Author Description

"Post-secondary or higher education is a life-changing event for many individual Canadians and vital to the economic prosperity of the nation as a whole. Pursuing Higher Education in Canada: Economic, Social, and Policy Dimensions extends our understanding of who attends our colleges and universities and why, what happens after they get there, and the factors that lead to the outcomes we observe. Empirical evidence is essential to informed public discussion and policy making, and the papers in this volume shed new light on these important aspects of post-secondary education in Canada. They comprise rigorous yet accessible empirical evidence that is presented and interpreted in a clear policy context." "Aboriginal and immigrant access, student financial aid, gender gaps, the impacts of economic cycles, high school and university grades, the home environment and family habits, and other topics related to post-secondary participation are addressed.^ This book is useful for policy makers, students, post-secondary faculty, or anyone with an interest in these and related issues concerning post-secondary education." ""Pursuing Higher Education in Canada is an exceptional contribution to the world-wide debate concerning the critical policy issue of education outcome determinants. Timely and important, it illustrates the significance of a strong conceptual and empirical approach to public policy. The available data are extremely well suited to the task of understanding the determinants of educational success, and this fine collection of papers should serve as a model for empirical investigation in all countries."" "Bruce Chapman, Professor of Economics, Crawford School of Economics and Government, Australian National University" ""Another valuable contribution from the highly-productive MESA project, representing the very best in evidence-based policy research.^ The essays are required reading for anyone---specialist or non-specialist---interested in accessibility and persistence in postsecondary education in Canada."" "Ken Norrie, Vice-President (Research), Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, and Professor of Economics, McMaster University." ""Access to quality education is the key to our future. Education has a broad impact---from shaping the individual to fostering research to influencing our global economy. From accessibility to retention, this book provides its readers with tremendous insight into the challenges some face in seeking post-secondary education, raising critical questions, about how Canada can ensure academic opportunity for all." Allan Rock, President, University of Ottawa" ""This book asks some tough and important questions about post-secondary education in Canada.^ What social, economic, and policy factors determine access? Who benefits? Who is disadvantaged? The book provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of post-secondary education, and informs our efforts at getting the policy right.""--BOOK JACKET.