Roots and STEMS? Examining field of study choices among northern and rural youth in Canada

• Published in: Studies in higher education (Dorchester-on-Thames) Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 563 - 593
• Main Authors: Hango, Darcy, Zarifa, David, Pizarro Milian, Roger, Seward, Brad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04.03.2021; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Access to Education; Barriers; College Attendance; Colleges & universities; field of study; Foreign Countries; Geographic Location; Geographic Regions; High School Graduates; higher education; Individual Characteristics; Mathematics; parental socio-economic status (SES); Postsecondary Education; Provinces; Proximity; Regional inequalities; Residence; rural; Rural Areas; Rural communities; Science and technology; Secondary School Students; Socioeconomic Influences; STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics); STEM Education; Youth; Canada
• ISSN: 0307-5079; 1470-174X
• DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2019.1643308

Despite several decades of postsecondary expansion, new research finds youth from northern and rural areas in Canada still experience difficulties making the transition to postsecondary education, and those who do attend take longer to do so. Proximity, we argue, may also have a considerable impact on one's field selection, as many of Canada's larger universities and colleges, who offer considerably more program and degree options, tend to be concentrated in large, urban centers, and in the southern regions of Canada's provinces. This study draws on Cycles 1-4 of Statistics Canada's Youth in Transition Survey - Cohort A to examine regional inequalities in accessing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)-related fields at both the university and non-university levels. Indeed, our findings suggest that location of residence does impact field choices, as students from northern and rural areas were less likely to enter STEM as well as non-STEM, university programs.