This volume of research paper is comprised of seven separate documents.
Description:
A new volume of research papers - the product of a research program managed by CPRN, the School of Policy Studies at Queen's University [SPS], and Statistics Canada, provides a synthesis of recent research on human capital development in seven different academic disciplines [economics, sociology, psychology, education, public health, economic geography and political science]. The authors identified areas for new research and specifically research that would cross disciplinary boundaries.
Excerpts from press release:
Human capital for the purposes of this study is defined as "skills and knowledge that can be drawn upon by an individual to generate outputs of value." The "outputs of value" include non-marketable outcomes like civic engagement as well as labour market outcomes.
A statistical presentation included with the papers finds that Canadian primary and high school systems are performing fairly well by international standards. Access to post-secondary education is also fairly high, though some face barriers. But Canada's performance in access to early childhood education and adult learning opportunities is sub-par.
For example, the rate of participation in an education program by Canadian children under 5 years is among the lowest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) &em; a fact that has negative repercussions for later learning. As for adult education, the participation rate in job-related adult learning is in the middle of the OECD pack and well below that of the United States.