This thesis considers the aspirations of a group of pupils in a post-industrial community in the South Wales Valleys. Using a mixed methods approach, I explore and consider a range of social, economic and cultural issues to understand how educational and occupational aspirations are influenced and shaped. The recommendations made will hopefully help develop the role of personal tutor, as set out in the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification and help others within the education sector understand the complex, multifaceted nature of pupils’ hopes and dreams for the future. The ideas on the formation of aspirations which are developed by the economist Ray (2002, 2006) and the anthropologist Appadurai (2004) act as a strong reference point in this thesis. These works, coupled with the theory of circumscription and compromise which has been developed by Gottfredson (1981) provide a conceptual framework with which to facilitate a better understanding of the ways in which the educational and occupational aspirations of young people could be affected. I suggest that aspirations should be considered from a socio-cultural perspective. Such is the dynamic nature of aspirations that pupils’ dreams about the future begin to grow and be affected from a young age. For this reason, schools should consider a range of interventions to challenge gender stereotypes and ensure that sufficient guidance is provided from a young age about the many different academic and occupational pathways that pupils can choose in life. Throughout the thesis, I argue that for a group of young men and women in a community of social and economic deprivation, aspirations and transitions to adulthood are framed through geographically, familial and historically shaped class and gender codes.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:610992 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Golding, Susan |
| Publisher | Cardiff University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://orca.cf.ac.uk/59969/ |
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