Brad Seward

Bio: Brad Seward is an academic researcher from University of Toronto. The author has contributed to research in topics: Human capital & Rural area. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 6 publications receiving 51 citations. Previous affiliations of Brad Seward include Nipissing University.

What’s Taking You So Long? Examining the Effects of Social Class on Completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Four Years:

Abstract: Despite improved access in expanded postsecondary systems, the great majority of bachelor’s degree graduates are taking considerably longer than the allotted four years to complete their four-year ...

Roots and STEMS? Examining field of study choices among northern and rural youth in Canada*

Abstract: Despite several decades of postsecondary expansion, new research finds youth from northern and rural areas in Canada still experience difficulties making the transition to postsecondary edu...

Differentiation Policy and Access to Higher Education in Northern Ontario, Canada: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences

Abstract: Differentiation policies have been implemented in Ontario higher education (HE) with the intent of manufacturing a more efficient and higher-quality system. Policy-makers have repeatedly touted their benefits, but the unintended consequences of differentiation policies remain neglected. Through this piece, we present a northern critique of differentiation policies grounded on the distance deterrence effects literature. We propose that differentiation policies threaten to exacerbate existing provincial north-south disparities in HE access, hampering human capital formation and economic development in northern communities. In addition, we specify some strategies to mitigate these detrimental effects and conclude by providing a conceptual framework through which to understand regional “blind spots” in differentiation policy.

Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action

Abstract: (2014). Completing College: Rethinking Institutional Action. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 85, No. 2, pp. 280-282.

Stratification in Higher Education: A Comparative Study

Abstract: ans who take the issue of segregation from one of being unfair to being bad economic policy for cities, regions, states, and the United States as a whole. They are right. But many of you will also recall Nobel Laureate Gary Becker who argued that in the long run it does not pay to discriminate. Where did that get us? Each chapter contains important policy recommendations. This is particularly emphasized in a chapter by Greg Squires on fair housing enforcement as well as the editors’ closing remarks on attaining a just society. Segregation is the essential synthesis of what we need to know to move this issue forward. That will not be enough but it is what we have. Read it and use it.

The Rise of Women: The Growing Gender Gap in Education and What It Means for American Schools

Abstract: liberal democracy. So, in this sense at least, the answer to the question that forms the title of della Porta’s book, ‘‘can democracy be saved?’’, is yes. A different question, however, concerns what the future holds: will democracy be saved? No one can claim the answer to that question. However, della Porta’s exploration identifies three important barriers to such a wider transformation that merit further examination. The first is state resistance. In an important chapter on conflicts between these new social movements and governments, della Porta explores the emerging new strategies of police and state repression and control. They are, in some ways, as inventive as the democratic innovations she celebrates elsewhere in the book, though with different implications for democracy. More broadly, we can expect those who now enjoy the privileges of executive or representative power to resist the press for different kinds of democracy. Second, far from embracing state-originated democratic innovations, social movement organizations are often indifferent or skeptical (p. 173). Even though this skepticism is sometimes justified, it is difficult to see how democratic reform will achieve depth or scale absent working alliances between social movement organizations and political officials both committed to that goal. Finally, there is in most societies at present a dearth of political leaders who understand and are open to the project of deepening deliberation and participation in their governance institutions. Sometimes, as with the Workers’ Party in Brazil at the end of the twentieth century, there is a systematic confluence of interest among officials in the political success and expansion of participatory democracy. Much more often, however, officials’ commitments regarding democratic reform are idiosyncratic and episodic. How, then, can public officials be made to take a deeper interest in deepening their democratic institutions? Della Porta argues that social movements are the key, and she is likely correct. The Rise of Women: The Growing Gender Gap in Education and What It Means for American Schools, by Thomas A. DiPrete and Claudia Buchmann. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 2013. 277pp. $37.50 paper. ISBN: 9780871540515.

Beyond Access: Explaining Socioeconomic Differences in College Transfer. WISCAPE Working Paper.

Abstract: Reducing socioeconomic differences in college transfer requires understanding how and why parental education, occupational class, and family income are associated with changing colleges. Building on prior studies of traditional community college transfer, the authors explore relationships between those factors and two types of transfer among four-year college students. The results indicate that reverse transfer—the move from a four-year to a community college—is more common among students from less-educated families partly because of lower levels of academic performance during their freshman year. In contrast, students from advantaged backgrounds in terms of class and income are more likely than are others to engage in a lateral transfer—from a four-year to a four-year college—which may reflect individual preferences for changing colleges, rather than a reaction to poor academic performance. Implications for policy and practice are discussed in light of the fact that only reverse transfer is associated with lower rates of completion of bachelor's degrees.