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…

Quality early childhood education (ECE) can improve children's learning and development in low- and middle-income countries, but little evidence exists of programs targeting marginalized girls in vulnerable rural communities. This study used a matched-pair mixed-methods community-randomized trial to evaluate a preschool program for marginalized…

Understanding educational aspiration is pivotal for studying access to and success in higher education, given its influence on academic, occupational, and societal trajectories. Yet, aspiration is a challenging topic to research, in part because of its complex definitions, measurements, and contexts. This review focuses on the educational…

This policy brief analyzes the effects of insecurity on education in the Sahel, highlighting how attacks against schools and forced displacement disrupt learning. With over 9,000 schools closed because of insecurity in the Central Sahel, with the majority in the Liptako-Gourma area, and 3.3 million people displaced, the region faces a protracted…

Formal education has all too often been portrayed as a means of achieving social and economic mobility, there is a need to address the unequal footing for adolescents in the Global South attempting to achieve social mobility through education. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted in Sri Lanka, this article considers the impact of upward…

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…

In highly marketised higher education systems, massification has afforded greater access, particularly for first-in-generation students. Generally, this expansion has been fuelled by neoliberal ideologies that valorise the notion of choice and promise of social mobility. In this study, using interviews with 25 first-generation students, the issue…

This article reports the results of a systematic review on displaced and refugee-background students' transitioning and (re-)integration into European higher education (HE). A total of 7082 studies have been assessed for eligibility in six languages. Forty-four empirical studies conducted in 14 countries of the European Higher Education Area…

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…

The extant literature on parental involvement in the university choice process sheds light on the positive impact of parents' social capital on enrolment. Little research captures the complex dynamics of parental social capital that might within certain sociocultural and economic contexts compound the effects on university choice and access. This…

In view of the so-called 'refugee crisis' which began in late 2014, there is a growing potential demand for higher education opportunities amongst refugee communities in England and more widely in Europe. Whilst exact numbers are not certain, it is necessary to establish whether such demands can be met at all. Based on in-depth semi-structured…

This paper examines how pupils' aspirations towards higher education (HE) are shaped and reinforced in Chile. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical framework and building on relevant scholarship focussed on HE decision-making and choices, it introduces two dual-headed conceptual tools which allow a grasp of relevant differences between social…

Malawi struggles with youth access to higher education. Up to 60% of eligible university candidates may not be accepted, while less than 1% of Malawi's qualified cohort get enrolled in some form of tertiary education. This paper reveals youth's experiences in alternative higher education programs and show if the programs align with their…

The COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered how we learn, work, and live. This qualitative research aimed to study the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the educational and occupational aspirations of young Canadian adults. All close to 29 years of age, sixteen participants took part in one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted through…

Higher education for females is an indicator of development, democracy and gender equity, particularly necessary for a nation like Cameroon which attempts to become an emerging country by 2035. Hence, this paper is focused on ascertaining female aspirations to higher education for access and effective participation. In so doing, a study that…