Immigrant Parents’ Investments in Their Children’s Post-Secondary Education

Oct 15, 2026

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This paper examines how resources available to immigrant families relate to the willingness and ability of parents to save for children’s post-secondary education. Using data from Statistics Canada’s 2002 Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning, the study compares PSE saving patterns for immigrant and native-born parents. Results show income and asset wealth limit savings in some immigrant families, while shared parenting beliefs and practices help both groups invest in educational futures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Background

Educational Planning

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 40, No. 3, 2010, pages 59-80 Immigrant Parents’ Investments in Their Children’s Post-Secondary Education Robert Sweet Lakehead University Paul Anisef York University David Walters University of Guelph ABSTRACT This paper examines relationships between the resources available to immigrant families and the amount parents are willing and able to save for their children’s post-secondary education (PSE) . We use data from Statistics Canada’s 2002 Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning to compare immigrant and native-born PSE saving. The results indicate that income and asset wealth constrain PSE savings in some immigrant families. However, immigrants share with non-immigrants a set of parenting beliefs and practices that encourage both groups to invest in their children’s educational futures. RÉSUMÉ Cet article examine les relations entre les ressources disponibles aux familles immigrantes et le montant que les parents veulent et peuvent épargner pour les études postsecondaires (EPS) de leurs enfants. Aﬁn de comparer les épargnes pour les EPS des immigrants et des non-immigrants, nous avons eu recours aux données de l’Enquête sur les approches en matière de planiﬁcation des études, effectuée en 2002 par Statistique Canada. Les résultats révèlent quel’état de l’actif et des revenus freine l’épargne pour les EPS chez certaines familles immigrantes. Toutefois, les immigrants et non-immigrants partagent un ensemble de croyances et de pratiques parentales communes qui encouragent les deux différents groupes à investir dans l’avenir éducationnel de leurs enfants. CJHE / RCES Volume 40, No. 3, 2010 Immigrant Parents and Their Children’s Post-Secondary Education / R. Sweet, P. Anisef, & D. Walters 60 INTRODUCTION Immigrants to Canada typically value higher education and most assume their children will attend a college or university (Krahn & Taylor, 2005; Looker & Thiessen, 2004) . While there is an established body of research on immigrants’ post-secondary education (PSE) aspirations, there is less understanding of how immigrant parents plan and prepare for this. Planning for PSE requires the systematic investment of a range of resources. Adequate ﬁnancial support is, of course, essential in a time of rising tuition fees and much of this ﬁnancial responsibility falls to families. There is evidence of declining earnings and higher levels of poverty among immigrants, especially among recent arrivals (Fleury, 2007; Picot, Hou, & Coulombe, 2007) . This suggests immigrant families are experiencing signiﬁcant modiﬁcations to family spending priorities and constraints on the capacity to save for their children’s future education. However, many immigrant parents arrive in Canada with advanced levels of education that have the potential to buffer the negative effects of reduced income (deBroucker, 2005) . Family income and parents’ education are basic markers of socio-economic status. Both inﬂuence parents’views on the importance of post-secondary education. They also shape parental willingness and ability to commit the needed ﬁnancial resources to their children’s PSE. Immigrant and non-immigrant parents make additional investments of emotional, cultural, and social capital to encourage and support children’s academic performance (Sweet & Anisef, 2005) . These are expressed in various parenting behaviours such as involvement in children’s learning, the establishment of social connections with community and school personnel, and the nurturing of a belief in PSE as an achievable goal. Together, these practices constitute a broad investment strategy that includes and complements the ﬁnancial contributions parents make toward their children’s post-secondary education (Frenette, 2007; Lefebvre, 2004) . The possession and activation of non-material forms of family capital will sustain PSE ambitions and facilitate ch

FAQs

How does the paper study immigrant families’ post-secondary education savings?

It uses Statistics Canada’s 2002 Survey of Approaches to Educational Planning and compares PSE saving between immigrant and native-born families.

What factors limit PSE savings for some immigrant families?

The results indicate that income and asset wealth constrain parents’ ability to save for children’s post-secondary education.

What common parenting factors support educational investment across groups?

Immigrants and non-immigrants share parenting beliefs and practices that encourage investment in children’s educational futures.

Oct 15, 2026

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