Educational mobility in Canada, 1969–2016: Evidence from the longitudinal and international study of adults

Abstract

That young Canadians are obtaining more education than previous generations might suggest that the relationship between parents’ education and that of their children has weakened. However, accounts of intergenerational educational mobility in Canada published in the past two decades are scant. Drawing on the Longitudinal and International Study of Adults, this paper examines trends in intergenerational educational mobility from 1969 to 2016. Adopting an educational transition approach, I find no change in the relative relationship between parents’ and children's education over time despite the structural expansion of education. The results of a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition suggest the upgrading of parents’ education across cohorts partially explains this stability. The analyses further reveal a bifurcation in Canada's post-secondary system whereby higher parental education provides and advantage to youth for university degree completion while those whose parents have less education make their way to other post-secondary institutions.