Abstract
The expansion of tertiary education is key to understanding postponement of first births. Currently, online distance education is changing the nature of university enrolment. In this study, I suggest that online distance education impacts on fertility by facilitating the transition to parenthood among students. I examine the relationship between online distance education and first births during university enrolment. Using survival analysis of register data for the 1968–1991 female cohorts, I examine the impact of distance and campus education on first-parity transitions during university enrolment between 2004 and 2012 (N = 938,768). Results indicate that the negative association between enrolment and first parity conception differs substantially between campus and distance enrolment. Compared to non-enrolment, the hazard of first parity conception is 70% lower during campus enrolment but 43% lower during distance enrolment. These findings are discussed in relation to educational heterogeneity and fertility postponement and the impact of technological innovation on family dynamics.
Highlights
University students have low rates of first birth, despite favourable age and sex ratios on campus (Begall and Mills 2012; Blossfeld and Huinink 1991; Hoem, 1986; Lappegård and Rønsen 2005; Baizán and Martin-Garcia 2006; Tesching 2012; Thalberg 2013)
Educational enrolment is pivotal to understanding fertility postponement
The present study has extended the literature on the heterogeneous effects of education on fertility by considering the difference between online and on-campus education
Summary
University students have low rates of first birth, despite favourable age and sex ratios on campus (Begall and Mills 2012; Blossfeld and Huinink 1991; Hoem, 1986; Lappegård and Rønsen 2005; Baizán and Martin-Garcia 2006; Tesching 2012; Thalberg 2013). Increased enrolment in higher education is a key component in the postponement of parenthood (Balbo et al 2013; Blossfeld and Huinink 1991; Skirbekk 2008). Factors that affect the timing of fertility after the completion of tertiary education can necessarily only explain a limited amount of the variation in age at first birth. It is essential to understand which factors influence the transition to parenthood during tertiary enrolment
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