The interest in educational and professional aspirations of students transiting to post-secondary education has gained prominence in academic debates and policy agendas internationally. Political interventions for raising aspirations quite often draw on narrow instrumental and rationalistic assumptions of individual decision-making that, as we…

While studies on refugee-background students in school contexts have been prolific, research of this population in higher education or post-tertiary education is still emergent. The paper attends to this gap by drawing on the narratives of five refugee-background young adults who are undertaking Australian higher education or have completed…

This article explores the intersecting desires and anxieties of Chinese middle-class families and students in their pursuit of studying abroad in the United States. Through the qualitative analysis of narratives from students and interview data, the findings reveal that the decision for studying in the U.S. is deeply intertwines with anxieties…

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the everyday ways that individuals with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities exercise choice and control. Method: Photovoice with 17 adults with mild to moderate intellectual disability who were receiving individual funding was conducted. Focus groups were held to review the photos. Findings: While…

This paper looks at the phenomenon of upward mobility through education from a comparative and historical perspective. Pierre Bourdieu referred to upwardly mobile individuals in France as the miraculous ("les miraculés"), oblates ("oblats"), or, less often, defectors ("transfuges"). A difficulty with applying a theory…

Using interviews with 74 Korean undergraduate students at ten elite U.S. colleges, I explore how intersections of gender and class decide who pursues transnational mobility and cosmopolitan life more successfully. Men from highly-transnational families tried to exert 'agency for becoming' while mapping out their 'choice biographies', aspiring and…

With global trends focussed on standardisation of curriculum and increased teacher accountability, it has become commonplace for curriculum to be viewed simplistically as a product. While all teachers engage in forms of classroom curriculum-making, questions remain as to what this looks like within an educational landscape that continues to…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the link between upper secondary school students' experiences of school democracy and their future role as democratic citizens, focusing on a comparison between men and women. Design/methodology/approach: The data derives from a questionnaire conducted to all last year upper secondary school students…

The self-perception of pre-service teachers regarding classroom management, and their aspirations for their future selves, can impact their behavior. This qualitative case study examined how pre-service teachers envision themselves in relation to classroom management. The findings indicate that pre-service teachers aspire to be authoritative…

This paper focuses on aspirations to study abroad, using the case of Vietnamese international students (VISs) in Japan. A qualitative research study based on 23 in-depth interviews applied the 'aspirations-capabilities' framework (de Haas, 2021) and revealed that while economic factors play a significant role in motivating Vietnamese students to…

This paper looks at the national and international geographic mobility paths of young graduates in Italy and their educational and professional trajectories. By departing from the research fields of youth studies, mobility studies and higher education studies, we aim to highlight the multiple meanings and effects that mobility experiences may have…

The issue of developing the professional competence of teachers is one of the priorities in the Kazakhstani education system. One of the most significant challenges in the context of improving abilities is increasing students' motivation. This study aims to examine the role of motivation in shaping future primary school teachers' professional…

This case study examines preservice teachers' cultural experiences with voice and how those experiences shape their professional philosophies and practice with student voice in the classroom. Four female preservice teachers with Caribbean heritage were selected from a convenience sample. Participants were interviewed twice. Artifacts included…

In this paper, we deploy data collected through a Q study with educators in south-west England. The mixed methodology involved the two stages of forced choice statement sorting by educator participants and subsequent factor analysis. Through abductive analyses, four views regarding aspirations and young people in peripheral communities are…

Entrepreneurship at the base of the pyramid has profound implications for economic development in impoverished regions. Building upon Timmons' three-factor theory of entrepreneurship and the resource conservation theory, this study adopts the transition-persistence strategy of entrepreneurs from lower social classes as the focal point, with…