Educational aspirations and choices of people from differentiated national and cultural environments: a review of recent scientific literature

Abstract

The social field in the modern globalized world includes groups of people with differentiated national and cultural characteristics. These groups possess their own system of dispositions, which are primarily shaped within the context of the family. The purpose of this study is the investigation and presentation of young people’s aspirations and choices concerning their educational future as these are influenced by factors which are related to the phenomenon of migration, through a review of recent scientific literature. From the analysis of the research findings of relevant scientific papers, the influence of socio-economic, cultural and institutional factors on the formation of young people’s educational aspirations/expectations and choices emerges. Family habitus, as well as the institutional habitus that exists within the academic institutions, tend to contribute significantly to the decisions and choices young people make which define their educational course. In particular, most research findings converge on the fact that education constitutes a means of social mobility offering the opportunity to young people from underprivileged family environments to ‘transform’ and/or improve their position in the field of social stratification. As a result, young people aspire to pursue higher education studies though the mobilization of a ‘transformative’ habitus, anticipating that it will improve the terms, conditions and prospects of their life in the future.