In Search of Credentials: Factors Affecting Young Adults' Participation in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

This paper uses longitudinal data from a survey of youth in three areas (Hamilton, Halifax and rural Nova Scotia) to examine the factors that affect young adults' participation in postsecondary education, applying Bourdieu's notions of capital and habitus. Data were collected from 1,200 youth in 1989, with questionnaire follow-ups in 1992 and 1994. The analyses examine (a) the factors the youth themselves say affect their educational decisions and (b) cross-tabulation and regression results that document the variables empirically related to the youth's educational expectations when they are seventeen and their attainments by age twenty-four. Cost factors were found to be a major deterrent as were, for some youth, their knowledge of and attitudes to schooling. Parental education and income affect their children's decisions. University is seen to be "the" preferred postsecondary path; other institutions such as community colleges seem to be the "fall back" option for those who cannot or do not get to university. Results are relevant to an understanding of the persistent impact of parental capital and of one's attitudes on educational outcomes. There are also policy implications regarding the resources needed by different students to better access the postsecondary options available to them.