Rural and urban educational attainment: An investigation of patterns and trends, 1981-1996. Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin 4(5

♦ The gap in educational attainment between urban and rural regions persisted over the 1981 to 1996 period. ♦ Although the average gap did not close, there was a decline in the disparities in educational attainment across census divisions within each type of region. Thus, disadvantaged census divisions were relatively less disadvantaged at the end of the period. ♦ The rural-urban primary education gap closed considerably, but individuals with only primary educational attainment are now more concentrated in rural regions. Thus, more can still be achieved in levelling spatial disparities in primary educational attainment. ♦ Post-secondary educational attainment increased within each type of region – the rural-urban gap persisted – but the concentration in urban regions did not increase. ♦ Differences between macro-regions are marked ― a major divide appears with the southern and western parts of Canada having higher levels of educational attainment and the northern and eastern parts of Canada having lower levels