Participation in Post-Secondary Education in Canada: Has the role
of parental income and education changed over the 1990s?
by Marie Drolet
Business and Labour Market Analysis Division
Analytical Studies Branch research paper series, No. 243
Context
Higher education reaps many benefits not only at the individual level
but also for society and economy as a whole. In light of the rising
cost of higher education, a study on the role of parental income and
education on the participation in post-secondary education over the
1990s has important policy implications on access to higher education.
Objectives
This paper examines the extent to which the relationship between participation
in post-secondary education and family background, namely parental income
and parental education changed between 1993 and 2001.
To do this, the paper first provides a descriptive analysis of access
to post-secondary education by parental income and parental education.
Second, the paper asks whether the effect of parental income and education
became stronger during the period 1993–2001. Third, the paper
discusses significant data gaps and resolves previous dilemmas in the
literature.
Findings
The results support a long-standing pattern that university participation
rates are highest among youths from high-income families and of highly
educated parents. There is no evidence to suggest that this relationship
between university participation and family background changed over
the 1993–2001 period.
Although university participation rates generally rise as family incomes
increase, there is little difference in participation rates among youths
from modest-income (below $75,000) and low-income families. Overall,
the correlation between university participation and family income changed
very little between 1993 and 2001.
Next, when taking account of both parental education and parental income,
university participation rates are more strongly associated with parents'
level of education than with their income.
The paper discusses significant data gaps and concludes that these
data gaps do not have important implications on conclusions about the
relationship between post-secondary education and family background
throughout the 1993–2001 period.
Data sources
Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, 1993-2001
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