Governments around the world are pressed to invest in postsecondary education. However, little research exists to document whether large-scale educational reforms aimed at increasing rates of postsecondary attendance benefit youth’s developmental outcomes. This study tested whether an educational reform occurring in Québec, Canada, in the 1960s increased educational levels, and whether it benefitted some youth more than others. In the 1970’s, 4109 low-income youth (50% females) aged 7–13 years old were recruited at Time 1 from first, fourth, and seventh grade classes (M_age = 10.6, SD = 2.5). Socio-behavioral characteristics and academic skills at Time 1 were examined as predictors of educational attainment at Time 2, three decades later, on 3883 of the same participants. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to examine the likelihood of youth obtaining a diploma from the newly created, accessible, and affordable colleges (“cégeps”). Low-educated groups (high school dropouts and high school graduates) presented a higher early risk profile than did college graduates. Interactions revealed that social withdrawal protected youth from disadvantaged neighborhoods, helping them graduate from college. Likeability helped academically weaker girls go beyond college and access university, and helped academically competent boys graduate from college. Aggressive behavior decreased the odds of university attendance for academically competent boys. Policies promoting higher education for disadvantaged youth should be supplemented with early interventions integrating academic and socio-behavioral objectives.

世界各国政府都被迫投资于中学后教育。然而，很少有研究证明旨在提高高等教育出勤率的大规模教育改革是否有益于青少年的发展成果。这项研究测试了 1960 年代在加拿大魁北克发生的教育改革是否提高了教育水平，以及它是否比其他年轻人更受益。在 1970 年代，在时间 1 招募了 4109 名 7-13 岁的低收入青年（50% 女性），从一年级、四年级和七年级班级（M_年龄 = 10.6，SD = 2.5)。时间 1 的社会行为特征和学术技能被检查为时间 2，即 30 年后，对 3883 名相同参与者的教育程度的预测指标。多项逻辑回归用于检查青年从新建、可访问且负担得起的大学（“cégeps”）获得文凭的可能性。与大学毕业生相比，受教育程度低的群体（高中辍学和高中毕业生）的早期风险更高。互动表明，社会退缩保护了弱势社区的青年，帮助他们从大学毕业。讨人喜欢帮助学业较弱的女孩从大学毕业并进入大学，并帮助学业有能力的男孩从大学毕业。攻击性行为降低了学术能力强的男孩上大学的几率。促进弱势青年接受高等教育的政策应辅以整合学术和社会行为目标的早期干预措施。