Predictors of Student Success in Canadian Polytechnics and CEGEPs - Predictors of Student Success in Non-University Post-Secondary Contexts

Oct 15, 2026

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Student success in post-secondary education remains a persistent concern, as much Canadian work has emphasized relatively homogeneous university samples and offers limited evidence on predictors of achievement. This study applies a psychosocial model and tests non-cognitive personal qualities—age, gender, perceived stress, maternal education, identity style, perseverance, and engagement—across multi-site samples from a Quebec CEGEP (N=239) and an Ontario polytechnic (N=209). Maternal education and perseverance predict success in both settings, while identity-information and cognitive engagement links vary by location, supporting context-sensitive approaches.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Predictors of Student Success in Canadian Polytechnics and CEGEPs

Study scope and research rationale

Predictors and research model

Post-secondary context: Canada, polytechnics, and CEGEPs

CSSHE SCÉES Canadian Journal of Higher Education Revue canadienne d’enseignement supérieur Volume 48, No. 2, 2018, pages 74-91 Predictors of Student Success in Canadian Polytechnics and CEGEPs Heather Ramey Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning Heather Lawford Bishop’s University Heather Chalmers Brock University Yana Lakman Brock University Abstract Student success in post-secondary education is an ongoing concern, however, research has focused on relatively homogeneous university samples. Moreover, Canadian research on predictors of student success is limited. Following recent trends, we examined non-cognitive, personal qualities, rather than cognitive predictors (e.g., IQ), of student success. Relying on a psychosocial model, we examined age, gender, perceived stress, maternal education, identity style, perseverance, and student engagement as predictors of student success in a multi-site sample of students attending a CEGEPin Quebec (N= 239; Mage = 18.6 years; 68.2% female) and a polytechnic school in Ontario (N= 209; Mage = 20.6 years; 71.3% female). Maternal education and perseverance emerged as significant predictors in both samples. Links between informational identity and cognitive engagement and student success differed by location. Our findings suggest the need to focus on student perseverance, and to consider identity and cognitive engagement dependent on the educational context. CJHE / RCES Volume 48, No. 2, 2018 Polytechnic and CEGEP Student Success / H. Ramey, H. Lawford, H. Chalmers, & Y. Lakman 75 Résumé La réussite étudiante dans les institutions d’éducation post-secondaire est une source de préoccupation constant. Toutefois, les études publiées jusqu’à présent portaient sur des échantillons universitaires relativement homogènes. De plus, les recherches canadiennes portant sur les indicateurs prévisionnels de la réussite étudiante sont limitées. Emboîtant le pas à de nouvelles tendances, nous avons étudié les qualités personnelles noncognitives, plutôt que les indicateurs prévisionnels cognitifs (ex. QI) de laréussite étudiante. Suivant un modèle psycho-social, nous nous sommes penchés sur l’âge, le sexe, le niveau perçu de stress, l’éducation maternelle, le style identitaire, la persévérance, et l’engagement des étudiants à titred’indicateurs prévisionnels de réussite étudiante chez un échantillon multisites d’étudiants qui fréquentent un CÉGEP au Québec (N = 239; Mage = 18.6 ans; 68.2% femmes) ainsi qu’une école polytechnique ontarienne (N = 209; Mage = 20.6 ans; 71.3% femmes). L’éducation maternelle et la persévérance se sont révélées des indicateurs importants pour les deux échantillons. Le lien entre l’identité informationnelle, l’engagement cognitif, et laréussite étudiante variaient selon les lieux. Nos résultats démontrent qu’il faut davantage porter l’attention sur la persévérance étudiante, et de voir l’identité et l’engagement cognitifs à titre de facteurs qui dépendent du contexte éducationnel. Predictors of Student Success in Non-University Post-Secondary Contexts Student success in post-secondary education is an ongoing concern, likely because of numerous factors, including Canadian government funding models focused on student success and attrition (Childs, Finnie, & Martinello, 2017; Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, 2015) . A wave of recent Canadian research on post-secondary attendance has emerged from the Youth in Transitions Survey, focusing on factors that predict attendance and persistence (Childs et al., 2017; Jerrim & Vignoles, 2015), but Canadian research on predictors of student success (i.e., average grades) appears to be more limited. Disproportionately, existing research on student success in post-secondary contexts has focused on relatively homogeneous samples of undergraduate university students, particularly those in psychology programs (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010; O’Connell & Sheikh, 2011; Vedel, 2014), creati

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study?

The study examines predictors of student success in non-university post-secondary contexts, using non-cognitive personal qualities rather than cognitive predictors like IQ.

Which factors predicted student success in both samples?

Maternal education and perseverance emerged as significant predictors in both the Quebec CEGEP sample and the Ontario polytechnic sample.

How did the predictors differ across locations?

The relationships between informational identity, cognitive engagement, and student success differed by location, indicating that these links depend on the educational context.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Muffet