​About th​e ETS

Welcome to the Edmonton Transitions Study (ETS)!
This program of research includes three studies that tracked the school-work transitions of three cohorts of Alberta youth. With the involvement of almost 5000 participants, and support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Alberta government, and the University of Alberta, the ETS has provided insights into the education, career, and life paths of Alberta young people as they moved from school to work and into young adulthood and midlife in a rapidly changing social, economic, and political environment.
Learn more about project 1, project 2, and project 3.

Coming Soon: Age 18 to Age...50!

The ETS research team has decided to transition into phase 8 of their study in 2017, bringing the study into its 32nd year! The research team will be reconnecting with the high school class of 1985 (now age 50) to see how they are navigating the experiences of midlife. Click here to learn more!

Primary Projects

Project 1 focuses on almost 1,000 Edmonton teens who were surveyed the year they completed high school in 1985 and six more times, most recently in 2010. ​The new 2017 survey will take place 32 years after their initial participation.
Project 2 examines the transition experiences of almost 600 participants who received University of Alberta degrees in 1985; they were surveyed six times from 1985 to 1999.
Project 3 compares the transition experiences of Generation X (the Class of 1985) and Generation Y (the Class of 1996); almost 2,700 Alberta high school seniors were surveyed in 1996 and again in 2003. 
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the University of Alberta, and the Alberta government.
Data from 1985 to 2010 were collected by the Population Research Lab at the University of Alberta.
Photo credits: City line (City of Edmonton); Books (Pixabay); Briefcase (Pixabay); Growing up (GoodFreePhotos)