Public Support for University Funding: Trends and Determinants in Ontario, 1980-1990

Abstract

This paper examines trends in public support for government funding of universities over the past decade, identifies significant social factors related to attitudes on university funding during this period, and briefly discusses possible future tendencies in public support for university funding. Growing public support for increased university funding in Ontario is documented. A variety of types of potential influences is assessed, including societal context, socio-economic status, demographic and political orientation factors. Age, educational attainment, and community size, as well as support for general government spending, are found to have significant individual-level effects on support for university funding. Multi-variate analyses suggest a growing isolation of older, less formally educated and rural people as opponents of increased university funding. The implications of these patterns in the context of an aging but increasingly educated population are then considered.