The educational attainment of Aboriginal peoples in Canada: An analysis of the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS)

Educational inequality is experienced by Aboriginal peoples and is long-standing. On average, the educational attainment of Aboriginal peoples is significantly lower than for non-Aboriginal people. As a result, there is a large gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people at every level of educational attainment. Despite efforts to address this inequality, obstacles continue to prevent Aboriginal peoples from completing secondary school and achieving higher levels of schooling. Academics and policy makers have failed to uncover the causes of educational inequality despite decades of effort and observation. This thesis addresses this gap by using the 2001 Aboriginal Peoples Survey to identify the factors contributing to the educational attainment of Aboriginal peoples in Canada.;The results of this study find that receiving financial assistance for post-secondary education is the single most important factor contributing to educational attainment. Surprisingly, the majority of Aboriginal students with treaty status who are entitled to funding for post-secondary education do not receive it; a breach of the governments' treaty obligations. There are also non-Status Aboriginal peoples who would benefit from greater access to funding outside of treaty obligations. This study also reveals that educational attainment is unequally distributed among Aboriginal peoples. Women and those without treaty status have the highest educational attainment. This research illustrates the need for increased funding for post-secondary education for all Aboriginal students, and initiatives to improve secondary school completion rates.