Access and barriers to postsecondary education: evidence from the youth in transition survey

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dc.contributor.authorFinnie, Ross
dc.contributor.authorWismer, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorMueller, Richard E.
dc.date.accessioned2017-07-25T22:13:57Z
dc.date.available2017-07-25T22:13:57Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.descriptionOpen accessen_US
dc.description.abstractWe exploit the Youth in Transition Survey, Cohort A, to investigate access and barriers to postsecondary education (PSE). We first look at how access to PSE by age 21 is related to family characteristics, including family income and parental education. We find that the effects of the latter significantly dominate those of the former. Among the 25% of all youths who do not access PSE, 23% of this group state that they had no PSE aspirations and 43% report no barriers. Only 22% of the 25% who do not access PSE (or 5.5% of all youths in our sample) claim that “finances” constitute a barrier. Further analysis suggests that affordability per se is an issue in only a minority of those cases where finances are cited, suggesting that the real problem for the majority of those reporting financial barriers may be that they do not perceive PSE to be of sufficient value to be worth pursuing: “it costs too much” may mean “it is not worth it” rather than “I cannot afford to go.” Our general conclusion is that cultural factors are the principal determinants of PSE participation. Policy implications are discussed.en_US
dc.description.peer-reviewYesen_US
dc.identifier.citationFinnie, R., Wismer, A., & Mueller, R.E. (2015). Access and barriers to postsecondary education: Evidence from the youth in transition survey. Canadian Journal of HIgher Education, 45(2), 229-262.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10133/4888
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherCanadian Society for the Study of Higher Educationen_US
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Economicsen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArts and Scienceen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Ottawaen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Lethbridgeen_US
dc.subjectYouth in Transition Surveyen_US
dc.subjectAccessen_US
dc.subjectBarriersen_US
dc.subjectFinancial barriersen_US
dc.subjectParental educationen_US
dc.subjectFamily incomeen_US
dc.subject.lcshPostsecondary education--Canada
dc.subject.lcshUniversities and colleges--Canada--Statistics
dc.subject.lcshCollege students--Canada--Statistics
dc.titleAccess and barriers to postsecondary education: evidence from the youth in transition surveyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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