Higher Education in Canada: Different Systems, Different Perspectives

This book presents the most comprehensive analysis of higher education in Canada ever published. Since there is no national system, the contributors describe and analyze the development of higher education in Canada since 1945 using the provincial/territorial jurisdiction as the unit of analysis. Each of the core chapters discusses the evolution of postsecondary education within the context of the political, cultural, and social dimensions of a particular jurisdiction. Each chapter is written by a leading scholar in the field with particular expertise on a specific jurisdiction. The resultant portrait of Canadian higher education illustrates the unusual ways in which higher education has evolved in the Canadian federation, and the enormous differences between jurisdictions. For example, the challenges associated with the development of postsecondary education within the socio-political context of Quebec differ markedly from those of the huge, sparsely populated Northwest Territories. While there are manysimilarities between Canadian and American higher education, including similar rates of participation, Canada's geography, cultural diversity, and its highly decentralized approach to education policy have led to the development of a unique combination of different systems and different perspectives.