The Education Papers

Summary

The overall goal of this series of papers was to set the agendas of engaged citizens and policy decision makers, and inform their debates over current and emergent education policy issues by producing a series of high-quality analyses relevant to current and emergent debates. Because the issues facing primary, secondary and postsecondary schools differ widely, the series was conducted in two stages, with the first stage focusing on primary and secondary school issues. Max Bell Foundation helped support the six papers in Stage Two, which focus on post-secondary education issues, as well as communication of the complete series.

Grant Outputs

How We Pay Professors and Why It Matters – http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_221.pdf

Canadian universities differ in the way they compensate professors and these differences have noticeable effects on faculty performance in teaching and research. Universities with seniority-based salary structures should imitate those with merit-based compensation.

Public Investment in Skills: Are Canadian Governments Doing Enough? – http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_217.pdf

Skills are important to national economic growth — and Canada does not fare well in international skills comparisons. A comprehensive skills strategy to raise Canadian students’ and workers’ literacy and numeracy would help.

Selling Postsecondary Education: The Role of Private Vocational and Career Colleges – http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_219.pdf

Private career colleges play a key role in post-secondary education. Their rapid response to demands for training enhances labour market flexibility. The sector needs better self-regulation and its students should receive more public support.

Stay in School: New Lessons on the Benefits of Raising the Legal School-Leaving Age – http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_223.pdf

High-school dropout rates remain disturbingly high in Canada. But is raising the minimum age for leaving school part of the solution? New evidence suggests that it is.

The Future Is Not What It Used to Be: Re-examining Provincial Postsecondary Funding Mechanisms in Canada – http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_227.pdf

Current provincial funding mechanisms for postsecondary education do a very poor job of meeting the sector’s goals of quality, accessibility and responsiveness to labour-market needs. It is time to consider alternative funding mechanisms, of which student-based funding holds the greatest promise.

Carrots & Sticks: The Effect of Recent Spending and Tax Changes on the Incentive to Attend University – http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_220.pdf

Measures of the effective rates of tax and subsidy summarize the extent to which governments discourage or encourage university studies. Contrary to popular wisdom, recent changes in government policy have improved the incentive to attend university relative to six years ago.