YOUTH ASPIRATIONS - UNCOVERING PATTERNS AND UNDERSTANDING STORIES OF CLASS AND ETHNICITY

Abstract

The way that youth educational and occupational aspirations have been found to be patterned, along class and ethnic lines, situates the discussion of their formation within a study of social stratification and inequality. Beyond academic and career goals, youth aspire to other things in life, but the diversity of their aspirations has not been adequately researched. This study examines the educational and life aspirations of Singaporean youths aged 15 to 18 years, an age group during which aspirations are expected to be more stable. Utilizing a mixed method approach, it aims to uncover the patterns of aspirations among youths of different class and ethnic backgrounds while delving deeper into how these aspirations are developed. Factor and regression analysis were conducted on secondary data that was obtained from the National Youth Survey 2016. Focus groups using the vignette method were subsequently carried out with 18 youths that were purposively sampled, followed by in-depth interviews with half of them. The findings reveal how class-based opportunities and constraints still matter in shaping youths’ aspirations, while uncovering the tensions and struggles in their lived experiences as they explore and assert their agency within these structures.