Study: Why are youth from lower-income families less likely to attend
university?
2003

The gap in university attendance between youth from higher- and
lower-income families is largely related to differences in academic
performance at age 15 and parental influences, and to a lesser degree
financial constraints, according to a new study.

In 2003, under one-third (31%) of 19-year-old youth from families in the
bottom 25% of the income distribution had attended university. In
contrast, one-half (50%) of young people of the same age from families
at the top of the income distribution had attended university.

The study found only weak evidence that financial constraints were a
direct barrier to attending university.

Instead, it found that the gap is almost entirely associated with
differences in academic performance and parental influences. In fact,
about 84% of the gap was related to differences in the characteristics
of youth from different economic backgrounds, that is, their academic
performance, parents' level of education, parental expectations, high
school attended, and so on.

In contrast, only 12% of the gap in university attendance was related to
the higher incidence of being "financially constrained" among
lower-income youth.

Weaker academic performance among lower-income youth accounted for just
over one-third (34%) of the gap. Specifically, young people from more
disadvantaged backgrounds had a poorer performance on a standardized
reading test and reported lower overall school marks at age 15.
--snip--

More details: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/070208/d070208a.htm

Report in PDF
http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/11F0019MIE/11F0019MIE2007295.pdf

---------------------------------------
Ted Hildebrandt
Director of Social Planning
Community Development Halton
860 Harrington Court
Burlington, Ontario  L7N 3N4 Canada
Phone: (905) 632-1975, (905) 878-0955
Fax: (905) 632-0778
Email: [log in to unmask]
Web: www.cdhalton.ca
     www.volunteerhalton.ca

Building Community Together

 

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