TY - RPRT AU - Christofides, Louis N. AU - Hoy, Michael AU - Milla, Joniada AU - Stengos, Thanasis TI - Grades, Aspirations and Post-Secondary Education Outcomes PY - 2012/Sep/ PB - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) CY - Bonn T2 - IZA Discussion Paper IS - 6867 UR - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp6867 AB - We explore the forces that shape the development of aspirations and the achievement of grades during high school and the role that these aspirations, grades, and other variables play in educational outcomes such as going to university and graduating. We find that parental expectations and peer effects have a significant impact on educational outcomes through grades, aspirations, and their interconnectedness, an issue explained in the context of a rich, longitudinal data set. Apart from this indirect path, parents and peers also influence educational outcomes directly. Policy measures that operate on parental influences may modify educational outcomes in desired directions. KW - university attendance KW - aspirations KW - peers KW - parents KW - Canada ER -