Trial, Error and a Time of One’s Own. Enrolling Anew in Postsecondary Education as a Strategy towards Achievement and Attainment in Canada

Benoît Laplante, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
Pierre Doray, Université du Québec à Montréal
Constanza Street, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)
Canisius Kamanzi, Université du Québec à Montréal

In Canada, enrolling anew in postsecondary education is common. Research from other countries suggests that this could be a step in the process towards educational achievement and attainment. We use a lifecourse perspective, hazard models, and data from a panel survey that enable us to follow a sample of 5613 individuals from the moment they interrupt postsecondary education until they enrol back or up to age 27. Our results show that enrolling anew is related to non-traditional patterns of transition of adulthood and of education and career choices similar to what is found in some European countries. The successful young people take a gap year between undergraduate and graduates studies whereas less successful youth use the flexibility of the education system to ‘repair’ a trajectory that went off course. Given that these strategies rely on affordable postsecondary education, the current trend at raising tuition fees could make them fade away.