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Journal of Applied Research on Learning (JARL)

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Widening access: Making the transition from mass to universal post-secondary education in Canada

Abstract

It has long been recognized that innovative policies and programs can help to ameliorate unequal opportunities to accessing post-secondary education. With the demographic reality of an aging population and the secondary school population in decline, Canada must devote attention to increasing the educational attainment levels of disadvantaged and under-represented groups in order to meet growing social and economic challenges.

This paper highlights some of the contemporary challenges facing post-secondary education in Canada and focuses on the need for a system that is more democratic, open and accessible. The paper draws upon current research about the challenges faced by groups of Canadians who experience difficulty accessing higher-learning opportunities. It explores a number of possibilities for increasing educational participation and attainment for those who have traditionally been excluded from the system.

Vol. 2, Special Issue, Article 3: Widening access: Making the transition from mass to universal post-secondary education in Canada (PDF, 621 KB)

About the author

Dale Kirby is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Memorial’s Post-Secondary Education Studies programs. Prior to joining Memorial, he worked as a public servant in the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities.

Dr. Kirby completed his doctoral studies in Theory and Policy Studies in Education (Higher Education) at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education where he conducted research on rural post-secondary student finances and students’ choices to study beyond high school. He is a seventh generation Newfoundlander, originally from Lord's Cove on the Burin Peninsula of the island, where generations of his family have lived and worked in inshore fishing industries. His interest in post-secondary education as a field of study first emerged in the in the 1990s when he worked on post-secondary access and affordability issues with the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Students.

Dr. Kirby’s research interests include the transition to post-secondary education and the labour market with a focus on factors that influence student persistence and success, as well as post-secondary education policy and program development. He has published in the Alberta Journal of Educational Research, the Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, the Canadian Journal of Higher Education, and the Journal of Student Financial Aid. He is also the author of one of Canada’s most widely-read blogs about trends, issues, practices and problems in the field of post-secondary studies. Dr. Kirby is currently co-investigator on a five-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Community-University Research Alliance (CURA) study of student transition to post-secondary education and the workforce.

How to cite this article

Kirby, D. (2009). Widening access: Making the transition from mass to universal post-secondary education in Canada. Journal of Applied Research on Learning, 2 (special issue), Article 3, pp. 1-17.

Did you enjoy this article?

To view other resources available on our website that deal with issues similar to the ones discussed int his paper, visit the following pages.

Listen to Dr. Kirby’s talk presented during the Minerva Lecture Series.
Read the following issues of our Lessons in Learning series:
Access the three major reports on post-secondary education produced and published by the Canadian Council on Learning.
Learn more about how Canadians feel about post-secondary education by taking a look at our report on the 2008 results of the Survey of Canadian Attitudes toward Learning.

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