Missing the Bus, Missing School: Does Mode of Transportation Affect Educational Engagement Among High School Students in the HRM?

Abstract

Whether it is time spent sitting in traffic on the way home from work, flying to visit distant family, or simply driving aimlessly with friends, our lives are greatly impacted by mobility. This study, guided by literature from the mobilities turn and the sociology of education, considers the impact of mobility on education. Employing a quantitative approach, this project seeks to determine whether students who use public transit display varying rates of educational engagement compared to their peers who do not rely on public transit. The results show that public transit use impacts a student’s odds of reporting having missed school as well as feeling as if they waste time travelling. However, this is not paired with further implications for the educational experience. The use of public transit impacts students’ experiences getting to school; despite this, students who use public transit display similar levels of educational engagement compared to their peers who do not use public transit.