Access to Higher Education in Canada

This paper examines changes in access to higher education in Canada for individuals born in the first half of this century. The data show variations in attendance at, or graduation from, university or non-university postsecondary educational programmes by gender, language group, and socioeconomic background. The statistical analysis uses information from a large, nationally representative sample of Canadians. Results show a process of democratization at the postsecondary non- university level, but only a modest reduction in disparities at the university level.Cet article est un examen des changements encourues eu égard à l'accessibilité à l'enseignement supérieur au Canada pour les personnes nées dans la première moitié sexe, langue maternelle et milieu socio-économique pour les inscrits et les diplô-més de niveau universitaire ou de niveau postsecondaire autre qu'universitaire, més de niveau universitaire ou de niveau postsecondaire autre qu 'universitaire. L 'analyse statistique utilise les données d'un échantillon grand et représentatif de la population du Canada. Les résultats révèlent une plus grande démocratisation ou niveau postsecondaire autre qu'universitaire tandis que l'affaissement des disparités est plutôt négligeable à l'université

The Effects of Gender and Parental Education on Participation Within Post-Secondary Education in the 1970s and 1980s

Knowledge of factors affecting access to post-secondary education is growing, but we know much less about influences shaping patterns of study within higher education. This paper explores the impact of gender and parental education on student decisions to study part-time or full-time, to choose college or university, and to enroll in different fields of study. These issues are examined using representative national samples of Canadian students from 1974-75 and 1983-84. We demonstrate that both gender and family education play decisive roles in influencing patterns of participation in higher education and that the effects of family background differ significantly between women and men.Nous connaissons de mieux en mieux les facteurs qui affectent l'accès à l'éducation post-secondaire, ce qui n'est pas le cas des influences qui façonnent les programmes d'étude à V intérieur de /' éducation supérieure. Le présent article examine les effets de V éducation des parents et du sexe de l'étudiant sur la décision de s'inscrire comme étudiant à plein temps ou à temps partiel, sur le choix entre le collège et l'université, et sur le choix du domaine d'étude. Ces questions sont abordées en faisant appel à des échantillons nationaux représentatifs des étudiants canadiens en 1974-1975 et 1983-1984. Nous démontrons que le sexe de l'étudiant et l'éducation des parents jouent un rôle décisif dans les modèles de participation à l'éducation supérieure, et que l'historique familial exerce une influence fort différente selon qu'il s'agit d'un étudiant ou d'une étudiante

Gendered Science: Representational Dynamics in British Columbia Science Textbooks over the Last Half Century

Gender continues to segregate schools despite substantial progress in promoting genderequity. The practice of science has long been associated with masculinity (e.g., rational, objective, and unemotional) but there have been recent attempts to assert a more nuanced gender balance in science education. These would include highlighting female scientists in curricula, teaching science in ways more appealing to both girls and boys, and providing female as well as male role models in textbooks. The concepts gender balance, gender roles, and gender framing are used to focus our analyses. We investigate the representationof gender by analyzing images and the context surrounding these images in BC science textbooks used in Grades 7 to 11

Understanding Canadians’ Declining Confidence in Public Education

Canadians’ confidence in public education is declining. We present new evidence, both attitudinal and behavioural, confirming this trend. More significantly, we investigate several possible explanations for the trend, including demographic as well as institutional perspectives. Our analysis finds little support for demographic shifts as an explanation, but we do find that confidence in all institutions, not just public education, is waning. We compare and contrast various interpretations of these findings, building especially on the themes of the knowledge society and the risk society. We interpret these findings as showing that Canadians see schooling as increasingly important. La confiance des canadiens dans l’enseignement public n’est plus ce qu’elle était. Les au- teurs présentent de nouvelles données sur les comportements et les attitudes qui viennent le confirmer. En outre, ils se penchent surtout sur plusieurs explications possibles de cette tendance, y compris les facteurs démographiques et institutionnels. D’après leur analyse, il n’est guère possible de retenir l’explication démographique, mais ils ont effectivement pu observer la perte de confiance dans toutes les institutions, et pas seulement dans l’enseignement public. Les auteurs comparent diverses façons d’interpréter ces constata- tions en insistant tout particulièrement sur les thèmes de la société de la connaissance et de la société du risque. D’après eux, les résultats observés démontrent que les canadiens considèrent l’éducation comme étant de plus en plus importante.

Debates and Directions in the Future of Opinion Polling Data

Debates and Directions in the Future of Opinion Polling Dat

Teaching and Learning Under COVID-19 Public Health Edicts: The Role of Household Lockdowns and Prior Technology Usage

Public health edicts necessitated by COVID-19 prompted a rapid pivot to remote online teaching and learning. Two major consequences followed: households became students\u27 main learning space, and technology became the sole medium of instructional delivery. We use the ideas of digital disconnect and digital divide to examine, for students and faculty, their prior experience with, and proficiency in using, learning technology. We also explore, for students, how household lockdowns and digital capacity impacted learning. Our findings are drawn from 3806 students and 283 faculty instructors from nine higher education institutions across Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. For instructors, we find little evidence of a digital divide but some evidence of a digital disconnect. However, neither made a difference to self-reported success in transitioning courses. Faculty instructors were impacted in a myriad of diverse ways. For students, we show that closure and confinement measures which created difficult living situations were associated with lower levels of confidence in learning. The digital divide that did exist among students was less influential than were household lockdown measures in undermining student learning

Structural basis for the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 virulence factor nsp1 with DNA polymerase α-primase.

The molecular mechanisms that drive the infection by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-are under intense current scrutiny to understand how the virus operates and to uncover ways in which the disease can be prevented or alleviated. Recent proteomic screens of the interactions between viral and host proteins have identified the human proteins targeted by SARS-CoV-2. The DNA polymerase α (Pol α)-primase complex or primosome-responsible for initiating DNA synthesis during genomic duplication-was identified as a target of nonstructural protein 1 (nsp1), a major virulence factor in the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we validate the published reports of the interaction of nsp1 with the primosome by demonstrating direct binding with purified recombinant components and providing a biochemical characterization of their interaction. Furthermore, we provide a structural basis for the interaction by elucidating the cryo-electron microscopy structure of nsp1 bound to the primosome. Our findings provide biochemical evidence for the reported targeting of Pol α by the virulence factor nsp1 and suggest that SARS-CoV-2 interferes with Pol α's putative role in the immune response during the viral infection