This ethnographic study addresses the ways residents of an economically distressed community in
Nova Scotia perceive post-secondary education. Historically the efficacy of education as an
economic development strategy has been contradicted by the lack of work available locally and
the personal costs associated with acquiring credentials. Yet education has been and continues
to be a strong central value for this community. This book confirms the opportunities
educational achievement can offer to individuals and yet questions how credentials alone can
lift economically distressed communities as a whole if the systemic issue of regional political
economy is not addressed.
