The Importance of Research and Scholarship for the Field of Continuing Education

Research Under Pressure

The Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE) has spotlighted research and scholarship with a dedicated webinar in late March 2026, coinciding with open calls for its awards (extended deadline February 22, 2026) and funding opportunities like the CE Applied Research and Creative Works Fund. This push arrives against a backdrop of broader strains in Canadian higher education and research.

Federal Budget 2025 imposed limits on international study permits—dropping to 155,000 in 2026—and offered only modest protection for core research granting councils, with cuts capped at 2% but no major new infusions beyond targeted initiatives such as a $1 billion accelerated research chairs program over 13 years to attract international talent. These measures reflect a policy environment that favours quick economic returns over broad-based scholarly inquiry.

Continuing education, which serves adult learners through flexible programs, professional development, and community engagement, now operates in a sector questioning the value of degrees amid rising costs and shifting job markets. Reports highlight declining trust in higher education and enrollment challenges, pushing units to prove relevance through workforce-aligned offerings like corporate training and industry credentials.

Yet research in this domain often struggles for priority within universities dominated by traditional academic metrics. CAUCE's efforts underscore tensions: applied research can directly inform practice and generate evidence for advocacy—such as in reports on strengthening Canada's skills ecosystem—but funding deadlines are tight, and outcomes must show broad applicability to justify support.

Non-obvious angles include the risk that over-emphasis on immediate, employer-driven programs could crowd out deeper scholarly work on lifelong learning's societal role, potentially leaving the field reactive rather than leading in addressing demographic shifts, technological disruption, and equity in access to upskilling.

Stakeholders from deans to practitioners face concrete consequences: missed awards or grants mean lost validation and resources, while inaction on research weakens advocacy with governments and institutions already scrutinizing continuing education's revenue and impact contributions.