From acting in an award-winning film to producing a number one album, getting to the top of the creative industries is a dream for many young people. But access to such careers, both behind the scenes and in front of an audience, is currently far from equal. For young people from lower socio-economic backgrounds in particular, there are major…

Contrary to common assumptions, the vast majority of the world's refugees reside in neighbouring countries in the Global South. This paper explores the complex interaction of global vocational education policies with the local realities of five communities within the under-researched yet highly relevant refugee context of India, across three major…

Gender inequality limits women's ability to make decisions in their best interest and behave independently of the male patriarch in the home. These inequalities can result in limited access to healthcare, support, services, and positive outcomes from receiving medical care. In addition, women deemed to have a lower social status than men do not…

Using a mixed-methods approach, this study examines the college expectations of high school students in Hanoi, Vietnam. Findings from a survey of approximately 4,000 students and interviews with 76 students, teachers, and school leaders revealed that the majority of students planned to apply to college. However, rural students had significantly…

Based on a case study, this article discusses connections between educational inequality in Brazil, transnational migration and educational upward mobility. It analyses a young woman's migration from a "favela" in Brazil to Germany with a focus on the educational aspirations that motivated it, that is, as a case of "educational…

Internationally, recent population movements due to conflict, climate change and global inequality have resulted in increased cultural and linguistic diversity in many societies. As a result, education systems are increasingly grappling with how to adapt practice to provide educational access and opportunities with increasingly diverse student…

Through a comparative analysis of policy texts from UN organisations and scholarly work since the 1990s this paper examines how mothers are portrayed in simplistic terms, as educated thus beneficial for their daughters' schooling, or deprived of education causing detriment to their daughters' future prospects. Drawing on semi-structured interviews…

The current study investigates the academic adaptation levels of international students and their motivations for pursuing higher education in Turkey. The study also aimed to compare the adaptation of international students in higher education in terms of various variables such as gender, age, duration in Turkey, education level, and university. A…

To challenge deficit thinking concerning immigrants and refugees in urban schools, we engaged members of local immigrant and refugee communities from China, Mexico, Liberia, and Sudan in focus group discussions about their prior educational experiences, their hopes and aspirations for education, and the supports and challenges they encountered in…

This paper explores educational inequalities through an analysis of the educational aspirations and future expectations of British girls and young women who identify as Muslim. It draws on qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with teen girls (aged 13-19) and young women in their early 20s living in the north and south of England, the…

This paper explores the processes, tensions, opportunities and constraints that migrant youth in Greek higher educational institutions experience at the present time which are characterised by social crises, economic austerity and political instability. In doing so, we also put forward an agenda of critical and feminist pedagogies in developing…

What is the relationship among migration, education, and socio-emotional well-being? This article draws on ethnographic research with Dominican youth to examine the impact of maternal migration on young immigrants and their educational aspirations. We detail how the youth come to conflate mother love, the sacrifices of migration, and educational…

Few empirical studies directly address education among women factory workers in China, much less their sense of agency, power, character and awareness. This dissertation seeks to discover whether among women factory workers in the core manufacturing center, the Yangtze River Delta region of China, educational opportunities and other resources…

Research has shown that foreign languages can be an important driver towards better job opportunities. This is more likely to be the case if young people take foreign languages into account when developing their career and educational expectations. These expectations depend greatly on the context and the opportunities students perceive to be…

Studies have shown the ways in which non-Western middle- and upper-class families are seeking to educate their children in the West. The rationale for this kind of social reproduction strategy is the acquisition of 'valuable' cultural and symbolic capitals which can be advantageous in the graduate job market of both their home country and…