Research Agenda
Research Objectives
The purpose of the proposed study
is to extend and broaden our use of administrative educational data in
analyzing the participation of and access to post-secondary education
by native-born and immigrant youth groups. We propose to link existing
TDSB data to administrative data from the Ontario Universities
Applications’ Centre (OUAC) and the Ontario College Application Centre
(OCAS), matching applications with the TDSB Student Information System
for the Year 2000 Grade 9 cohort, who were 18-21 years old on March 31,
2006. The merged (longitudinal) data will provide a unique and very
large data set of the Year 2000 Grade 9 cohort and permit us to track
their transition from high school. We will first examine the basis for
graduates’ decisions to proceed to a post-secondary institution
following graduation or, alternatively, to pursue some other pathway
that does not involve learning in the PSE system. We next will examine
the basis for graduates’ choice of a university or community college
program of study. The latter analysis will involve only those who
have been accepted by PSE
institutions. The contribution by a wide range of contextual,
structural, school and individual level factors to the prediction of
graduates’ post-high school transition pathways will be explored in our
study, paying particular attention to the dynamic processes that
accompany the movement of youth from secondary to post-secondary
education and the identification of barriers that influence the
decisions of a significant proportion of youth electing not to
(immediately) pursue a post-secondary education.
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