The Cultural Determinants of Access to Post-Secondary Education by First Generation Households : An Analysis Using the Youth in Transition Survey

The OECD (2012) recently noted that post-secondary education (PSE) participation rates in Canada will need to continue to expand as the population ages and as the needs of the knowledge-based economy increase. With many groups already participating at high rates, much of this expansion will have to come from groups which are currently underrepresented in PSE (especially at the university level), including Aboriginals, the disabled, rural students, and students from low-income families. Children from families where neither parent has completed any level of PSE also represent an important under-represented group – and one that broadly cuts across (and is related to) the other specific groups just mentioned. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the factors – with a focus on the "cultural factors" – which favour PSE participation among those children who come from such families. Our findings identify a range of effects which could hold important clues as to why some children from families without a history of PSE go on to access PSE while others do not, and thus point to how these rates could potentially be increased through policy measures. Furthermore, those measures, being focused on cultural factors rather than the financial barriers that have been concentrated on in the past (tuition fees, student aid, etc.) may in some cases not only be more effective in changing behaviour, but may do so at lower cost. Only further research can help us identify which policies work, which do not, and which are most cost effective