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In the media: Canada鈥檚 Black population faces varying job prospects despite equal education. Here鈥檚 why

Hands of Professor Carl James turning the pages of one of his books

are just as educated as the rest of the country overall but is shedding light on how cultural barriers may be driving differences in education levels between different generations in Black communities.

A closer look at the data on racialized groups released Jan. 18 shows there are significant differences in the education levels among working-aged Black people who have recently entered the country, and those who are third-generation Canadians or more.

The data showed Canada鈥檚 Black population was just as likely to have achieved a bachelor鈥檚 degree or higher from a university 鈥 whether in Canada or abroad. While the national average sits at 32.9 per cent, for Canada鈥檚 Black community, it is at 32.4 per cent.

Professor Carl James, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community and Diaspora at 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Education noted the cultural barriers preventing some Black students from attending university.

While financial issues are present, he also said familial support for education, as well as teacher encouragement, makes a difference for students during their K-to-12 education.

鈥淚f you have these ideas about the students you鈥檙e teaching, that will influence how you think and how you work with the students,鈥 Carl James said, pointing at teacher bias and how that could impact their commitment to students who they think don鈥檛 have a shot of attending university.

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