Rurality and Capital - Educational Expectations and Attainments of Rural, Urban/Rural and Metropolitan youth

Oct 15, 2026

Paper uses data from two Canadian longitudinal surveys to analyze how rural versus urban/rural and metropolitan residence shapes young people’s educational expectations and attainments. Surveys span British Columbia and Nova Scotia, provinces with markedly different postsecondary structures. Results indicate rural students in both provinces show lower expectations and attainment after controlling for parental background, gender, and academic stream. Cross-province comparisons show divergent postsecondary pursuit and degree completion patterns, and implications for future research and policy are discussed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages45

Reading Time1 h 53 min

AccessFree to download

ABSTRACT

RÉSUMÉ

INTRODUCTION

Rurality and Capital:Educational Expectationsand Attainments of Rural,Urban/Rural andMetropolitan youth* LESLEY ANDRES &E.DIANNE LOOKER The University of British Columbia &Acadia University # ABSTRACT This paper uses data from two longitudinal surveys of Canadianyouth to examine the effects of rural versus urban/rural and metropolitanresidence on young people's educational expectations and attainments.The surveys are based in British Columbia(B.C.)and Nova Scotia(N.S.),two provinces that have very different systems of postsecondaryeducation.B.C.has an articulated system with formal structures whichallow students to take the first two years of university study at a commu-nity college before transferring to a university.N.S.has no such formaltransfer system.Its community college system is not well developed butit has a large number of universities,some of which are in rural areas.The findings show that,in both provinces,students in rural areas havelower expectations and attainments compared to other students,evenwhen parental background,gender and academic stream are controlled.A comparison across provinces shows that rural youth in B.C.are more likely than their N.S.counterparts to pursue postsecondary education,but rural N.S.youth are more likely to have successfully completed adegree program four to five years after high school.Implications of thesefindings for future research as well as for policy changes in the twoprovinces are discussed. # RÉSUMÉ Cette recherche utilise des données de deux études longitudinalesportant sur les jeunes Canadiens pour examiner les effets du lieu derésidence (rural,urbain/rural,métropolitain)sur les attentes éducatives etla réussite scolaire des jeunes.Les sondages ont été menés en Colombie-Britannique et en Nouvelle Ecosse,deux provinces qui ont des systèmesd'études supérieures différents.La Colombie-Britannique a un systèmearticulé avec des structures formelles qui permettent aux étudiants desuivre leur deux premières annees d'études universitaires au collège avantde transférer dans une université.La Nouvelle Écosse n'a pas ce systèmede transfert formel.Son système collégial n'est pas bien développé maisil existe dans cette province un grand nombre d'universités,dontquelques-unes sont situées dans les régions rurales.Les résultatsindiquent que,dans ces deux provinces,les étudiants des régions ruralesont des attentes et des niveaux de reussite plus bas en comparaison avecles autres étudiants,meme quand le milieu familial,le genre et leparcours scolaire sont controlés.Les comparaisons entre les provincesindiquent que les jeunes des régions rurales en Colombie-Britanniquesont plus susceptibles que leurs pairs en Nouvelle Écosse de poursuivredes études supérieures,mais les jeunes des régions rurales en NouvelleEcosse sont plus susceptibles de compléter avec succes un programme depremier cycle quatre à cinq années après le secondaire.Les implicationsde ces résultats pour des recherches futures de meme que pour desmodifications de politique dans les deux provinces sont discutées. # INTRODUCTION Geographic location has long been identified as one of the factorsaffecting whether and where youth participate in postsecondary educa-tion.Individuals living in non-urban areas have been identified as“under-represented”in institutions of higher education(Commission onthe Future Development of the Universities of Ontario,1984;Fortin,1987;Pike,1970;Report of the B.C.Provincial Access Committee,1988;Siemens,1965a,1965b;Stephenson,1982).Provincial effortssuch as the establishment of universities in rural areas,the creation andexpansion of community college systems,and the development of alter-nate methods of program delivery(e.g.,open learning institutions)havebeen introduced,in different ways and varying degrees,to increase theeducational levels of rural populations However,few comparative stud-ies exist to assess how the structure of the postsecondary system influ-ences participation by rural,u

FAQs

Which provinces are compared in the study and why?

The study compares British Columbia and Nova Scotia because their postsecondary systems differ substantially.

How does rural residence relate to educational expectations and attainment?

In both provinces, rural students have lower educational expectations and attainments than other students even after controlling for parental background, gender, and academic stream.

What contrasting findings appear when comparing the two provinces?

Rural youth in British Columbia are more likely to pursue postsecondary education, while rural youth in Nova Scotia are more likely to successfully complete a degree program four to five years after high school.

Oct 15, 2026

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