Analyzed women's enrollment levels in mathematics, engineering, and computer science in Canadian universities and the change in these levels between 1972 and 1995. Found vastly different patterns of enrollment in the three disciplines (for example, computer science enrollment did not increase at all during the studied period), suggesting that…

Interviewed Canadian university students who had transferred from a community college. Found that while most support transfer as a viable and even preferable route to a university degree, problems occur at each of the stages of transfer. Obstacles include difficulty obtaining useful information, problems understanding transfer policies and…

Analyzed contemporaneous documents and interviewed participants; concluded that the National Federation of Canadian University Students (NFCUS) and the Canadian Union of Students (CUS) were instrumental in engendering mass student aid programs and low tuition fees. Although government creation of such programs co-opted catalysts of student…

Followed graduates of regular and gifted programs over 4 years of studies at York University in Toronto. Overall, found that having participated in a gifted program in high school does not result in increased levels of university achievement, although self-assessed thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills are slightly higher and credit…

Analyzed early career outcomes of recent Canadian college graduates by discipline. Found that many outcomes conform to expectations: the professions and other applied disciplines generally experienced lower unemployment rates, closer skill and qualification matches, and higher earnings; however, fine arts and humanities graduates are more…

Examined how postsecondary education participation rates have evolved over time and how certain variables may affect them. Found that a number of socioeconomic influences affect participation rates. Beyond these, particularly pronounced trend increases in postsecondary education attendance for children from low-income households have led to a…

Surveyed an ethnically diverse group of students in a Canadian university commerce program using the 24-item Personal Report of Communication Apprehension. While prior research results showed that the level of communications apprehension varies among ethnic groups, these results showed no significant variation. (EV)

Used data from two longitudinal surveys of Canadian youth (in British Columbia and Nova Scotia) to examine the effects of rural versus urban/rural and metropolitan residence on young people's educational expectations and attainments. Findings showed that students in rural areas have lower expectations and attainments compared to other students,…

Asserting that liberal education is at risk in Canadian universities, attempts to explain why such policy shifts are occurring; points to the continuing cultural, social, and intellectual value of liberal education; and, drawing from recent census data, demonstrates that liberal education produces generally positive economic benefits to the…

Used a 60-item questionnaire to explore the views of presidents of Canadian universities on academic values, funding, institutional directions, and the impact of the corporate sector. Found that they do not believe that increased interaction with the private sector will change their view of the fundamental mandate/definition of "the university."…

This review of Canadian government policy as expressed in legislation revealed inconsistencies between rhetorical and actual support for a lifelong learning agenda; the absence of the protection and sense of permanence that legislation provides to policy implementation means that any actions taken or programs created may be easily changed,…

Investigated over two years Canadian students' needs when integrating the Web into distance-delivered degree programs, using Michael Moore's theory of transactional distance. Found that students considered the Web an effective technology to facilitate distance delivery; problems included working with instructors without expertise in the…

Based on personal ethnographic experience of "becoming the phenomenon" of migrant laborer in Canada's postsecondary education system, critically examines three anthropological perspectives--the neoclassical, the historical structuralist, and the neo-Marxist--on labor migration. Argues that both migrant laborers and sessional lecturers have become…

Presents results of an empirical investigation of Canadian student loans for four recent cohorts of graduates. Data include proportion of students graduating with loans and average amounts borrowed, loan burden measured by debt-to-earning ratios, repayment rates following graduation, and number of graduates reporting loan difficulties. Results are…

Explores how, for a student of Canadian federalism and postsecondary education, one theme that keeps recurring is the number of times these two dimensions of public policy have been connected; over and over again, changes in the governance and financing of education, and especially postsecondary or higher education, have presaged more general…