Why Don't More Students Go On to Post Secondary Education?

The Canadian Council of Minister'sof Education  Report An Examination of Barriers
to Pursuing PSE and Potential Solutions  2009 March came to the following conclusions:

Some major conclusions may be drawn from the research with students and parents. These include a number of intrinsic and extrinsic barriers that research participants described as having deterred students from PSE.

Major factors and obstacles that prevented them from continuing their studies after high school were directly linked to their negative perceptions of school, their views of PSE, and limited access to key information. Intrinsic factors identified as barriers to PSE included: general indecision; pressure and anxieties/fear of failure related to PSE; poor grades; learning disabilities; and, negative perceptions of school. Extrinsic factors identified as barriers to PSE included: inadequate information about PSE, varying levels of teaching quality; costs of PSE; PSE entrance requirements; and, a lack of information among parents resulting in less than optimal parental support and engagement in the planning and decision-making process. Intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to PSE were attributed equal importance as a whole, although certain specific factors were more prevalent and others were more deeply rooted.

Participants proposed a number of potential solutions that could serve to encourage students to continue their studies after high school. Participants focused on extrinsic solutions, since they are likely more readily addressed than the intrinsic factors. Although participants did not attempt to propose intrinsic solutions, many suggested that extrinsic solutions could serve to mitigate the effects of intrinsic factors and barriers to PSE.

The most common solutions proposed by participants included: increasing the amount of information students receive about PSE options, costs and requirements; implement aptitudecareers-PSE modules into the curriculum; be mindful of the impact of increased pressure and emphasis on PSE in grade 11; make necessary modifications to the curriculum to accommodate students with different learning styles (including students with learning disabilities); increase the emphasis on the need for high quality teaching and emphasis on the impact of teaching quality on students; offer frequent information sessions about PSE for parents with children in secondary school; review current admissions requirements to enable more students to be accepted into PSE programs and ensure that information is available about requirements; and, increase financial support for PSE and information support that helps both parents and students in starting to plan for the costs of PSE. Although not specifically mentioned by study participants, presumably increased resources in the K-12 system would enable schools to make additional counselling available. This might afford greater opportunity for counsellors to focus on more career counselling and PSE planning, rather than confining the focus to behavioural issues because of constrained counselling resources, which was brought up in several of the discussions.

A few other important findings emerged from this research. One was the need to provide students and parents with more practical information about PSE. There is a tendency to think of PSE as a black box, making it very difficult for some students to envision it as a tangible option. Findings suggest that there is a strong need to present information about PSE alongside information about careers. Not only would this clarify how both are linked, but it would also help students to think more constructively about PSE and potential careers for the future.

Both students and parents supported the idea of implementing aptitude-careers-PSE modules into the curriculum to reach students. The purpose would be to help students more systematically explore their aptitudes and interests, link these to different career options and, ultimately, to potential PSE options.

Students in grade 11 and 12 are open to hearing about PSE options. The overwhelming majority of students who participated in this research expressed interest in continuing their studies and hoped to go on to PSE at some point in the future. Students tend to be receptive of help from teachers, guidance counsellors and their parents. In fact, some participants expressed interest in having their parents provide them with information (e.g., about student loans). Discussions with students and their parents revealed that there are still opportunities to help students decide to pursue PSE.Timing of support and information is critical. Some students receive too little too late. Lack of information and support earlier (and perhaps ongoing) in secondary school leave some students ill equipped to face the sudden shift in the emphasis placed on grades for the purposes of entry into PSE. This and the possibly narrow focus on specific types of PSE institutions and programs can push those not already decided in the wrong direction. An earlier, more gradual and gentle approach might produce better results.

Finances play a minor role in the decisions not to pursue PSE after high school, but the perception of wasting money because of indecision is a strong factor. Few students had looked into PSE options seriously enough to consider the cost of PSE as a major barrier. Most were more preoccupied with figuring out what they wanted to do in terms of PSE and as a career. That said,students seemed very pre-occupied with not wasting money if they were unsure about what they would be doing in the future and what they would be using PSE for. Students (more than parents) see money as a factor when they are faced with indecision about the type of career they want, and therefore, the type of PSE program that would be most beneficial to reach their career goals. There is limited understanding and appreciation for the value of PSE in contributing to students ongoing knowledge and abilities, irrespective of the type of program taken. Parents tend to see costs as more of a barrier than did students. Students and parents are largely unaware of the cost of PSE. In fact, very few in the study attempted to obtain any information about student loans

The full report can be found at:
http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/196/EKOS-FINAL-16-03-09-An-exam-of-barriers-EN.pdf