Critical Literature Review of Student Assistance Programs
Critical Literature Review of Canadian Student Assistance Programs
Article 1:
Question: Lightman & Connell (2001) asks how the Canadian government provides more financial support for post-graduate student assistance programs for social workers?
Summary:
This study evaluated the student debt ratio of 271 social worker students at the University of Toronto and Ryerson, which illustrates the difficulty that students have in repaying their loans. A qualitative interview process was provided for the students, which provided findings that suggest that increased tuition fees were placing increased financial burdens on the students: “These findings suggest that the barriers represented
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Perhaps, this study could provide more evidence of the broader ramifications of student financial aid that are part of the current neoliberal agenda of higher education in Canada.
Article 2:
Question: Cooke & Gazso (2009) ask the question: How can a life course analysis of student assistance programs define the struggles of single mother student’s in the neoliberal culture of Canadian higher education?
Summary:
Cooke & Gazso (2009) imply a quantitative and qualitative approach to the life course of student assistance programs that can identify major alterations in governmental and social policies in higher education. An evaluation of data collected from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), which reveals a cross-sectional analysis of charts and tables show gender biases, financial inadequacies, and other factors related to student assistance programs. The qualitative data reveals that 28 lone mothers were interviewed. The strength of this study reveals the important role of student assistance programs can benefit single mothers, yet the weaknesses of the study do not adequately the success rates of women in these university programs in Saskatchewan (Cooke & Gazso, 2009,
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The findings suggest that students with parents with graduate degrees working in a professional field were more likely to graduate (Frenete, 2008, p.94). The strengths of this study, student assistance programs in the University of Ontario have a socioeconomic bias towards students without parents that have graduated or worked in a particular field. The weaknesses of this study do not adequately define the effect of student assistance programs through financial assistance, since many middle class students were given financial aid to partake in these educational
Porter, A. (2003). Consolidating Neoliberal Reforms: Globalization, Multi-Earner Families, and the Erosion of State Support for the Unemployed. Gendered States: Women, Unemployment Insurance and the Political Economy of the Welfare State in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Martin and Lehren’s article “A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College” addresses the issue faced by current and former college students dealing with large amounts of debts due to student loans. The article presents the reader with stories of former college students who have either graduated or dropped out, and their struggle to pay off their student loans. The article also talks about issues such as students not being informed about high amounts of student loans and why student debts have increased. Martin and Lehren also make the issue of student debt more intimidating by giving examples
In my community, El Sereno, college is viewed as an option as opposed to it being the next step in life. Most people in my area either begin working or start a family after they graduate from high school. Not always by choice, but in some cases by circumstance. Students in my neighborhood either lack the knowledge, financial support, guidance or even legal status that would otherwise drive them to apply or even go to college. About eighty-percent of students graduated from my high school, but only about twenty-percent ended up attending a four-year university (NINCHE). One of the biggest reasons for student’s low college entrance rate has to deal with their family's socioeconomic
In order to maintain a normal lifestyle, single mothers have to shoulder a lot of responsibilities- running errands and spending time with their kids, besides having to work for long durations at office. Statistically speaking, almost 38 out of every 100 single moms lie below the poverty level, which can be obviated if they possess a bachelor’s degree. For receiving proper education, women like these need financial aids to support themselves through undergraduate school. Thus, keeping in mind such conditions, certain college scholarships have been proposed to financially assist single mothers.
As The “Progress of Education Reform” suggests, tuition discounting is major contributor to the rising cost of college in the sense that while it provides a tuition discount to the one particular student receiving the grant or scholarship it places a heavier burden on the majority demographic that attends the university without such discounting. (The Progress of Education Reform” 1). In contrast to popular opinion, scholarships and grants which are normally regarded as blessings are ironically a contributing factor to rising tuition prices. Basically, the universities have to make up for the money they lost by awarding the scholarships so the majority of the student population who did not qualify feel it in their pocketbooks. A final cause of this ludicrous tuition spike is the shift in university budgets to cater to the administration departments of the schools. Jobs in this department are non-teaching jobs that provide student services ranging from student safety to counseling and wellness programs. These jobs are definitely
In addition to a discriminatory job market and unrealistic expectations, the youth of today also has to deal with an education system that is in many respects inadequate. Tuition in Canada has nearly quadrupled in the past twenty years (Deschamps 2015), vastly outpacing the amount of inflation over the same time period. This has led to an increasing amount of recent graduates being in debt and unable to find a job. On top of that, universities have not changed very much over the past thirty years, despite the job market changing drastically over the same time span. This has led to a growing disconnect between universities programs and available jobs (Kawaguchi & Murao 2014). As a result, universities today are preparing the population for
In Tokarczyk’s essay, “Promises to Keep: Working Class Students and Higher Education,” she claims that working class students face both academic and institutional barriers in getting college degrees. According to Tokarczyk, working class students usually lack preparation for post-secondary education, which she categorizes as an “academic barrier” (85). Problems such as school policies that are not designed for working class students, peers who are not able to understand the situations that they have, and faculty m...
University is an investment into the future, and everyone is an investor in a democratic socialist country like Canada. Since post secondary education is not mandatory, I think it is only fair to ask that students contribute to the cost of their own future, as well as the future of their society.
Studies have shown that college graduates on average earn more money in their lifetime than non-college graduates. But college grads who didn’t have scholarships spend years paying off student loan debts. Ronald D. Lankford, an editor and writer for the journal The Rising Cost of College, and Richard Vedder, a writer and economics professor at Ohio University, have written articles on their views of college costs and the reasons they think why it is so steep. Lankford, author of Introduction to the Rising Cost of College, explains why he thinks college costs are so high and how it affects people. Vedder, author of Pell Grants Raise the Cost of College and Cause Education Inequality, cites Pell Grants and financial aid as important factors in the rising cost of college. Although both authors offer strong arguments, I think Vedder presents the stronger argument because he has more credibility, being and economics professor.
Single mothers also find that they often aren’t having their need met at their institutions. Despite the fact that student parents are more likely to receive federal tuition assistance in the form of Pell Grants than non-parents, (43 percent and 23 percent respectively) the average unmet financial need of student parents after all aid is still high. Single student parents have an average annual unmet need of $6,117 compared to $3,650 for non-parent students (Nelson,
The article’’ The Reason College Cost More Than You Think’’ by Jon Marcus, informs students that there are a lot of financial responsibilities to come from being a college student.
In the modern world, being a student, especially at very early age can be very challenging. Most people don’t realize how much work and dedication it represents, but as a young woman, it is necessary to show organization, courage and dedication. Being a student, either part time with a job or full time, the pregnancy and the daily care of a child interferes greatly with the life of a student. Being young single mother has significant financial, emotional and psychological consequences on a young woman at City College of San Francisco is harder to achieve as chances for success decrease with age.
The ability to gain a degree in any field of study is highly important in American society, possessing skills and knowledge over your job emphasizes the significance of higher education. Especially, for job promotions that would cause someone to make more than their fellow colleagues. In our increasingly competitive economic society, having the minimal of a high school diploma is not enough to provide financial stability nor will it help to compete in a workforce in which the best-educated are the ones that are rewarded the most. Therefore, higher education is a crucial necessity in order to move up the socioeconomic ladder and qualify for higher paying jobs. The rising costs of college, however, is making it harder for Americans to obtain
Many significant questions regarding higher education are in relation to its cost, raising fears that higher education has become unaffordable. Education fee for universities and colleges has continuously grown to become one of the largest expense for most students and parents over the years, especially with the never-ending dramatic tuition fee increases resulting from public funding cuts for education by the federal and state governments. Selingo (para 3) reported that higher education cost definitely has a direct impact on access, thus, the frequent increases in cost are logically of great concern to many, including parents, students, and education policymakers. In other words, this has disadvantaged the poor families, resulting in unequal education opportunities for Americans and putting attainment of higher education in danger of becoming a hereditary privilege rather than a right for all people (Selingo para 6).
Enrolling in a university can be a financial burden on students. Some are able to get support from their families while others have to rely on federal and provincial loans. Taking loans from the government often has interest rates when it comes to paying them back. With this cost in mind, students should understand that is it ...