Aspirations and expectations are conceptually and empirically different. Given their differential impact on various educational outcomes, it is expected that they, and consequently their convergence, would be affected by different factors. This study examines the factors leading to high aspirations, high expectations and to their alignment by…

Historically, racially marginalized communities are less likely to access health care, partly due to structural inequities as well as distrust for white providers. This need for increased racial and ethnic representation is specifically an issue in the pharmacist career, as more than 90% of the United States population lives within five miles of a…

This study used a longitudinal, probability sample survey, Understanding Society COVID-19, to examine young people's post-16 educational aspirations at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a particular emphasis on four vulnerable groups (namely, young carers; Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic young people; young people with long-term illness…

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…

Although incarcerated individuals have committed potentially 'immoral' crimes, many are also parents, and need to foster their children's moral development. As such, incarcerated parents occupy a paradoxical position: they are labelled as morally deviant yet simultaneously expected to provide moral guidance for their children. This study explores…

The rate of emigration of highly educated people from the Caribbean is one of the highest in the world but little research exists on this phenomenon. This paper helps to fill this gap by focusing on one particular subset of Caribbean skilled emigrants, those working in higher education in the US, including academics and administrators. Drawing on…

Postsecondary education is associated with achieving economic self-sufficiency and other positive outcomes. Young people in foster care face challenges pursuing postsecondary education, which can lead to them being less likely than their peers to enroll in college and less likely to earn a degree when enrolled. One federal initiative meant to…

The purpose of this phenomenological investigation was to explore the lived experiences of rural high school counselors when providing career development services. Several key themes emerged, including (a) contextual factors, (b) direct services, (c) indirect services, (d) rewarding aspects, and (e) challenging aspects. The findings support…

Understanding the educational aspirations of diverse groups among statistics majors provides insight into the discipline of statistics. This study utilizes multi-institution data from the 2019 and 2020 administrations of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to explore educational aspirations for statistics majors through comparisons to…

This study examined the long-term effects of perceived educational and career barriers due to sexism and racism in college students' pursuit of postgraduate education (PE) and how such effects were different across gender and racial majority/minority groups. With a sample of 2,717 undergraduate students, results from multinomial logistic…

In recent years, both policymakers and practitioners working to increase postsecondary attainment rates in the United States have shifted their focus from college access to college success. At the same time, they have recognized that the prevalence of 36 million adults with some college education but no postsecondary credential is an important…

To address social inequality, many western governments have sought to pursue principles of 'widening participation' as a key policy response in higher education. Though originally intended to complement social justice policy agendas, alignment of education policies with broader neoliberal policy frameworks has led policymakers, such as those in…

This study uses the Education Longitudinal Survey of 2002 (ELS:2002) to examine how varying levels of intention (planning) and action (choice) in pursuing a science-based major affect American college students' degree attainment in Science and Engineering (S&E) fields by age 26. The study is guided by the Social Cognitive Career Theory's…

The purpose of my phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the impact of family involvement and engagement on the persistence of first-generation Latinx students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designated university. Grounded in Yosso's (2005) community cultural wealth (CCW) model, I explored the ways CCW assets learned from…

With globalization and migration of people and ideas becoming an increasing reality around the world, the needs of immigrant families and students is vital for countries to consider, particularly within their educational systems. This is true especially in the Nordic countries, where the national discourse of equality and egalitarianism are…