Differentiation Policy and Access to Higher Education in Northern Ontario, Canada: An Analysis of Unintended Consequences
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a northern critique of differentiation policies grounded on the distance deterrence effects literature, and 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.
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.
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878 citations
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TL;DR: For non-traditional (i.e. older) students who tend to prefer community college, access is more about a school's location than about its tuition and fees.
Abstract: The substantial literature on access to higher education has a narrow focus: the effect of tuition on the enrollment decisions of 18-year-olds seeking bachelors degrees. But for non-traditional (i.e. older) students who tend to prefer community college, access is more about a school's location than about its tuition and fees. Using data on over 150,000 mature workers (aged 25 to 49) in the Greater Baltimore area, we analyze the impact of travel distance on community college enrollment decisions. We find that distance is a highly statistically significant factor in deciding whether to enroll in community college, and in which school to choose. Simulations of the model suggest that if the typical resident had to travel three additional miles from home to the nearest college, enrollment could drop by as much as 14%.
47 citations
Posted Content•
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of geographic accessibility and social class on young people when making decisions relating to higher education institution type, degree level and field of study pursued using a rich Irish dataset was investigated.
Abstract: The factors influencing the decision of school leavers to participate in higher education has been extensively investigated previously. This has mainly focused on the influence of characteristics such as parental education level, social class and spatial factors on the decision to participate in higher education at a broad level. However, given the influence the type of tertiary education pursued may have on future labour market outcomes, an understanding of the factors behind more specific higher education outcomes decisions is important. Within this context, this paper focuses on the influence of geographic accessibility and social class on young people when making decisions relating to higher education institution type, degree level and field of study pursued using a rich Irish dataset. We estimate this relationship using a bivariate probit framework and controlling for a range of other variables we find evidence of significant spatial and socio-economic effects on these higher education outcomes.
31 citations
TL;DR: This study employs multiple waves from Statistics Canada's Youth in Transition Survey linked to each youth's reading scores from the Programme for International Student Assessment, and longitudinally to their tax filer information until age 30 (T1 Family Files).
Abstract: Brain drain is an increasingly important concern for local governments in northern communities in Canada in maintaining and enhancing human capital levels to sustain vibrant economies and communities. Researchers, however, have yet to examine the magnitude of north-south out-migration nor do we know the characteristics of youth who are likely to relocate. Our study contributes to this knowledge gap by employing multiple waves from Statistics Canada's Youth in Transition Survey (Cohort A) linked to each youth's reading scores from the Programme for International Student Assessment (measured at age 15), and longitudinally to their tax filer information until age 30 (T1 Family Files).
8 citations
20 Jul 2018
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine regional inequalities in accessing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields at both the university and non-university levels and find that location of residence does impact field choices, as students from northern and rural areas were less likely to enter STEM as well as non-STEM, university programs.
Abstract: 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 education, and those who do attend take longer to do so. Proximity, we argue, may also have a considerable impact on one’s field selection, as many of Canada’s larger universities and colleges, who offer considerably more program and degree options, tend to be concentrated in large, urban centers, and in the southern regions of Canada’s provinces. This study draws on Cycles 1–4 of Statistics Canada’s Youth in Transition Survey – Cohort A to examine regional inequalities in accessing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields at both the university and non-university levels. Indeed, our findings suggest that location of residence does impact field choices, as students from northern and rural areas were less likely to enter STEM as well as non-STEM, university programs.
5 citations
References
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TL;DR: The problem of unanticipated consequences of purposive social action has been widely recognized and its importance equally appreciated, but no systematic, scientific analysis of it has as yet been effected.
Abstract: I N SOME ONE of its numerous forms, the problem of the unanticipated consequences of purposive action has been treated by virtually every substantial contributor to the long history of social thought.' The diversity of context' and variety of terms3 by which this problem has been known, however, have tended to obscure the definite continuity in its consideration. In fact, this diversity of context-ranging from theology to technology-has been so pronounced that not only has the substantial identity of the problem been overlooked, but no systematic, scientific analysis of it has as yet been effected. The failure to subject this problem to such thorough-going investigation has perhaps been due in part to its having been linked historically with transcendental and ethical considerations. Obviously, the ready solution provided by ascribing uncontemplated consequences of action to the inscrutable will of God or Providence or Fate precludes, in the mind of the believer, any need for scientific analysis. Whatever the actual reasons, the fact remains that though the process has been widely recognized and its importance equally appreciated, it still awaits a systematic treatment. Although the phrase, unanticipated consequences of purposive social action, is in a measure self-explanatory, the setting of the prob-
1,937 citations
"Differentiation Policy and Access t..." refers background in this paper
...Th is analysis builds on the long tradition of examining the “latent” functions (Merton, 1936) or “unintended” functions (Boudon, 1977) of social action and structures within social science research....
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Journal Article•
878 citations
"Differentiation Policy and Access t..." refers background in this paper
...208 The Northern Review 49 | 2020 Most famously, Bowles & Gintis (1976) have argued that the structure of compulsory K–12 schooling in the nineteenth century mirrored the needs of industrializing North American urban centres....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how individuals from 1972, 1982, and 1992 chose whether and where to attend college by estimating the importance of postsecondary costs and quality and found that although tuition price was an important determinant of attendance, college costs do not explain differences in enrollment for the class of 1992.
349 citations
"Differentiation Policy and Access t..." refers background in this paper
...Th is eff ect is particularly acute for low-SES groups (e.g., Cullinan et al., 2013; Flannery & Cullinan, 2013; Long, 2004)....
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Posted Content•
345 citations
"Differentiation Policy and Access t..." refers background in this paper
...…proximity, program selection is guided by students’ perceptions of the future labour market returns to specifi c programs (see Alon & Diprete, 2015; Arcidiacono et al., 2012; Wiswall & Zafar, 2011).7 Th rough considering the hypothetical scenarios below, we believe it is possible to anticipate…...
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...One underlying assumption from the economic literature on program choice informs our discussion: beyond geographical proximity, program selection is guided by students’ perceptions of the future labour market returns to specifi c programs (see Alon & Diprete, 2015; Arcidiacono et al., 2012; Wiswall & Zafar, 2011)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a conceptual framework is presented, which intends to explain the processes of differentiation and dedifferentiation in higher education systems, and two crucial variables are identified, and both have a crucial impact on the behaviour of higher education institutions.
327 citations
"Differentiation Policy and Access t..." refers background in this paper
...As van Vught (2008) notes, better alignment with the labour market needs is commonly cited as a key advantage of diff erentiated systems over homogenous counterparts, given that the greater capacity of the former to be responsive to the diverse skills demands of complex economies....
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