Preparing for Post-Secondary Education

Most Canadian parents have had to assume a larger share of the financial costs of their children's post-secondary education because of declining government funding and changing loans and bursary programs. Preparing for Post-Secondary Education considers the impact of increased private support and the planning strategies parents use based on information from a 1999 Statistics Canada national survey of 34,000 households. The contributors begin by examining changes to national and international educational funding policies and the relationship between public and private costs. They focus on the role of families in marshalling the necessary resources, demonstrating that access to post-secondary education is also determined by social capital. The authors conclude that new partnerships between parents, the state, and schools are redefining the various players' roles and commitments to the educational futures of Canadian children.