Developing conceptual understandings of the capacity to aspire for higher education

This paper reviews research and theory relating to aspirations for higher education as a cultural capacity. Understanding the social and cultural dimensions of aspirations for higher education is important as they are increasingly becoming part of social commentary and more recently educational policy, research and practice. This paper synthesises the empirical literature, conceptual understandings and theory relating to aspirations as a capacity in a way that will be useful to others who are engaged in practical initiatives and research targeting educational equity. We focus on recent and current developments regarding the capacity to aspire as a conceptual framework, analyse studies that evaluate programs based on the capacity to aspire, and consider what evidence and lessons can be used in current and future equity initiatives. This paper draws on the authors’ current research about the educational and career aspirations of students from under-represented backgrounds in higher education

Navigating the future: Perspectives of aspirations for higher education

In a period of increased engagement with higher education in Australia, participation rates for low socio economic status (low-SES) students remains static. The national response in the wake of the Bradley Review into Higher Education (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent & Scales, 2008) has seen student aspirations emerge as central to policy and a critical site of action. This response is situated within a fluid national context where funding for social inclusion initiatives for higher education is not currently planned beyond 2015. Contributing to an uncertain future is an increasingly loaded national debate about the impact of increased participation in higher education on tertiary quality and an imminent federal election. In this paper, I provide an overview of perspectives on student aspirations underpinning current theory and programs discussed in the literature, with emphasis on current student outreach. From this overview, I arrive at a perspective grounded in critical theory that is based on the writing of Appadurai (2004) and the notion of aspirations as a navigational and cultural capacity. Implications for how this understanding of student aspirations will assist the planning and development of effective interventions in an uncertain future will be discussed

Fostering Diversity in the Creative Arts by Addressing Students' Capacity to Aspire

Research on young people's aspirations and their capacity to aspire to higher education has proliferated in recent decades, however, very little attention has been paid to the creative arts. Diversity in the arts remains a persistent issue in many nations, and repeated attempts to promote diversity in the Australian arts community have had limited impact, suggesting the need for new approaches. Drawing on data from a 4-year longitudinal study of students from ages 8 to 18 (n = 6,492) in government schools, we examine school students' aspirations for careers in the arts. Arts-related careers were popular among students, yet we found a distinct lack of diversity among those aspiring to such careers. Using logistic regression analysis we found that being female, high achieving, from an English-speaking background, possessing high cultural capital, and attending advantaged schools were significant predictors of interest in the arts, suggesting the likely reproduction of existing patterns of participation. We argue that initiatives within schools are essential to disrupting these patterns and building the capacity of a more diverse range of students to aspire to careers in the arts

University Enabling Programs While Still At School: Supporting the Transition of Low-Ses Students from High School to University

University participation rates are significantly lower in low socioeconomic status (SES) areas in Australia. Specifically, rates differ between-schools and within-schools, where inequalities in opportunities to access university pathway programs exist. The aim of this study was to test whether academic encouragement supported students’ school satisfaction and increased their desire for, expectation of and belief in the possibility of university study and whether differences were evident depending on pathway of study: the ATAR pathway versus a Year 12 access enabling pathway program called TLC110. A sample of 257 high school students (58% female) from 18 high schools, within a low-SES area of outer metropolitan Perth, Western Australia, were surveyed. Teacher encouragement was found to be positively associated with school satisfaction and, in turn, supported university desire, expectation and belief for ATAR students but not for TLC110 students. Qualitative data were collected (n = 9) to contextualise the inclusivity of TLC110 for high school students from low-SES backgrounds to support aspirations for university