trends in Post- Secondary Education on the Labour Market, Home Production and Gender Roles
No full textTraditionally discourse around women and labour market has been concerned with women’s opportunities (or lack thereof) in the workplace vis a vis their male counterparts. While this is still a concern, current trends demonstrate that women are increasingly accessing postsecondary education (PSE), obtaining managerial positions, and otherwise performing better than men in many ways. Simultaneously, men are becoming less likely to access PSE and in some cases are struggling to find work in a post-industrial society that favours human capital, desk jobs, and soft skills like communication and interpersonal intelligence. Jobs involving physical
labour are in decline in Canada (e.g., manufacturing sector) and some are asking whether or not women may be better suited to this new reality.
This paper will examine trends in women and men’s education and labour market
participation to understand the potential implications of these trends for gender roles. It will also provide an overview of the literature surrounding women in PSE and the labour force in order to contextualize the discussion and to demonstrate the complexity of women’s labour market choices. Following this, it will describe three hypothetical scenarios that could arise out of current trends and that are consistent with the literature. The first scenario is the status quo, which would involve a stable equilibrium in which changes in women’s PSE attendance would not have significant impacts on gender roles or the labour market. The second scenario is a successful adjustment of gender roles, where women would increasingly be the main breadwinners and men would increasingly be involved in household production. The final
scenario involves an unsuccessful adjustment of gender roles where women would continue to
struggle to achieve in the labour market and men would resist taking on work traditionally
belonging to women, such as clerical work or home production. The scenarios speculate that
current trends could lead to significant social problems.
While the three scenarios are meant to be somewhat stark and overstated, they suggest
that gender roles be an important policy consideration amidst changes in in PSE attendance and labour market participation. Understanding current trends and understanding how they impact men and women differently is an opportunity that could ultimately allow for more equality, and that may enable men and women to achieve their full potential – both in the home and in the labour market
Getting by an Examination of Low-Income Households with Children, 1992-2006
No full textChild poverty has lasting effects on governments because it demands large spending requirements years into the future. The LAD is a Canadian longitudinal dataset that is use
to follow all households through time. This paper uses the LAD to assess low inc
Is Pathways to Education an Effective Program? Proposed Program Evaluation of Ottawa-Ontario
No full textThe goal of the Pathways to Education program is to break the vicious cycle of
low education and poverty that exists in Canada, through providing low-income youth
with academic, social, counseling, and financial supports to encourage and facilitate their graduation from high school and enrolment into post-secondary education (PSE). The evaluation of Pathways to Education is critical from both an equity and economic
perspective. From an equity perspective Pathways aims to uphold democratic ideals of
equality of opportunity. From an economic perspective, one of Canada’s key concerns is
being able to be a competitive player in the global marketplace. For Canada to keep up economically in the innovation, information and
technology age, Canada needs more individuals to graduate from PSE institutions. An
excellent solution to the problem of how to encourage Canadians to graduate from PSE is
to look to youth from underrepresented groups to fill these PSE ‘graduate gaps’ (HRSDC,
2001). If the government of Canada found that Pathways to Education is efficient at
increasing PSE enrollment rates of individuals from underrepresented groups, national
implementation could have tremendous positive results for Canada both socially and
economically (HRSDC, 2001, Olaniyan et al. 2008). Due to positive reviews and widespread support, the Pathways to Education
program has received the positive attention and funding necessary to expand across
Canada. It is therefore necessary to determine whether resources should be invested in the
program. This paper proposes an evaluation tool that can accurately measure the direct
impact of Pathways to Education to determine whether it is being effective in Ottawa. By
using this tool to identify whether the program is effective in Ottawa, it is possible to determine how it is effective and in what context the program is effective
Schooling Over Scolding: A Study of Postsecondary Education’s Effect on Offender Correctional Success
No full textThis paper seeks to determine the treatment effect of offender postsecondary education (PSE) on correctional outcomes. Although there is still debate over whether offender PSE represents a deserved right or a privilege, there is increasing evidence, both domestic and abroad, that supports a positive correlation between offender PSE and an increase in post-release employment rates, correctional success, and overall public safety. This analysis, based on the most recent domestic data available, posits that postsecondary correctional education (PSCE) programs are relevant, effective, and provide a cost-effective correctional opportunity, leading to net financial benefits for Correctional Service of Canada (CSC), the Federal Government, and, by extension, Canadian taxpayers. The state of PSE in correctional institutions, however, has been declining. Growing barriers to access, financing, and student offender support means a reduction in the program’s ability to effectively equip offenders for successful reintegrate into society. Moreover, the lack of data reporting mechanisms means the domestic data available is rapidly becoming outdated, posing a challenge to new investments in offender PSE. Therefore, this paper recommends the creation of a pilot PSCE project that could produce new domestic data relevant to the treatment effect of offender PSE on correctional outcomes as well as provide a scalable program that could subsequently be introduced in any correctional institution
Wage gap between immigrants and Canadian-born: The impact of immigration status and post- secondary education
No full textThis paper investigates the issue of the wage gap between recent immigrants and their Canadian-born counterparts, when both groups have attained a post-secondary degree. The study builds on previous work carried out by numerous researchers to understand the environment immigrants face upon landing, and especially immigrants landed within a period of five to ten years. Even though immigrants have on average more years of schooling, the research shows that they earn less than their Canadian-born counterparts. Multiple reasons lead to this disparity, and addressing the issue is a complex task. The goal of this paper is to understand the causes of the wage gap. By understanding some of the major causes, this paper hopes to provide policymakers witha fresh view on this problem and a greater understanding of the subject. Finally, the paper proposes a set of recommendations to equip policymakers to act and reverse the trend of the widening wage gap between immigrants and their Canadian-born counterparts.
Keywords: wage gap, immigrant, Canadian-born, immigrant status, human capital, post-secondary education, economic development, public policy, immigration, Canada
Cet article analyse l’enjeu de l'écart salarial entre les nouveaux arrivants et leurs homologues nés au Canada qui ont obtenu un diplôme d'études postsecondaires. L'étude s’appuie sur des travaux antérieurs réalisés par de nombreux chercheurs pour comprendre l’environnement et les paramètres liés à l’établissement des nouveaux arrivants, particulièrement ceux arrivés au Canada durant les cinq à dix dernières années. La recherche montre que malgré que les nouveaux immigrants aient en moyenne plus d'années d'études, ils gagnent moins que leurs homologues nés au Canada. Plusieurs raisons expliquent cette disparité, et aborder cet enjeu est une tâche complexe. Le but de cet article est de comprendre les causes de l'écart salarial. En comprenant mieux les principales causes, cette étude espère doter les décideurs d’un nouveau regard sur cette problématique. Enfin, cette étude est accompagnée d'une série de recommandations qui visent à outiller les décideurs à agir pour inverser la tendance à l’accroissement des inégalités salariales entre les immigrants et leurs équivalents nés au Canada.
Mots-clés: écart salarial, immigrant, né au Canada, statut d'immigrant, capital humain, éducation postsecondaire, développement économique, politique publique, immigration, Canada
Indigenous Access to Post-Secondary Education:How Federal Policy Can Help Close the Gap
No full textThis paper will explore the PSE access gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians. It will review the size of the gap and some of the barriers that Indigenous people face to access PSE by drawing on previous studies. It will then discuss the existing federal programs at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada that work to address this gap and will identify some of the key shortcoming of the federal response to the Indigenous PSE access gap. It will finish by providing suggestions for improvements to the existing programs and ideas for potential new policies that could be implemented
Education Reform as an Element of Workforce Nationalization in the Gulf Cooperation Council: Policy Recommendations for Sustainable Socioeconomic Development
No full textThe technologically advanced knowledge economies of today increasingly demand that new labour market entrants possess the requisite preparation that will allow them to be productive contributors in multiple sectors of the workforce. This preparation is often seen as a function of the education system, which is expected to develop not only technical competencies but also an extensive list of „soft‟ or non-cognitive skills including problem-solving, being able to work as part of a team, leadership, skills, perseverance and worth ethic.
Acknowledging the importance of producing world-class human capital, so as to maintain continuous development and growth, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have begun to enact a series of comprehensive reforms of their respective education systems. These efforts are seen in opposition to the unsustainable tradition of funneling local human capital into the public sector and the over-reliance on expatriate labour.
This paper begins with a review of the historical trends that have contributed to the over-abundance of foreign labour in the region. Subsequently, the paper outlines a series of implications - social, economic and political - should this status quo remain. Following this, a critical analysis of the current deficiencies and gaps of the education system will be conducted. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at driving future policy-level discussions in the Gulf region on the topic of education reform
Education Mismatches and Competency Shortages:An Evaluation Framework of the Responsiveness of the Canadian Post-Secondary Education System to Changes in the Labour Market
No full textPost-secondary education (PSE) institutions in Canada serve as the primary means by which most individuals in highly skilled occupations gain the qualifications necessary to succeed in the labour force. For this reason, their responsiveness to changes in the labour market is essential to ensuring a productive economy.
Currently in Canada, employers of specific occupations and in certain regions are reporting that they are experiencing shortages of skilled workers. At the same time, employers across various sectors are stating that PSE graduates are lacking certain skills, including basic literacy and numeracy skills, soft skills, specific specializations and combinations of degrees.
In the labour market, as shortages in particular occupations or for particular skills emerge, employers are normally expected to respond in a variety of ways, including increasing wages. This in turn, attracts more people to the profession until the shortage is filled. This system, however, is dependent on the responsiveness of the PSE system to changes in the labour market. In theory, the higher wages and other incentives in occupations facing shortages should encourage more students to want to pursue related fields of studies. PSE institutions would then be expected to respond to the increased demand by increasing enrolment or the quantity of seats supplied.
In practice, there are many factors constraining this responsiveness in programs with increased demand both on the supply and demand sides. For example, many people in the PSE system do not believe it is their responsibility to be responsive to the labour market. PSE institutions also face institutionalized constraints and cultural or governance factors which make responsiveness slow and difficult. Furthermore, students do not always receive the signals from the labour market, nor know how to respond even when they do. Employers are also demanding new types of skills and combinations of skills that may not appear to be in shortage in traditional measures of collecting labour market information. This likely means there are shortages in the populace’s skillsets that are going unnoticed by policy makers, students and the PSE system alike.
That being said, Canadian PSE institutions have managed to do a reasonable job at responding to changes in the labour market in the past. Furthermore, there are examples of universities, and particularly colleges, which have responded by finding ways to increase their students’ employability skills on an ad hoc basis. These include co-op programs and PSE-private sector partnerships for experiential learning and curricula development. Some institutions have also increased extra-curricular activities on their campus to improve their students’ skills while also maintaining academic freedom.
Other countries have taken far more action to make their PSE systems more responsive to their labour markets on a system-wide level. Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Sweden and France, all have good practices that Canada could learn from. This paper recommends following their models in improving the collection and dissemination of learning and labour market information to help students make better informed decisions and help PSE institutions to be more responsive to current skills needs. It also recommends increasing experiential learning opportunities and partnerships for curricula reform between the private sector and the PSE system in order to ensure a level of responsiveness necessary for graduates to succeed in the labour market and for the country to remain competitive
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