Barriers for Immigrants Continuing their Studies
To better understand the difficulties in the education journey of some immigrant groups in Canada, I conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with Iranian immigrants working as taxi drivers in Montreal. These immigrants had not succeeded in obtaining a Canadian university degree. Most had arrived as asylum seekers. The backlog of asylum requests in 1980 and 1990 meant that they had to pay much higher tuition fees as foreign students. This had the effect of diverting their educational and career paths. In addition to the undervaluation of diplomas obtained abroad and the sense of discrimination that results, many other factors (the negative perception of education, the needs of their family, their wives returning to school and financial commitments towards other family members in Iran) lead to people taking a few courses. This study reveals that certain regulations limit the possibilities for some immigrant groups to pursue their educational studies, as well as certain aspects of their family and social lives.